Legends & origins

[Barrett]

OK, it's obvious that this thread is headed for 100+ and since it's been awhile since we had one, I'll chip in:
I think Mike discovered The First of 101 Uses for a Dead Fox.
Anybody else care to add to the nonsense?

Dead foxs are doing a fine job in England at the moment. While the anti anything anyone enjoys brigade are busy chasing the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable, they are leaving those of us who indulge in slightly anti-social activities (e.g powerfull motorcycles, light aeroplanes, turbocharged lawnmowers) alone. The fox is in the front line defending our freedom, albeit unwillingly, unknowingly and at great personal risk. This new years eve I will raise a glass to him and whisper tally-ho. When he no longer has to run I know the anti's will be on my tail next.

Andy,
I take it you are referring to the tree huggers, and earth muffins that rant at any provocation they think is upsetting the delicate nature of their sensibilities(?) or is that the balance of nature? So if we shot a beaver to save a tree would we be heroes or villains? Heck with 'em, nuke 'em til they glow!
VBR,
Jim

[mike_baram]

What do you do if you see an endangered species eating an endangered plant??????
Frankly, Jim, we should give them all unconducted tours of areas where hungry pumas congregate. Why should joggers be the only item on the menu?

Mike,
Better yet, send them all into Yellowstone to hand feed the cuddly Silvertip Grizzly bears, that way with either suggestion they can all get REALLY close to nature! ; )
VBR,
Jim

[Kirby]

Jim, Mike & Andy

I used to participate in bird dog field trials at Killdeer Plains. One year, one of the game wardens who tagged the pheasants for us was gored to death by a white tail buck during the rut. Kinda shoots the Bambi image right in the ol' yazoo. The sad part of it is that city people grow up on this Walt Disney crap and usually end up on the short end of the stick when they really go into the wild unsupervised.

Another thing these PETA people have never realized is that there ain't no retirement home for wild critters. Very few animals die a quiet, dignified death. They die from disease, starvation or become fodder for another wild animal.

Forgive this diatribe guys. I find people who cannot face reality are usually a pain in the Gazorch.

VBR
Kirby

Kirby,
That's why we slam them, because they cause more damage through their ignorance than they realize. Send them out to pet the nice wild animals.
VBR,
Jim

[mike_baram]

Case in point, Gentlemen......
There's a river in San Jose, CA, the Guadalupe River. Thanks to the econazis, you can't remove anything from that river, including the crap Mother Nature deposits (leaves, branches, silt, etc.) All this naturally collects other junk that homo nonsapiens throws into the river, so a couple of years ago, when we had an unusually wet winter, the river overflowed and a) lots of homes belonging to po' folk got destroyed and B) a couple of people got drowned.
Oh, yeah....when one of the bridges was washed away, Dr. Bill Wattenburg suggested a temporary bridge made of railroad flatcars. It worked fine, until a eco-bureaucrat ordered it removed because it didn't meet environmental and OSHA standards.
The "temporary" bridge could have stood for years and cost @$200,000. The "approved" bridge cost over $3,000,000.

Guys -

Thanks for all of your comments, though we might have gotten just a LITTLE off the beaten path! . . .

All kidding aside, though - enjoyed it! For instance, I knew about the "Harry Tate", but not where it came from.

Also, SOMEONE in this MASS of responses came up with the wristwatch "coming of age" during WWI. So I'll give one back:

Glenn Curtis, while testing an aircraft back in 1910, needed a timepiece available to him in-flight; one of his friends/mechanics/what-have-you grabbed a watch, attached it to a strap of leather - bingo, the wristwatch! At least, that's how I heard it! Don't mean to kick off a new round of responses, but I probably will!

Later

Mike

Sorry, the wristwatch was not invented for Glenn Curtiss but for Alberto Santos Dumont, the Brazilian pioneer. And the watchmaker who invented it was Cartier, who are still selling a model called Santos Dumont. Own on your wrist a peace of history, if you can afford it.