A Slight After Action Report From N’awlins!

45 thoughts on “A Slight After Action Report From N’awlins!”

1. Like I always told my kids, exciting times are a two sided coin. I quit riding bikes, pedal kind, when a motor home went by me close enough to feel the air of it passing riffle the hair on my arm. Yes, I think capping a CDL after they almost kill you is called for. Not sure about legal it might be, but I can get behind capping the bastards.

   Glad you had a good trip. Maybe you are training another so that they can move you up a notch. Could be good, unless you know something we don’t.

   Good luck for a time. Church is good, BTW.

2. BC, those close calls while parked on the shoulder are no joke, and will leave you with one touching cloth. Been there/done that, had to use the T-shirt to clean up, so I didn’t even get that. Too many stupid inattentive muthafuckas on the road anymore. Pajeets with CDL’s, teenagers screwing off, bishes doing their makeup or doomscrolling tiktok, etc. It’s all so screwed up. Glad you made it out unscathed. Nice writeup on the rest of the trip.

   1. Oh I’m not done yet… just tired and done for tonight…
      As the guy said: “But wait…. THERE’S MOAR!!!!”

3. Glad you went to church.

   It’s kinda important…

   1. likely the most important, brother Berg… be safe and blessed and let’s break bread sometime soon

4. BCE, I’m a “lapsed” Catholic too but was pretty devout for the first 42 years of my life.
   Had some bad experiences during my divorce so now not so much.
   The thing you discovered is that there is the formal Confession where you go into the confessional, never see the priest, tell your sins and dominus bisco you’re forgiven.

   There is also the much older yet better form of confession where you have a personal confessor that you talk to face to face. As you saw that is much more powerful and meaningful.

   Who knows, maybe since you have been talking about changing AOs, New Orleans might be a place to consider ?

   1. It started ‘traditional’ but my knees couldn’t handle the prie-dieu… after 20+ minutes I was in so much pain, breathing hard (the padding was non-existant) the Padre urged me to take a face-to-face seat, at which point the Grunt in me kicked in and no shit, thru gritted teeth, I told him “…I could hack it, and for my sins I deserved the pain…”

      Yeah… riiight..

      At 28 minutes…

      Not so mucho. I quit and got in the ‘bitch chair’, but the Padre told me he admired my attempt… said that 28 minutes was a record for this particular station, as normally in this confessional, it’s a ‘one and done’ quickie thing… This was the longest confession he’d heard in a while LOL!

5. Fun fact: Tires rot from the inside out. A perfectly good looking tire on the outside could be about to blow from the inside. When I had one blow on the rear of my F-150 driving from Tucson to Phoenix at 3 a.m. up I-10 on a Monday morning to get to work, I was passing a car – the only other car on the road at that time, symptoms were the same as yours then BOOM! I swear I saw fire in the mirror. I thought someone in the car took a shot at me. I grabbed my Ruger Super Blackhawk and was ready to shoot it out. Car kept going. I pulled off the next exit to change the tire. Changed it with a Mini Maglight in my mouth. I could hear scorpions walking across the pavement – clickclickclick. Got it changed and made it to work on time.

   I know how you feel about if one of those bastards hits you. I made that exact choice after a wetback making an illegal left turn hit me and my wife and damn near killed her on our Harley and left her with a titanium jaw. Sonofabitch had no insurance and hauled ass back across the border. So, if there’s a next time – they won’t be able to hurt anyone else again.

   1. Lat, I hope your faire lady is doing much better now!
      That’s some bullshit
      Hence my thoughts that in an accident involving a serious injury or fatality to a US Citizen due to a Illegal Immigrant Driver, that EXTREME MEASURES SHOULD be taken.
      Use this simple quiz:

      1) Is the driver, (he/she) illegally in the United States?
      A) If Yes, move to Question #2
      B) If No, Wait for Authorities

      2) Is the Illegal unquestionably the At Fault driver in this accident?
      A) If Yes, Immediate Summary Execution on-the-spot.
      B) If No, it doesn’t Matter… they’re here Illegally. Fuck ‘Em. Initiate Immediate Summary Execution on-the-spot as well.

      It’s the only way to be sure…
      Jes’ Sayin’

      1. Wetback tried to flee when he hit us. Witnesses all around blocked him in so he couldn’t get away. He didn’t get to hit and run, but the cops didn’t arrest him, so he got to run, anyway. Then I had to sue my own insurance company just to get them to pay out on the uninsured motorist policy I’d carried for years, which was not nearly enough for medical bills. Fortunately, my health insurance picked up the Care Flight and all the surgeries. I had to pay for the 1 mile ride in an ambulance to the helipad – $760.

         Several years later, our youngest daughter is in an EMT class. The instructor was taking a Q&A from the students. One asked him what was the worst accident he ever came up on. He described our wreck and the kid piped up and said that was her mom. She was then invited for “show and tell”, so to speak. He never knew what happened to the victim that day. She got to give him a hard time for cutting off her brand new leather jacket.

6. Glad to see that you made it back home alive and (relatively) unhurt.
   And if you “offed” Pajeet, well, there’s always the swamps and coasts. ‘Gaters gotta eat, too.
   Can’t wait for more tall tales. But I guess I’ll have to.
   As for church….catharsis is good for the soul. I’m glad you went.

7. I am pleased to hear you used some of your road trip fun time to bolster your spiritual side, that’s a good thing. I have to think that the near miss on the highway may have been a message, which you responded to affirmatively. Keep moving forward!

8. Glad you made it. Maintenance is a thing. Tyres have manufacture date stamp on the sidewall. It’s four digits, less than a 1/2″ tall, all together usually within an oval-ish outline. The first two are the week of the year it was made and the second two denote the year. For example, 1715 would mean late April/early May (depending) of 2015. You should probably check your other tyres… I don’t think your fan base would react too well to news that you had been pancaked by a pajeet! Might start a reverse crusade… Or is it culling? Gawd Bless.

   1. Good advice here! It is this sort of detail that really matters. I will check my tires when I get home.

   2. You also don’t want tires older than 6-7 years even if never used and stored properly. The oils and chemicals that keep the rubber pliable evaporate over time.

      1. Very true, I learned about this when I had an RV.

         On daily driver cars or trucks, you’ll usually need to replace the tires long before 6-7 years.
         But RVs you don’t put that many miles on them and they sit.
         So you’ll have a tire that has great tread on it but could be ready to blow if it’s old.

         You need to keep an eye on the tire age and many people cover the wheels while the RV is not in use to cut down the UV which causes much of the dry rot.

   3. “Thumbs Up”

   4. It’s just housekeeping – cleaning out the trash

9. Good advice here! It is this sort of detail that really matters. I will check my tires when I get home.

10. Pingback: BCE: N’Orleans AAR & A Return After A 45-Year Lapse – Western Rifle Shooters Association

11. take I-75 North to the very end and it’s a 2 lane blacktop road with just about zero traffic- ALWAYS. miss the last exit and across the bridge you go into kanaduh.. better have your passport as you are now fucked without it. pull over there please and prepare to be grilled and ass probed.. that said, fate has a way of ruining the best day. i had a freak accident yesterday, i lost my balance on my ATV, thumb still on the throttle, was thrown off it and ran over my arthritic foot. the thing hit a tree and stopped.. as i hit the ground, i heard and felt the crunching of my skeleton, did a combat roll and was back up- had it all on security video. at 62, i’m sore as fuck this morning. it didn’t help my arthritic hip or shoulder either… glad to be still here and walking.. YES i thanked God………………….

    1. AATW mos’def helped you out brohiem!

    2. Yea Thank God for sure Brother imagine if you couldn’t get up because you broke your back and some injun came along and scalped you and then stole all your stuff… Hopefully you had a phone and had someone at least within an hour of you…

12. What a beautiful story. Too many coincidences to think it might be happenstance. For the archbishop to be an Iraq war veteran, that must be almost unbelievable in itself.

    This is likely the best news I have ever read at this site, BC. And there has been lots of good stuff. I hope and pray that you maintain that good feeling right to the very end. Thanks.

13. Re: Church
    Check out Chadd Wright:
    https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chadd+wright

    He is a Navy Seal and does excellent videos on practicing Christianity.
    The truck talks are 3-5 minutes covering a specific topic.
    His 3 of 7 videos are longer – more in depth.
    https://www.youtube.com/@TruckTalk3of7
    https://www.youtube.com/@3of7Project

14. I haven’t visited NOLA since before Katrina. I was there for the International Association of Fire Chief’s convention. Stayed on Canal St. across from the French Quarter. Muffalatas, Cafe Au Lait… the food was good. But prior to that visit I thought the nastiest place I’d ever been was Blood Ally in Naples. Wouldn’t go back to NOLA now without a security detail.

15. Looks like Peppie Boy didn’t think/know to check the date code on the tire. Might want to check the others.

16. Lol, your not wrong on the cdl jeets. Only thing i would say is thats what the tire iron is for, and you gots to sing head, shoulders, knees and toes while going about your business

    1. OMG! I LOL’d for real man… tears coming out of my eyes on that ‘un!

       1. Yea I belly laughed on that one as well only I would use a tire checker since it has better balance than a tire iron…

17. I don’t truck with the Roman church, but I’m glad that you’re putting your faith in Jesus and not trying to do it yourself. It’s important. Oh, and don’t get drunk and trade those rosary beads away to see some tits in NOLA.

    As for training the replacement, sometimes you have to train your replacement so you can be promoted. Can’t move up if there is no one to take over your job.

18. that rap on the knucks thing, yea, from 3rd to 5th, Sr. Pauline had us use the steel edge wood ruler to bust on our own. so what could I do?

    yea, got my own son started once he was awake enough to understand – going to a catholic high school didn’t hurt, but the # of converged even there was a thing to behold. wanted to ask about every time – “if you’re athiest/feminist/wokist/etc, why is your kid here? but my bride and i were always volunteering for big stuff, and had to keep the peace. kids got to see an intact family, strong father figure, leading and doing.

    honestly, the things we did at our son’s (and daughter’s – another story) school was some of the most worthwhile stuff we’ve done in this life.

    i hear you on the atonement. At-One-ment. def changes things.

19. BCE,
    It’s good you’re out and about. And better that you’re enjoying it.
    As far as you being called closer to God. I 100% see many other getting that call right now too

    Keep listening, I’d wager there’s more to come on that front.
    I’d add that, it’s times like now, where you’re heading, is when the devil tries to kick your feet out.

    Don’t let him, he’s a prick.

    Peace brother,
    Sig

    1. Good to see you are still kicking Brother…

20. Years back, I took my SUV to pep boys to have a hitch installed. They wired it backwards. I put my left blinker on, the right trailer blinker flashed. Almost had a guy run up my ass when I turned left. I can’t speak for EVERY Pep boys, but the one near me has horrible reviews about recommending unnecessary repairs. Haven’t gone back since.

21. Your rants have amused me for quite some time. I’m not a big fan of getting pulled in to the synthetic, chat world of social media.
    But I must commend you on your receptivity to the events that led you back to the sacrament of confession. Furthermore, your choice to share this with others, especially a demographic of cynical, salty warriors such as this is noble.
    I too had a series of events which led me back to the church during Covid mania. A young, very traditional priest (Latin masses once a week!!) in Portland Oregon opened my eyes and heart during confession. We were planning to move to Arizona that same month. The first business, once we got here was to get my first marriage annulled. Since it wasn’t a church wedding, it wasn’t too difficult but still a lengthy process. We did some classes and other administrative hurdles. Approximately a year and a half later we were married by another young traditional priest in our Church. My current wife’s parents are not Catholic and they forked over some $$ for our secular wedding 14 years before. But they all showed up and were good sports. It turned out the priest down here knew the priest in Oregon!! They attended seminary together.
    I’m no preacher. I usually follow the advice of St Francis. ” Preach the gospel always, and when necessary, use words”.
    And pray that rosary man!!!
    It’s a beautiful peaceful meditation.
    In the misty realm of spiritual warfare, think of it as a belt-fed Browning.

22. Useful shit to have on hand in the vehicle: 24+ inch 1/2″ drive breaker bar with an impact rated socket on it that matches your lug nuts.

    O’Reilly’s usually has one on hand for sale that’s ideal for not having to bend over so much.

    Those cross type lug nut wrenches are not super useful compared to a really long breaker bar.

    Other useful shit: whatever you have tool batteries for, get a tool battery powered impact wrench (not an impact driver) for it.

    I have a Redundant Array of Inexpensive Tools™ here, so I went with the Hyper Tough at Walmart that goes up to 900 ft-lb and I split off some of the smaller 2A/20V batteries for it.

    Relatively cheap as it was on sale for around $65 when I got it.

    The black coated impact rated sockets are more expensive but worth it, and Walmart has sets for SAE and metric with the four most common lug nut sizes for each.

    You can’t control for weather but you can control for easier removal, so try copper-bearing anti-seize compound as a light coating with a Q-tip inside the lug nuts, then torque to the higher end of the OEM torque spec.

    Also, a cheap battery powered impact wrench is useful for changing stuck mower blades with PB Blaster BTW, but since 14mm and around 9/16″ are transitional between 3/8″ and 1/2″ sets, the sizes push mowers often have, it helps to know that Lowe’s usually carries those now over in the Craftsman sockets area in drawers.

    Went to every auto parts place in the area for an impact rated 14mm 1/2″ drive socket and didn’t find one, then found one at a Lowe’s, so keep in mind if you have odd lug nuts and so forth.

    After you’ve had a run in with a flat at speed, newer lug nuts are also probably a good idea.

    Get McGard if you have your vehicles serviced by impact wrench monkeys, they’re worth the extra $$$$$ they cost for six sets (five per mount plus one spare of four).

    BTW, Suncoast Parkway tore the crap out of the tires on The Gray Man’s Beaterwagon the last time taking it at speed, should have gone inland to take 75 instead.

    The last time I had vehicle trouble and landed in front of a mile marker, I’d also landed in front of the Wyoming Highway Patrol HQ on 80.

    That fortunately was a lucky encounter with Wyoming’s LEOs.

23. Enough about the damned ties. Nobody cares about the tires. What everyone wants to know about is the wheel. That big giant paddle boat wheel behind you. Please tells us you ran up to it, screamed “collision imminent, Aboandon ship!” Then tell us you started spinning that wheel like it was wheel of fortune. Otherwise that wasn’t any kind of boat ride.

    Some of the blue hairs would have peed their pants. Maybe a mobility scooter would have driven overboard.

24. As to advice to use the lug wrench, I recommend 2 baseball bats and as a help to your lawyer add a ball and glove to the mix. Why two bats, so you can toss one far away after a good wipe down.

    Spin

25. Glad you had a good vacation. Confession with the Archbishop of New Orleans. Had that guy as a guest on the boat once, got to tell you about that sometime. The thing about the date code on the tires is definitely important. Had a Firestone shop try and pass off some 2014 manufactured tires in ’21 on the wife. Called the regional office and got brand new tires from a different shop. The scammer shop got a new manager. Several states are now on a heavy crackdown on these illegal and “purchased CDL” drivers. Looks like California and some other states may lose their ability to issue CDL licenses. Fuck those enabling assholes.

26. Jeez. Never give tracks guy something that runs on rubber, he will break it every time.

    Glad you are OK, needless to say I never had an issue, but then again, they looked fine from the outside. They were a bit long in the tooth tho.

    I was in NO about 2 years ago (during COVID) lets just say it wqas nowhere near as fun as I remembered it from the 90’s pre-Katrina. Everything was crappier, and I probably won’t be going back, I have been in 3rd world countries I felt safer using water from the tap in. As I recall, last I was in NO, I turned on the faucet in the hotel, looked at the water coming out that looked darker than some coffee I have been served, and noped out – used bottled water for my morning ablutions. The Hotel was a nicer one downtown where we were having an ABA “GMT” type evolution for the continuing learning requirements, needless to say I was taken aback.

27. Check the spare for rot. My recent flat left me, well flat. Spare was rotted flat too.
    And AAA. The have gone to hell. They showed up without car hauler after I was specific in my needs. So more wait. I ended calling a buddy who towed me home.

    1. i still have the original spare to my 2001 350 super duty.

       still holds air- ‘looks fine’. LOL

       all new rubber on the wheels..

28. your story about your confession brought tears to my eyes.

29. Been a class A CDL driver for 30+ years and seen a lot of stoopid shit. I advised my loved ones to NEVER stop on the shoulder for a flat or other trouble unless ABSOLUTELY necessary. Drive it to an exit ramp or someplace safer, damaged wheel or other stuff be damned…

    Good to hear you received some spiritual recharging…

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