It’s been almost five months since Deb and I walked our homesite on The Mountain with a local contractor, refining our plans for where the house will go and understanding what’ll need to be done to put it there. We felt extraordinarily comfortable with the guy, his experience and his expertise, and we decided to have him do the work — eventually.
Yesterday we sat down in our office here at Second Chance Ranch, picked up the phone and called him. We were delighted that he remembered us and our property, right down to small details we talked about in January.
We gave him the green light to begin construction.
Nothing will happen right away, of course. He’ll re-issue his quote and we’ll send him partial payment. Months ago his company had 62 jobs on the books — today that number is 78, so our go-ahead only secures our place in line.
When he brings his equipment and his crew onto The Mountain he’ll build the driveway and prepare the spot on which the house will sit, along with creating an adjacent parking pad and a place for our shed when we haul it up from Deb’s cousin’s place. It’ll require a little more clearing of trees and some excavating, followed by a lot of fill and compacting.
Last, he’ll pour the concrete pad for the house, which he’ll do in consultation with the builder from which we’re sourcing the kit and the guy who’s putting in our septic system.
After he leaves there will be a lot more work to do — septic, well, electric and framing the house — but this is a big step toward making our dream real. We’re all smiles here.
Matthew McConaughey sure is smooth. He’s also wrong, alright? Alright? Alright.
He and his wife met with the current occupant of the Oval Office yesterday, after which he appeared in the briefing room and waxed glib to the press corps about “gun control.” Oh, he never used the term, but that’s what he was there to hawk. Like this:
“We need background checks. We need to raise the minimum age to purchase an AR-15 rifle to 21. We need a waiting period for those rifles. We need red-flag laws and consequences for those who abuse them.”
And this:
“We got a chance for, right now, to reach for and grasp a higher ground, above our political affiliations. A chance to make a choice that does more than protect your party. A chance to make a choice that protects our country now and for the next generation.”
It was dramatic, personal and conveyed a sense of humility — while he stood at that podium he was the best communicator in The White House. (He is an actor, after all.) Basically he made an impassioned plea for public policy that values temporary safety over essential Liberty.
A recurring theme of McConaughey’s soliloquy was drawing a clear distinction between those who share his opinions and Americans who dare to disagree:
“Responsible gun owners are fed up with the Second Amendment being abused and hijacked by some deranged individuals.”
“We need responsible gun ownership — responsible gun ownership”
He said it ten times — “responsible.”
Now if you listened to his presentation and surmised that he’s a remorseful gun-totin’ Texan moved to action by the murder of 19 schoolchildren in his hometown of Uvalde, allow me to disabuse you of that notion. McConaughey, who describes himself as “aggressively centrist,” has a history.
He stands with gun-grabbers, marches with gun-grabbers, conspires with and is adored by gun-grabbers. Go back to what he said at a 2018 rally in Austin:
“Let’s ban the assault weapons for civilians. This is a no-brainer. And to my friends out there, that are responsible owners of these assault weapons that they use for recreation, please let’s take one for the team and set it down.”
So that’s what he means by “responsible gun ownership” — law-abiding Americans willing to give up their birthright because of crimes committed by others.
Don’t be seduced. Matthew McConaughey is a Hollywood progressive who hides behind his drawl and his Texas roots to fool people, on-screen and off.
I’m not fooled.
One year ago today we were chillin’ again in more ways than one. For the first time in a couple of weeks we had a working refrigerator, and we were camped with friends in a woodsy setting in Texas. Life was good — again.
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB