I have a container fetish.
My obsession with things designed to hold other things lives in the gray area between practicality and neurosis. I’m drawn to the ingenious, the durable and the beautiful — fabric or wood, metal or plastic. it doesn’t matter.
Feeding my addiction was time spent camping, backpacking and touring the country by motorcycle, all pursuits that benefit from organization, easy access and weatherproofing. Over the years I amassed a ridiculous collection of bags, totes, pouches and sacks. And even when I became (by some definition) less active, I kept right on accumulating cool containers.
Now I’m engaged in a great purge of personal possessions. As I sift through my stuff, it’s like my past is having a going-out-of-business sale. There’s no point in being sentimental about it — that only slows me down. Everything (almost) must go.
That means bidding farewell to backpacks, waist packs, shoulder bags, sling bags and all manner of zippered pouches. I’m getting rid of most of my “tactical nylon,” too, including a 5.11 range bag the size of a steamer trunk.
I’ll be keeping a small SIG range bag, a bunch of Granite City envelope pouches, an assortment of stuff sacks, a JanSport backpack, a few Maxpedition bags, a couple of prototype Blackhawks and, of course, every single piece of Eberlestock gear I’ve ever bought. (That’d be four packs.)
If that sounds like a lot, consider that I’m unloading 90% of what I own.
Yesterday I gathered what I’m hanging onto, packing it for storage and, ultimately, The Move to The Mountain. I combined that gear with my accumulated knives (another fetish of mine) into five 27-gallon totes.
I ran out of room — that is, I had stuff left over and no place to stow it. Ok, a few sleeping bags (which aren’t knives and not really containers) took up some of that space, but still… anyway, at that point there was only one thing to do.
Naturally, I went out and bought more containers. Purge or not, I might just have a problem.
When I hear someone say, “We get what we deserve,” often it feels like an expression of resignation, an admission of futility. And I’ve been hearing it a lot lately, too, from places like southeast Ohio and upstate New York and Michigan’s UP, as Liberty-loving citizens chafe against progressives’ unmaking of their communities, their states and their country.
“We asked for it,” they say, even though they themselves didn’t. They shake their heads at the news of 51 dead illegals in a tractor-trailer and point out, “We saw that coming.” When crime spikes in Democrat-run cities nationwide they acknowledge the cause-effect.
I don’t know how many right-thinking Americans live in the LA suburb of West Hollywood — they probably could hold a meeting in a tanning booth — but crime there is up 137% over last year. The disturbing jump includes assault, arson, burglary, human trafficking, murder, and rape.
That demands a response, wouldn’t you say?
The West Hollywood council did indeed respond, voting yesterday to cut funding for LA County Sheriff patrols and shift the city’s resources toward unarmed “security ambassadors.” As one council member said after the vote,
“Prioritizing people’s safety doesn’t just mean people with badges and guns on the street. We have to find another way to keep our residents safe in a way that is affordable.”
According to another member it’s all about… wait for it… “re-imagining policing.” While it de-funded cops in the face of an unprecedented crime wave, the West Hollywood council approved 50 grand for a cultural arts festival.
You can’t make that shit up. With wokesters running the show, you don’t have to.
They’ll get what they deserve. Crime in West Hollywood will keep increasing because they asked for it. Yes, we see it coming.
And now I’d like to point out the obvious, at least what’s obvious to citizens of Free America — it should come as no surprise to see rising crime in the People’s Republic of California, or record-setting murder rates in Chicago and Philly and a dozen other big cities. Progressive policies, from no-bail laws to soft prosecution, make those places crime-friendly, and “gun control” that effectively disarms the populace makes criminals all but fearless.
Every vote for a Democrat or a progressive Republican perpetuates The Unmaking of America. If enough people keep doing that, we’ll all get what we deserve.
One year ago today we got a relaxing start before heading out in a borrowed Jeep Wrangler (thanks to our Canadian friends) to look for our very own Jeep Wrangler. We drove all over the Harrison area and looked at a lot of ’em, but we didn’t find one we liked enough to make it our toad.
(Or so we thought.)
Take care of yourselves, Patriots. Stay calm. Stay sharp. Stay free.
#WiseUp #LibertyOrDeath
#LetsGoBrandon #FJB