Yesterday I drove down from Las Vegas to my home here in Tucson. The occasion of course, is Christmas, and we had a most wonderful Christmas Eve here with one friend and one neighbor coming over for visiting. There is that part of me that thinks I should be in San Jose instead at my parents' house, but I think that that kind of trip won't happen until March or May of next year. I will have more vacation balance added come January 1, and I don't want to do that kind of trip until the weather is warmer.
My trip down here was largely uncomplicated. I did witness something in west Phoenix yesterday that's still on my mind.
I witnessed a serious accident yesterday. This was along mile marker 135 on I-10. I had joined I-10 from Loop 303, and at this section of the Interstate, you've got four/five lanes not counting the carpool lane.
All was pretty much well until I noticed a whole lot of brake lights coming on. I immediately hit my flashers to let the tailgater behind me know that something was amiss. My initial thought was that there was a slowdown. I was quickly disabused of that notion when I noticed that a smaller size RV was having stability problems.
At that point I was in the lane next to the carpool lane. The RV was about five car lenghs ahead and he was three, maybe four lanes over to the right. I'm quickly noticing that he's losing control, his swerving around causing the other drivers to hit their brakes. It was after that that it quickly happened.
The RV immediately crossed all of the lanes to his left. As thick as it was, it is a miracle that he didn't hit anybody. He immediately crossed all lanes and landed in the median. I watched him traverse those lanes as if he were a southern Californian, and land in the median, whereupon he overturned and landed on his roof. A lot of dust from the median was kicked up and visibility went to zero. I was able to come to a full stop and not get hit by the guy behind me, who was probably not a southern Californian since he had been warned by my flashers that I was slowing down. (Aside:: a southern Californian driver will tailgate you no matter what. If you don't believe me, try driving in Las Vegas sometime, where former southern Californians, by their driving habits, have driven up insurance rates to twice what they otherwise would be.)
When the visibility cleared, I started driving again, and as I slowly passed by, I noticed drivers ahead of me pulling over to render assistance. At that time I temporarily lost all semblance of appetite, and I wanted to go somewhere and throw up. What I saw wasn't pleasant. I'm thinking, would I have had my truck totalled if I had left my apartment 15 seconds earlier? What I saw yesterday gave me nightmares last night. I dreamt of driving around Tucson and seeing cars ahead of me wildly spin out.
I went online this morning to learn more about what I saw. The driver and one other person, presumably a passenger, survived, but were taken to a hospital with serious injuries. I-10 was backed up for several miles in each direction for several hours. No other details are available.
Last year when I did the Christmas drive here, I remember that there had been an accident in the Chandler/Gilbert area of I-10. I was tempted yesterday to go a little out of my way and bypass Phoenix by going thru Gila Bend.
I may give in to the temptation to do that when it's time to return to Trashcan.......excuse me........Las Vegas.
Friday, December 25, 2015
Thursday, December 3, 2015
The Events in San Bernardino
News of the shootings in San Bernardino broke about noon yesterday. As with all events of this nature, there weren't very many known details at first. One report said one gunman and another said three. One headline that briefly appeared on Drudge said the shooters were white while another one that briefly appeared said that they were of Middle Eastern origin, both of which conflicted with more reliable reports that the shooters were masked and were possibly wearing body armor. About all that was known with certainty was that they were on a mission. They went in, shot several people, and then left.
This of course, triggered all sorts of speculation, and yes, I was partaking in that as well. At work I was suggesting that a fourth person was involved, and they could be heading right here to Vegas. I figured that if three shooters could go in and get out quickly, that a fourth drove the getaway SUV that we were hearing about.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Nevada Highway Patrol sent fifteen units between to set up at where I-15 crosses the state line, suggesting that they had either had intelligence that they were on their way over here, or were taking a precaution. They were waiting at Primm just in case, and a few hours later it was breaking that the suspect SUV was located and gunfire was being exchanged.
As can be expected, some politicians were quick to jump on the gun control bandwagon, before we even knew who was involved and where/how the weapons were obtained. From what I've been able to determine, all guns were legally purchased, with two of them having been picked up in Corona. At this point in time, the news reports I've read about this is suggesting that these were "straw" purchases, already illegal under federal law, and there likely is a California law against these types of purchases as well. The gun control proposals being suggested would of course, never prevented this tragedy, and if straw purchases were indeed the case here then the appropriate thing to do is to make an example of those involved and send them off to Federal lockup until they are carried out in a body bag (though I'd be OK with them facing a firing squad for this).
One other reaction I'll note is the headline of the New York Daily News, suggesting that God isn't fixing this. That's pretty rich, coming from people who don't want God involved in any way, shape or form in the first place. Seems as if some in Organized Media have as much of a problem with the First Amendment as they do with the Second. However, I think I'd like to see them beat this drum more loudly tomorrow, so that those who haven't made up their mind will take note of this foolish grandstanding and be alienated from the media.
As for "jihad" finally coming to our shores..........the junior varsity team, you know, the one that's been "contained", is celebrating this, but they're not taking responsibility. But that doesn't mean that they won't try. I'd bet money on them planning terrorist attacks as I write this.
Meanwhile, the left in this country is in hysterics. There's no Confederate flag involved here, and the Tea Party isn't responsible either. And although I have lost count of the number of online comments from them blaming the NRA, the reality is that California has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, all of which failed the victims yesterday.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families this evening.
This of course, triggered all sorts of speculation, and yes, I was partaking in that as well. At work I was suggesting that a fourth person was involved, and they could be heading right here to Vegas. I figured that if three shooters could go in and get out quickly, that a fourth drove the getaway SUV that we were hearing about.
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and the Nevada Highway Patrol sent fifteen units between to set up at where I-15 crosses the state line, suggesting that they had either had intelligence that they were on their way over here, or were taking a precaution. They were waiting at Primm just in case, and a few hours later it was breaking that the suspect SUV was located and gunfire was being exchanged.
As can be expected, some politicians were quick to jump on the gun control bandwagon, before we even knew who was involved and where/how the weapons were obtained. From what I've been able to determine, all guns were legally purchased, with two of them having been picked up in Corona. At this point in time, the news reports I've read about this is suggesting that these were "straw" purchases, already illegal under federal law, and there likely is a California law against these types of purchases as well. The gun control proposals being suggested would of course, never prevented this tragedy, and if straw purchases were indeed the case here then the appropriate thing to do is to make an example of those involved and send them off to Federal lockup until they are carried out in a body bag (though I'd be OK with them facing a firing squad for this).
One other reaction I'll note is the headline of the New York Daily News, suggesting that God isn't fixing this. That's pretty rich, coming from people who don't want God involved in any way, shape or form in the first place. Seems as if some in Organized Media have as much of a problem with the First Amendment as they do with the Second. However, I think I'd like to see them beat this drum more loudly tomorrow, so that those who haven't made up their mind will take note of this foolish grandstanding and be alienated from the media.
As for "jihad" finally coming to our shores..........the junior varsity team, you know, the one that's been "contained", is celebrating this, but they're not taking responsibility. But that doesn't mean that they won't try. I'd bet money on them planning terrorist attacks as I write this.
Meanwhile, the left in this country is in hysterics. There's no Confederate flag involved here, and the Tea Party isn't responsible either. And although I have lost count of the number of online comments from them blaming the NRA, the reality is that California has some of the strictest gun laws in the nation, all of which failed the victims yesterday.
My thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families this evening.
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