Remembrance - May 28th

 

I copied this post from 2022 to the top for the obvious reason. 

**SAY HER NAME**

Cassidy J. Wofford

July 5, 1988 to May 28, 2011

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

Obituary Link

I met this young lady on an EMS call a couple of years before her tragic death by suicide. That call was a suicide attempt where she had laid down in the middle of a back country road hoping someone would just run her over. An alert motorist saw her and called 911. I will not go into any of the details other than this; when we arrived at the hospital and I opened the doors to get the stretcher out, she was sitting on the stretcher facing me rocking back and forth, sucking her thumb, and weeping. As a Dad of a daughter myself, it absolutely broke my heart to see such a pathetic creature. To this day, my "bug-a-boo" ambulance call is what I call "the sad little girl." 12-23 years old, crying her eyes out, covered in cutter scars, sometimes telling tales of abuse; mental, physical, sexual, and probably being transported against her will by law enforcement for wanting to harm herself. My career and volunteer partners know this, and depending on the severity of the call will offer to tech it. I am getting better at handling these calls myself, but I think of Cassidy on every one.

From her clothing, she may have been a 1st Responder

One heckuva fish!

Proof she did have happy times in her short life

I had heard things about her life that if true, she had it rough, and those circumstances would drive anyone to the brink. I wish I could somehow turn back time and maybe do something more to prevent the final outcome. If you or someone you know is in crisis, PLEASE reach out for help to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline. Each year I do a benefit motorcycle ride called "Ride For Gage" that benefits the Jordan Porco Foundation for suicide prevention in September. I also see more than my share of successful suicides, and doing the death presumptions while the family is nearby SUCKS!

As a side note, the call involving Cassidy actually disturbed the other technicians, too. I was just the driver, but the other two were in the back doing patient care. In a casual conversation a few months later the subject of this call came up. Both guys said how it bothered them too, and how we probably should have talked earlier and gotten Critical Incident counseling as a group. Both of them are no longer in EMS, so they probably don't think about it any more.

Rest In Peace, Cassidy. Because I will never forget you.

Range Day 5-23-25

Wifey is away so I went to the range this morning after breakfast and a little housework. One of the guns I brought was my recent G-17 Gen. 3 with the newly installed Dawson Precision adjustable fiber optic sights. Ever since I've had that pistol, I had a hard time seeing the all black factory sights and even at 10 yards, could not seem to hit a fucking thing I was aiming at. I hoped these sights would be the answer. I also brought a couple of my new Kommiecticut verboten 17 round Gen. 5 mags for testing. I read some articles and forum posts about Glock mag compatibility. The conventional wisdom is that Gen. 5 mags are backwards compatible, but Gen. 3 mags won't work in a Gen. 5 pistol. But there were tons of posts about the new mags having difficulty in older pistols, so I grabbed a couple of random ones to test in the G-17 as well as my Ruger PCC-9. I have the Glock mag well in my PCC-9 and I don't believe the gun cares about Glock magazine generation. I also wanted to have some more range time with my Tisas CMP 1911A1. I loaded up my ammo can with an appropriate amount of boolits, made sure everything needed was in my range bag, and also loaded up my range tote box. The carbine is in a tactical rifle case, and the two pistols were in their respective Tupperware containers the guns came in.

I started with the G-17 using Kommiecticut legal 10 round mags loaded with 5 rounds and a 12" Caldwell spatter target against a sheet of plain brown paper set up at 25 yards. For aligning the sights at 25 yards, I braced the pistol on a sandbag rest. After a couple of 5 round groups to get used to it, I went for score. My group was right on with windage but high. A quick adjustment down and I was in the center. This is the first time I have been able to hit something I was aiming at. The fiber optic sights are easier to see, but it is readily apparent that I need to go to the eye doctor and get new glasses. I then loaded the mag with 10 rounds and put 5 on the paper and 5 ringing the permanently mounted steel plates at 25 yards. So satisfying to hit what you're aiming at. I loaded up one of the eee-vil 17 round mags with 17 of my target reloads and easily went through the entire mag without any hiccups. I then loaded 10 rounds of my purpose bought Federal HST 147gr. JHP to see how they functioned in the G-17. 10 rounds, 10 hits on the 25 yard plates. I put the Glock away.

Next I brought out the Ruger PCC-9 simply for testing the new 17 round mags. I grabbed the other unused mag, loaded it up, and fired 17 rounds without any issues. The PCC-9 sports a SIG-Sauer Romeo 5 red dot mounted on "witness" mounts so the iron sights are still usable. I was able to hit the 25 yard, 50 yard, 75 yard, and 100 yard plates easily. I had 6 rounds left in the box so I loaded them and blasted the plates again. We're not supposed to shoot the 25 yard plates with rifles, but since this is a pistol caliber carbine I bend the rules a bit and it causes no damage to the plates. I had brought another full 100 round box of my 9mm target reloads but decided not to break into it, and put away the Ruger.

I put up a fresh target at 25 yards and took out the 1911. My Maglula loader works great on double stack mags and is supposed to load single stack as well, but was less than satisfactory. The top of the mag kept getting stuck in the loader, making the loading operation not as smooth as with double stack. 1911 mags are easily loaded by hand so I ditched it to the range bag and did it manually. I bench rested this pistol as well to see where the fixed sights were at 25 yards, which is military qualifying range. Turns out they were pretty good, and again a trip to the eye doctor will improve my aim. The problem was the gun. I guess it would be classified as "FTF" because the gun kept not going fully into battery. Using the heel of my left hand I could get it to go and then fire. Trying to rack the slide to clear the malfunction for some reason was extremely difficult, but it would go. This happened at least once on every mag loaded with 5 rounds. I will be investigating a couple of items... doing an ammo "plunk test" using just the barrel and random live rounds dropped into the chamber to check for fit, and examining the extractor to make sure it isn't too stiff. Another reason given is a weak main spring, but this is definitely not the case. It is very strong which makes field stripping harder than I am used to. When the gun did function it worked well and hit hard like a 1911 should.

I had hoped to come home from the range and mow the lower yard, but what started out as a sprinkle has turned into a steady rain.... AGAIN! If it doesn't stop by 6:30 PM my evening fishing outing will be cancelled.... AGAIN!

The Look She Gives

Right before she plunges the detonator.

 

Do Not Comply - Armed Civil Disobedience

A really good friend has done me a solid both times he has gone north to the free states of New Hampshire and Maine, bringing me back Kommiecticut forbidden Glock G-17 seventeen round mags. They are exactly what I needed for one of my my current SHTF set ups. The 5 in the packages are the newest ones. They are now with my hidden stash. I have "legal" 10 rounders loaded up and handy to get the guns in quick action for normal circumstances. The empty packages will be disposed of in public trash cans around the area, not my household trash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As a review (lifted from my former blog and slightly updated):

The Tenets of the Armed Civil Disobedience of Non-Compliance

DENY-DEFY-DECEIVE-EVADE-RESIST-SMUGGLE-DEFEND

 

DENY - Deny the ownership of any weapons or other survival gear you may have, except to your MOST TRUSTED family members or friends. Even then, it should be on a "need to know" basis. The days of opening up a gun safe to show off what you have are long gone.

DEFY - tell government where to stick it by ignoring the unconstitutional intolerable acts they continue to pass into law. When they make you a felon by the stroke of a pen, because what you have done legally in the past they don't like is now illegal, just defy them. Take it from me, once you get the first "paper felony" the rest are easy. It has been demonstrated over and over that Armed Civil Disobedience frightens them into inaction. Carry across the imaginary line at the state border that turns you into a criminal for daring to exercise your Constitutional Rights.

DECEIVE - Take whatever measures necessary to secure your property. Never fill out any "state" paperwork if you can. Private transactions are just that; PRIVATE! Know your buyer-know your seller-cash only.

EVADE - Stay clear of law enforcement. Move "banned" property or any future banned property to a secure location. Subterranean mono vaults work quite well. Exercise your 4th and 5th Amendment Rights at all times. All questions by LE should only be answered by or in the presence of an attorney.

RESIST - Resist the efforts of the tyrants in their efforts to register and confiscate. Show up at rallies and demonstrations. Call and write your politicians. Vote the bastards out of office, and feel free to maintain "traitors lists" containing the names and full contact info (including home address) of those traitors that want to strip your rights. Make sure the tyrants know the list exists.

SMUGGLE - Travel to free states and buy whatever you want and can. Firearms are tougher to do, unless it is a private sale. Cash only - know your buyer - know your seller. Magazines, ammo, blades, supplies, etc. Bring it back to your forbidden zone and stash it. Buy extra to distribute. Some smuggling efforts, depending on where you live, require you to cross multiple forbidden zones. It just adds to the fun!

DEFEND - This was the newest addition. Be committed to the fact that if the tyrants ever get froggy enough to try forced arms confiscation, you will meet force with force. After all, if they are coming for you at zero-dark-thirty your life as you knew it is already over. Fight like a dead man with nothing to lose. Remember lips and hips. Shoot them in the fucking face! When the body count on both sides gets to intolerable levels, maybe that shit would stop. Maybe.

Conclave 2025

I was raised a Catholic, but abandoned going to Mass decades ago. I have five of the seven Holy Sacraments in my resume'; Baptism, Communion, Confession, Confirmation, and Holy Matrimony. Unless my wife passes away and I then decide to become a priest, the final one will be The Last Rites making six. Unless Mass EVER returns to the traditional Latin Mass of prior to the Second Vatican Council, I don't see myself ever going again, except for weddings and funerals. To me Novus Ordo seemed that it was more about collections and money than celebrating Jesus Christ, and Mass had just become more and more fucking goofy as they change prayers and responses.

That said, this is the 6th Conclave in my lifetime. Pope John XXIII died when I was a baby. Pope Paul VI served through most of my youth. Then came the super short tenure of John Paul I, followed by John Paul II. He was my favorite by far, being Polish and helping Reagan and Thatcher destroy the Soviet Union. Then came Benedict XVI who strangely resigned becoming "Pope Emeritus", giving us the now "Good Commie" Jorge' Bergoglio aka Pope Francis.

This is the first Conclave with this much online, social media, and news media coverage. I am watching the proceedings on Newsmax. While I don't give a rat's ass who becomes Pope, I do find the process interesting in a historical manner. I can't wait to see them lock and seal the doors.