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A BLANKET, A BEAUTY, A STARLIT NIGHT Old Pale Eyes sat on his front porch rocker, looked out at the mountains. He'd been busy all day. There was always work, and he was not one to let a task slide: there were had hired men, yes, just as his household had a hired girl, but he'd grown up tending the necessaries of everyday life, and he was not about to quit now that his son was Sheriff and he was retired. He'd forged out a set of gate hinges earlier, and pleased he was that he could still command metal to his will: the hinges on the kitchen cupboards were of his manufacture, as were the cupboards themselves, and a good job they were. Linn rocked a little, considered the length of the shadows, noted their deepening shade; sunlight was red on the mountain tops, setting snowcaps afire with blazing glory, a portrait painted by the Master, for him and him alone. The door opened; he heard a light step, smiled just a little. Dana, his little blue-eyed daughter Dana, came out, pressed a sweating-cold glass into his hand. He took a sip, took another, smiled. "Join me?" he murmured. He'd had a double rocker made years before, made it for he and his wife to sit in: his Esther, his green-eyed beauty, was dead and buried, and he missed her, and out of respect for her memory, nobody sat in the double rocker. Not without Linn's personal and particular invitation. Dana sat, with the easy grace of an athletic young woman; Linn's arm laid out over her shoulders, and his little girl -- girl no more! he thought -- leaned her head over on her Daddy's still-muscled shoulder and sighed contentedly. "There's a memory behind that sigh," Linn said quietly, then took another sip. Tea it was, brewed and cooled, sweetened and chilled: Dana made it especially for him, and he never took for granted that she thought enough of him to make it. Dana nodded a little, her head barely moving on his shoulder: she smelled of sunlight and fresh air, of soap and lilac, just like her green-eyed Mama, rest her soul. "I remember, Daddy," she said softly, and her hand laid gently over on his scarred, weathered knuckles. "What do you remember, darlin'?" Dana smiled, squeezed her Daddy's hand. Dana was yet a wee child, all curly hair and long coltish legs and big blue eyes. Dana was a sweet child and she was Daddy's girl, and when the special church service was followed with meetings and with a late meal at the Silver Jewel, when unexpected business delayed the Sheriff, it made for an unexpectedly late evening for the family. Dana was like any child: she was full of restless energy, she contained and controlled it as was proper for a young lady under her very proper Mama's tutelage, but as they drove back from town, Dana yawned a terribly wide yawn, and leaned against her big strong Daddy's shoulder, and Linn looked over her head at his wife, who smiled down at their little girl. Linn drew the dapple to a halt, set the brake; he reached behind the seat, lifted the lid and pulled out a quilt they kept for such moments: he stood, picked up Dana's relaxed form, and Esther lay the quilt out on the seat: Linn set Dana back down and quickly, efficiently, covered her -- from the left, then overlapping, from the right -- he picked her up, set her on his lap, cocooned in hand sewn comfort -- and with his little girl on his lap, her head back over his shoulder and his arm around her, he eased off the brake, one-handed the reins and drove the rest of the way home. He always did enjoy the night sky, when he was not obliged to be under it; tonight he was there by choice, he and his wife, for the meeting was for the town's betterment, and voices had been raised in accord on a variety of subjects: husband, wife and daughter were returning home with a sense of accomplishment -- at least, husband and wife -- their daughter felt pleasure at having been included, for such matters were often exclusively for adults. Dana's hand squeezed her Papa's and he felt her smile. "I remember," she almost whispered, and Linn nodded, slowly. He heard the smile in her voice and he felt a quiet satisfaction that his child had a memory at which she could smile. "It was late, it was after a meeting," she murmured. "I was ... small ... and tired, and I remember you wrapped me in a quilt and held me on your lap as we drove home." Linn nodded again, slowly. "I never felt safer, or more loved." Linn's good right hand was laid over his pretty young daughter's shoulder; he squeezed it, gently, drew her a little closer, just a little, the way a father will in such moments. He drained the last of the cold, sweet tea. "You deserve to feel like that," he said quietly. "Mama always did." Father and daughter rocked, slowly, in the deepening evening, as stars began to peek down through wispy clouds over the mountains. "Darlin', when the time comes," Linn said in that deep and comforting voice Dana loved so well, "find yourself a young man that will make you feel just as safe and just as protected." Linn looked over at her, wiggled his mustache like he used to when she was a giggly little girl. "Y'know," he said, "it doesn't get much better than this." "What's that, Daddy?" "A quiet night, all them stars, a beautiful young woman ... all I need now's a quilt and a buggy." Dana laughed, hugged her Papa: "Oh, Daddy," she giggled, and then she rose, and took the empty glass from his hand, and went back into the house, and left an old man alone on the porch with his memories.

That reminds me of illegitimate children, or biracial children. They catch all kinds of crap. "YOU'RE A BASTARD!!!" "YOU'RE A HALF BREED!!!" Not their fault. Their parents are the ones that decided to have children without getting married. Their parents are the ones that decided that they were going to "mate outside their race" . But nobody yells at the parents. They give the kids grief. It ain't Star Wars' fault what Disney did.

Taurus bought Rossi, Rossi offers a flashy package, city kids buy them up. These are still bringing a premium.

Certain commemorative models qualify since they are “collector” firearms They are on the list with the ATF see below

How does this qualify to ship to a C&R?

Yep, I do it just like that. But, sometimes faster and sometimes slower…

Sad indeed. Condolences Bill, we'll all miss him at the EOT work parties.

If antique, check e-bay. Very rarely do they come with the decapping pin. The decapping pin is sometimes available on e-bay separately. Just checked. There is one 44-40 1882 Winchester tool without decapping pin up for bid.

Nice pics. UB. Whatever happened to the solar farm they were threatening to build across the road? LL

I think this is a coming trend. Have you seen those gold or brass looking rifle scopes? They’re odd looking, but I think they might look good on a gun with gold or brass decorations and bling. I am kidding

Reruns

Dead Blow Synthetic

WJ started it! Still over three hours to go!

Same here.

More information needed.

The weekend’s here. Enjoy.

The little Tankenstein. Baby tank built by the Army 9th Air force Service Command Ordnance Section from German, French, and American parts.

I only carried about half a dozen.

I got an email. Davidson's is pushing this Rossi 92. Looks like a standard 92 SRC. What's different? Gold barrel bands, hammer, trigger, lever, and butt plate. I see nothing wrong with a gold trigger. Marlin used to do it. Browning used to do it. But the barrel bands? The butt plate? The entire lever? Ugly. "PIMP MY GUN!"

Try Lassiter Tom's Single Action Shop 675 Crawford Road New Lebanon, OH 45345 (937) 687-1039

I agree and I wouldn't pay that for any "cowboy gun" that isn't a fairly accurate copy of anything.

I wonder if someone actually used this at night. That carbide lamp at any speed wouldn’t work worth a darn.

I wonder if the other end of the crowbar has a wrench? He's got a fire hose. If he was the first one to the fire, he could be hooking his hose up to the hydrant, assuming he had a wrench.