Lorelei Longshot, SASS #44256 Life

We had a small parrot (I think they are called beegee parrots) when I was a child. We were teaching her to say "cracker." What she learned was, "Say cracker. Cracker." She stayed out on the screened porch since we didn't have air conditioning and would yell, "Shut up, Chris." when the dog barked. Once she told the mailman "Hi stupid" as he walked past the porch which had bushes and vines that hid her from view. When anyone knocked on the screen door, she'd yell, "Come in Pat" who was our next door neighbor. Every time the telephone rang, she'd say "Hello, then mumble something for a while, then say Good bye."

Picked up my new Stoeger Uplander coachgun a few minutes ago. Will shoot it this weekend at Thunder River Renegades. Thanks to Long Hunter Shooting Supply it is 12.5 in. LOP and slicked up, ready to go. I'm a happy camper or rather happy shooter.

Prayers up. Keep us updated.

When I volunteered at the Girl Scout Camp Misty Meadows which was the horse camp, we had a "no tie" named Red that when he wasn't being ridden in the ring, had his lead rope thrown over the fence rail at the far end of the ring because at one time, years and years ago, he pulled back when tied. One day, he was loose tied while we were having the troopers ride in the ring to show they could safely start, stop, and turn their horse before taking them out on a short trail ride. Red decided he didn't want to miss out on the fun and joined the rest of the horses doing start, stop, reverse with his lead rope dangling until the riders were ready to leave the ring to go on the trail ride when we stopped him and held him long enough for all the other horses to go on the trail ride.

All y'all that have the wonderful "cold" weather, PLEASE, PLEASE send some of it down to Texas. We went from winter to summer in one week's time. Yes, 93 in Houston yesterday and 90s expected all this week. In addition horrible rain, thunder, and hail in Groesbeck and Mexia, TX this weekend (Defend Old Fort Parker annual match) that flooded streets, roads, and made pastures into lakes. Cattle standing at the fence line in a foot of water. Pastures and fields were lakes even on Sunday. With 100% humidity on Sunday, temperatures in the high 80s, and NO breeze, I was only able to complete 4 of the 5 stages on Sunday. I'm not used to this hot, this early and not acclimated yet.

Lorelei knew Mary was working part-time at the livery stable, so she got up early so she could stop by to see Calico before the children arrived for school. Mary was working hard cleaning and mucking stalls when she got there, but was willing to take a minute to talk with her. "Mary, I'm real worried about all the bad things happening lately so I really would like you to help me pick out a suitable rifle and six gun today, if possible and start teaching me how to use both." Calico agreed and they planned to get together right after school to meet and go purchase the guns. Lorelei had cut up several pieces of the paper that she only rarely used and gave them to Mary, who she knew was a fairly accomplished artist in addition to all her other talents. She told Mary to draw pictures of all the farm animals, wild animals, birds, and farm implements on each side of the pieces leaving room at the bottom of each. She planned to use these to begin teaching Mary to read before getting started with the copy of McGuffey's First Eclectic Reader that she had back at the school house.

Colorado Coffinmaker - I had SMSG math in 7th grade back in the dark ages (1961). I always thought it was stupid to learn about base 7 and base 12. Still think it is stupid. Now base 2 - useful for understanding computer programing probably. Dustin Checotah - I NEVER could get how a slide rule worked. I am amazed that they don't teach it anymore, but with all the new calculators and phone apps, I think it is a forgotten art. One day we'll regret not teaching how to use slide rules.

First - I am a retired (after 28 years) elementary school teacher that taught all subjects. Texas didn't adopt Common Core, but basically most of the math you do is "in your head," not with pencil and paper. The "new math" is just another way to simplify problem solving so the students understand it. I always made my students show a second (and sometimes a third) way that the math problem could be solved and explain their answer/thinking. That way I "knew" they actually understood the process. If they didn't, I showed them another way to solve after they tried to solve on their own. (If they couldn't explain how they got the answer, then they probably just copied from someone else and didn't understand on their own.) Yes, the old ways work for us old folks, but I remember rote memorization without actually understanding what was happening and why. Many years later as a teacher I finally understood the whys. Today's education also uses manipulatives to help show the process. Manipulatives can be little cubes for ones, a stack of ten cubes for tens, and a flat of 100 cubes for hundred, and so on. It does make a big difference when students "manipulate" these manipulatives to show how they solved the problem. One of the biggest problems I saw before I retired is that concepts were pushed to lower and lower grade levels, and more and more objectives per year meant teachers only had a "fixed" amount of time to cover an objective (i.e. measurement, multiplication, etc.) before "moving on" to another objective. Lots of kids can't "get it" in the short period of time you have to teach all these objectives.

McCandless, As for misses, most of the time things just flow properly. There's rarely a problem. But sometimes, if I believe their call was questionable, I can certainly poll them. For instance, a shooter was awarded a miss recently, when I saw he hit all the targets. When I asked the spotters, I got the response: 1. "I'm not sure, he might have missed it." 2. "I think he missed the last rifle target." 3. "I didn't hear it hit." Ok, the R.O. can't overrule the spotters, but one's not sure, one thinks, and one didn't hear it... those aren't calls, those are guesses. So, if you're the R.O., what would you do? If you THINK it is a MISS, it is a HIT. SASS rule book p. 24 In this case, I would ask again after reminding the spotters of this RULE.

Page 24 Shooters Handbook - Remember: The benefit of any doubt always goes to the shooter. I too don't count unless it is absolutely necessary as I too wear hearing aids and depending on the kind of timer, I sometimes even have to have the TO touch my shoulder when the timer goes off. When I do have to spot due to very small posse, I'm super careful to WATCH the targets so I can tell if they were hit or not. I keep my fingers hidden and don't look at the other spotters to see what they are showing. I even try to tell the shooter which target or at least which gun, rifle or pistol, had the miss. Yes, there are some "Spot Spotters," but luckily they are usually outnumbered by excellent spotters that do an excellent job.

One thing that bothers me is when a spotter calls a miss "because I didn't hear the ding." Some targets ring louder than others, some are almost silent, and some hearing impaired spotters that wear hearing aids are almost deaf with hearing protection in their ears. The benefit of the doubt goes to the shooter. If you THINK it is a MISS, it is a HIT.

Widder, The key in the OP was that there were 20 hits on the freshly painted targets, so the spotters need to give the benefit of the doubt to the shooter. It is harder to tell if you're not the first shooter on freshly painted targets, but ALWAYS the benefit of the doubt goes to the shooter. Some spotters do a GREAT job and watch carefully from positions that allow them to see hits and misses, but some think that spotting isn't so important, don't position themselves where they CAN SEE all the targets, and don't watch carefully, then just put up the same number of fingers that the other two spotters hold up. Three spotters - one calls one miss, one calls two misses, and the third calls three misses. In my not so humble opinion, all three agreed on one miss, but two agreed on two misses so two it is unless there is clear evidence to the contrary. They need to discuss and look for evidence of where the hits are and which target (rifle or pistol) had the miss or misses before recording the number of misses.

Contact Steve Jones (Nate Kiowa Jones) in I believe Burnett, TX first. Steve@stevesgunz.com He has handled the sale of numerous guns for me and just might know where to get a great deal on any gun you want to purchase. He also works on guns other than Rossi, but is known as the Rossi Man and has done fantastic work on some of my guns that needed tweaking.

Been there and done that. At a major state match I had 9 out of 10 clean stages, and you could have timed me with a sun dial on stage 10 as I was shooting so S L O W, aiming SO CAREFULLY on center of targets, and still managed to have a miss with my rifle which I rarely miss with. Most of my misses are usually with my pistol.

If you THINK it is a miss, it is a HIT. Some spotters still don't get that especially with black powder shooters which is why I usually shoot first, especially on freshly painted targets. Doesn't help if another posse has already shot the stage though. This isn't a life and death situation and no one is competing for the gold Cadillac, so PLEASE remember to get the benefit of doubt to the shooter. Also some spotters are better than others especially when spotting for black powder shooters. Where they stand makes a big difference in what they see and how they call misses. The spotters that make me angry are the ones that look to the other two spotters before showing their count and hold up the exact same number and weren't really watching while spotting. Ramblin Gambler- some spotters see a furrow of dirt or dirt shower and IMMEDIATELY call it a miss especially with bp shooters when in reality it was a HIT.

Cheyenne, Would it be possible to get a little of your sourdough starter? I would love to make some sourdough bread, but don't have any starter anymore.

Sorry about that Rye, I was typing from a handwritten list and missed your name by accident. Just corrected the list. Did I miss anyone else??????

Grizz, Me too. Tracey Needham seemed a much "stronger, sure of herself" person. The only one worse was whoever was on the pilot and later a couple of episodes. Can't remember her name at all right now.

As Lorelei was in Calamity Kris's dress shop/millinery trying on the lovely purple dress, she thought she saw Calico drive by outside in her wagon . She asked Kris if she knew if Calico had a fancy dress for the dance , and if not, had she been in to look at one. Kris said Calico hadn't bought a new dress since years before her parents died, but had heard from Cayenne Kay that Okie had dropped a $20 gold piece down the back of her dress the other day while at the general store, but knowing Calico, she would return it to Okie the first chance that she saw him. Lorelei was thinking that Calico would probably give her a lot of grief if she tried to pay her for shooting lessons, so she decided to use some of her new found wealth to pay for a dress for Calico. While it wouldn't be as expensive or as fancy as the one imported from New York, Calico deserved a new dress. That way, even if she returned the money to Okie, she'd have a new dress to wear to the dance. Maybe if she had a new dress she would use at least some of the $20 to buy a new hat to go with the dress. When she shared that idea with Kris, Kris thought it was an excellent idea and said she was making one up in dark blue that could be fitted for Calico. Now they just had to figure out a way to get Calico to the dress shop to get fitted. After getting Lorelei's new dress fitted and pinned, Kris said she'd finish tailoring it today and hoped they could get Calico in within the next couple of days. After she left the dress shop, Lorelei stopped by the general store to talk to Sixgun Seamus about a rifle and pistol. She knew he had a fancy brand new one that he had just gotten in, but Lorelei didn't need something that expensive. She just needed a reliable rifle in the same caliber as the pistol she was going to get, and she knew sometimes Seamus and Kay took guns in trade for supplies.

Characters so far - Calico Mary – lives with brother Charlie aka Evil Charlie – aka Evil – Mary’s brother, aka Critter to Mary Doc Ward – owns livery stable Blackwater – blacksmith Hardpan Curmudgeon – newspaper owner/editor Calamity Kris – owns dress shop/millinery Grumpy Old Man – owns butcher shop Sixgun Seamus and wife Cayenne Kay – own general store Cayenne Kay – wife of Sixgun Seamus Prairie Dawg – town mayor & banker J. Mark Flint – lawyer, works at land office, installed town’s telegraph Tyrel Cody – sheriff Okie Sawbones – doctor Whiskey Business – runs saloon Michigan Slim – bartender Rye Miles - piano player Linn Keller – preacher Lorelei Longshot – schoolmarm Sedalia Dave - owner S Bar D ranch Stirrup Trouble – ranch hand at S Bar D Gateway Kid – ranch hand at S Bar D Utah Bob – owner of Lazy B ranch with Badger Mountain Charlie & Chickasaw Bill Badger Mountain Charlie – partner with Utah Bob and Chickasaw Bill Chickasaw Bill – partner with Utah Bob and Badger Mountain Charlie Shotgun Willie Nelson – lives in the hills

That night Lorelei reflected on what a great progressive thinking town that Stone Creek was and how lucky she was to have a teaching position here. Not only did she earn a whopping $10 a month which was almost unheard of as many teachers only made $4 a month, Stone Creek provided her with a "real" house next to the school building to live in instead of a soddy or having her "board round" meaning moving from one students' house to another as often as every week. The parents of her students also frequently sent provisions with the students such as fresh eggs and milk, and often fresh vegetables. Often times she was invited for Sunday dinner after church. As she drifted off to sleep, she knew that she needed to donate some of her new-found wealth to the purchase of the new piano for the church to let the town know just how much she appreciated everything they do for her. She also thought about actually paying Calico for shooting lessons as she knew Calico could certainly use the money.

Lorelei could hardly believe her good fortune. When Evil accompanied her home, they had stopped by the telegraph office where she found out that someone had purchased 10 acres of the property she and her brother, Lazarus, owned back in her hometown. He had wire transferred a whopping $100 to her as her half. She was practically rich now and would be able to purchase not only the rifle, but a pistol as well since Calico had convinced her she needed to learn to shoot one and carry it at all times especially in light of the recent happenings. She and Evil had seen Rye and J. Mark leaving town with some bodies in the back of the wagon with Slim and Linn riding on horseback along side. Something awful had happened, but she'd get the details when they returned. She decided that tomorrow she would visit Miss Kris and buy that new beautiful dress and hat to wear to the dance that Miss Kris had just gotten in from New York. Purple was one of Lorelei's favorite colors and the matching hat had beautiful peacock feathers topped off with a black velvet bow. It would be the fanciest dress and hat she had ever owned. She just hoped no one else had purchased it yet as it would be perfect to wear to the dance.

Even though I can use my phone hands-free while driving, 1. the phone has to be on which it isn't normally and 2. if I have to call someone while driving I always find a parking lot and pull over to make the call because even using the hands-free could be enough of a disruption in concentration while driving to cause an accident. Where I live there is a law that prohibits cell phone usage while in school zones unless hands-free, but I still see people using their phones. Even worse is seeing people driving holding their cell phone and dialing, texting, or even talking.

I have an outdated by 5 newer models Samsung phone that is almost never even turned on. I have it in the car when going anywhere just in case of an emergency. I don't use it for email or internet except for the bank application to deposit checks instead of driving to the bank in person. I have used the flashlight and the camera feature a few times.

There was a girl named Female pronounced fe mal e and several Princes and Princesses at the elementary where I taught.