The Three Amigos... Sage, Dixie & Wingnut!!!

Clouds & rays of sunshine this morning while I was having a cup of English Breakfast Tea on the view deck:



Just had an interview for an excellent job here in Benson, the work site 5 minutes from my home... did pretty well and there are several openings, so I'm hoping to land one of those positions. Pulling maintenance, wrenching on tractors, riding motors and the like, plus doing some landscaping in an aesthetic environment, complete with wildlife and primo scenery, LOL. Full benefits and accrued vacation, so I'll be riding a big ol' thumper out to the Stronghold soon enough... best of all, these folks don't care about the bogus felony out of Kalifornia, maybe I'll get that monkey off my back once and for all, yeah? The three guys who conducted the interview were cool and they appreciated my candor, so I hope to hear good news by next week.

"DON'T WRITE OFF THE SIDEWINDER TILL THE BOX GOES INTO THE HOLE!!!"

LOL...

They gotta know that Kalifornia sucks everything that is co#, so i hope they blow that 'charge' off and hire you!
I was arrested tres times and jailed three times in commieFornia, no felonies thankfully, just overniters in the drunk tank; along with the cast of mad max. Good Luck

Holy Cow!!! Didn't take long to get hired, I got the call a few short hours after my interview... I even drove to Tucson to get my drug screen out of the way, could've done that this morning but I wanted to see the historic Union Pacific Steam Locomotive "Big Boy" as it paid a visit to Benson. A huge crowd of several thousand people (some estimated the number at 5K) showed up to check out this bad boy, and I even shook hands with the mayor, a down-to-earth man unlike the common run of politicians. I told him I had just scored a job in Benson, and he laughed... glorious weather too, regular Chamber of Commerce weather for this burg. I snapped a few pics for y'all, reckon I'll post 'em now because I'm gonna be busy starting Monday. I'm actually parked outside the Benson Public Library right now, the library is closed but one can still glom onto their wi-fi in the parking lot, a tip I received months ago from one of the librarian gals, LOL. Remember, I don't have cable or Internet in my home yet, but with this job I can get that going pronto so I don't miss the latter part of the football season. Anyway, here are the pics, had a freight train and a Slamtrak special roll through before the Big Boy appeared on scene:



I should add that there are a number of "Big Boy" locomotives, this one is No. 4014 and it's the only one which is still operational. It's making a circuit tour of the West to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the completion of the Transcontinental Railroad. Google "Union Pacific Big Boy 4014" or "UP Big Boy 4014" to see more pics and videos. You hands who live east of southern Arizona, the Big Boy is headed your way, you can Google "Union Pacific Big Boy Tour Schedule" to learn more. These pics don't do justice to the crowd, there were indeed thousands of folks stretched out along the railroad tracks, but my pinner Canon cam couldn't capture them all. Met a few folks and shared some conversation while waiting for the train to arrive, all in all it was a fun little excursion, right near my home and the cost was zero, zip, zilch, nada, always a plus in my book, LOL. I have one more photo to post, guess I reached the limit here, but I'll tack it on in a moment, then I'm heading to the house to knock out some chores and eventually crack a cold beer.

Y'ALL HAVE NO IDEA HOW HAPPY I AM TO HAVE FINALLY SCORED A DECENT FULL-TIME JOB... TOOK LONG ENOUGH WITH THAT FAKE FELONY HANGING AROUND MY NECK LIKE A FRIGGIN' MILLSTONE.

IN DUE TIME, IT'LL BE THUMPER CITY AS I RIDE OUT TO THE STRONGHOLD, SO Y'ALL CAN LOOK FORWARD TO THOSE PICS AND ADVENTURES... MIGHT BE A FEW WEEKS OR MONTHS, BUT IT'LL EVENTUALLY HAPPEN, LOL.

Here's the final pic from this morning's jaunt:



CHEERS!!!

Forgot to say to Adam-NLV that the fake felony made no difference to these folks, they could tell just by talking to me that it was all a bunch of b.s., reckon I finally got that ridiculous monkey off my back, and good riddance. It was definitely cramping my style, LOL...

Ah,,,,,,,,,,, my kind of steam locomotive. Nothing like the thunder!

red69 said:

Ah,,,,,,,,,,, my kind of steam locomotive. Nothing like the thunder!

Click to expand...

I like the big steam Locomotives too. Never remember seeing one up close like that, its great!

Always liked the steam trains. About ten years ago i bought a Marklin train set made in Germany ~about the 1975 era. Its HO scale and has two of the big green metal locomotives. I have never set it up. I got it and just stored it. I was worried it would go up in price, so I got a deluxe set, they are all metal & I remembered it when i lived in W. Germany as an AF brat.

Some of the Big Boy videos are impressive, I only looked at one or two because I'm now busy, started work today and I'm gonna have a lot to learn, working on mowers and small tractors, but first I'll start fixing the golf carts which are not too complicated. Manana, I'll be swapping out belts, changing (or charging) batteries, adjusting simple brakes, that sort of thing. The setting is excellent, the huge barn-like maintenance shed already feels like home, and that's where I'll be spending much of my time. I'll operate mowers now and then, but I think my primary mission will be to keep the golf carts and mowers running. The guys are really cool, laid-back and mellow, and the gubmint benefits are excellent... all I gotta do is show on time and make an effort to familiarize myself with various pieces of equipment, and I'm good to go. Y'all would like the views from the golf course, the surrounding mountain scenery is magnificent... we even have wildlife on the course, which is cool. There's a "barn cat" in the shed, but she sometimes spends the night somewhere outside, probably in a "hidey-hole" to avoid predators. Gotta run, I hear a cold beer calling my name from the fridge. CHEERS!!!

Glad to hear about the new job and always appreciate the photos and latest happenings

Fixed a few carts today, but I still have a lot to learn... just ordered a CD repair manual for the specific make and model of golf cart (the maker calls it a golf car, guess I should start doing the same). The mowers will be even tougher, they're more complex... but WTF, at least I have steady full-time work, all I gotta do is show on time and make an effort to learn as much as I can about these various vehicles and pieces of equipment. Heading back to the ol' hacienda, I'm ready for a cold beer...

Good luck on your new employment, CR.

By the way, airblazer paid me a visit today. He was in from Utah after streaking through the sky in his jet taxi to Kissimmee. Good to see him. He did the same thing last year. Just so you guys know, he fell off a ladder at his home putting up a house wrap. Busted his arm (compound fracture) and had a plate installed. Sort of restricted his flying duties for a while.

Bob

Sorry to hear about Airblazer, compound fractures are nasty... took a few pics on the sly today while bombing around in the Yamaha cart, some of the course photos are NOT level because I was holding the camera off to one side while driving, LOL. Hey, at least I wasn't TEXTING, LOL. Here we go, got a few pics of Phoenix & Tiger first, plus Boots on the table, and later you'll see pics of our 'barn cat' at work, I suppose she should be called a 'maintenance shed cat' but the shed is as big as a barn, LOL.



Those are just fringe roads, cart trails we use to take care of business, the holes & fairways are prettier. Back in a sec...

Round #2 of pics:



There's our shed, it's bigger than it looks in that photo, as you'll soon see... barn kitty riding shotgun in another cart, and more pics of fringe areas on the course, as well as the pond. Again, photos taken while holding the camera off to one side, not looking through it since I was driving, so bear with me.

Round #3 of pics:



I just realized that I didn't get a photo of the cart I use on a regular basis, it's a forest green Yamaha electric cart but it goes pretty fast, and it's nice and quiet too... I use it to tow kaput "golf cars" from the cart garage to the maintenance shed, plus whatever else I might need to do in the "course of my work" (pun intended, LOL). As y'all can see, the maintenance shed is fairly large, there's my little desk area for eating lunch, making phone calls, looking at manuals for edumacational purposes, etc. Nice chair... I threw that Mexican blanket on the desk to brighten up my corner of the world. Driving these carts is a change from driving the 10-ton road tractor you see on my jacket, LOL. Meh, I like this job: there's no commute, no traffic hassles, the course is ringed by mountains and it's quite scenic, my coworkers are cool, and I'm getting full benefits so I can't complain. I'm still learning the carts and I haven't even started on the mowers, which are more complex, but reinforcements are arriving next week and one of the guys already worked here so he knows a lot about the machines.

Round #4 of pics:



Barn kitty keeps me company at times... meant to post those other cart shots first, but no worries, y'all can see how peaceful and quiet it is out there on the edge of the course, no traffic nearby, no noise, nada, just the way I like it. Life could be worse, the scenery alone brightens my day, the mountains in the distance are beautiful... I'm off to have a cold beer at the ol' hacienda, CHEERS!!!

Survived the first week of work at the course, I am READY for a cold beer... no early alarm manana either, so I can pound a few and stay up late, LOL.

TGIF... WAHOOOO!!!

Considering the beatings you sustained on the occupational front, this is a high-class problem is it not?

Congrats on finally getting fair shake. IMO, anyone willing to do a day's work is entitled to a day's pay.

Wasn't easy getting around that fake felony, lemme tell ya... but this gig looks pretty good, so to heck with the corruption in the Socialist Republik of KaliMexiFornia, LOL. I've made more money in the past, but the setting is so nice with no traffic or noise nearby, I'll gladly take the $14 per hour with full gubmint benefits, including retirement. Hey, every little bit helps, 10-4? And that wage will steadily increase as long as I show on time and make an effort to work... got things done this past week, and the shop looks better too, LOL.

I guess I'm finally done with trucking, weird how that panned out with folks wanting to hire me, but they couldn't due to the fake felony, go figure. Part of that whole deal was the need for a "fingerprint clearance card" to put the 'Hazardous endorsement' BACK on my license... and the phony "criminal threat" charge was enough to prevent that from ever happening, pffffffft. Meh, at least I got to drive a big ol' long-nosed Pete during my 'road test' for one outfit, that was fun while it lasted.

Now, I couldn't care less about a driving gig... I'll be driving golf balls on the course, LOL. Actually, I'm not a duffer, so the 'free golf' fringe benefit won't really do me any good. The best thing about this job---besides the beautiful setting---is the 5-minute commute to work on surface streets with practically zero traffic, aye? The peace & quiet are a big benefit too, the only noise I hear is whatever noise we make in the maintenance shed, otherwise it's the whispering breeze and a view of mountains ringing the course, quite scenic to my eye as a climber, LOL.

Today I'm enjoying a typical Saturday, puttering round the house and running into town to pick up stuff... sharing quality time with the kittehs as well, funny how all four were waiting in front of my house yesterday when I pulled up to my driveway, guess the little varmints missed me, LOL. Meh, beats seeing some tweakin' crackerhead burglar crawling out a window with some electronic gear... life could be worse, I'm really beginning to appreciate life in this little burg, with Tombstone & the Stronghold within easy reach.

GOTTA RUN, I'M OFF TO WALLYWORLD TO PICK UP SOME THINGS, THEN IT'S A COLD BEER ON THE VIEW DECK AS I CHECK OUT THE STRONGHOLD... I LOVE MY MILLION-DOLLAR VIEW OF THAT HUGE NATURAL STONE FORTRESS!!!