I'm in my office for the afternoon due to the continuing 'wet' conditions;i.e. it's still raining here in northwest Indiana. I'm finally getting a chance to get caught up on some snail mail (most of which went into the circular file) and reading the sometimes entertaining posts on the Internet and blogs in particular.
Among the 'gunnies' currently there is yet another repetition of the never ending argument over "HANDGUN STOPPING POWER". Certainly it is an interesting topic and open for debate, but I've always approached this subject from the standpoint of personal experience. Hence I put more faith in what I've seen firsthand as opposed to those studies from people like Martin Fackler, Sanow & Marshall, the N.I.J. or even the fabled FBI tests.
First of all, let me state for the record that when it comes to handguns, even the .500 Magnum caliber handguns, I'm not convinced there IS such a thing as Handgun Stopping Power. In short, I've seen many fail that shouldn't have and some succeed that were totally unexplainable or anticipated.
Caleb's emphasis and Michael Bane's endorsement on shot placement and good marksmanship should certainly be emphasized over all other aspects in use of a handgun and its related ammunition for lethal force/self-defense scenarios, but even then there are factors that are seldom taken into consideration and may very well play a big role in the whole affair.
When you study firearm ballistics. You are studying essentially three aspects of the flight of the bullet. (Note: some authorities claim there is a fourth aspect called "Transition ballistics", but I am going to ignore this aspect of the argument for the time being because I don't believe it would apply to this topic.)
The study of ballistics therefore consists of three areas of study: internal ballistics, which concerns itself with the study of the dynamics of the bullet being fired inside the barrel and all aspects related to the physical properties of such; external ballistics, which is the study of the projectile during its flight from the gun to the target and terminal ballistics, which is the study of the interaction of the bullet and the impact media once the projectile has reached its target.
One of the common faults of any argument or discussion of "Handgun Stopping Power" is they often center primarily on external ballistics and the reported muzzle velocity of the subject handgun caliber as well as the bullet weight and its bore diameter.
Yet, I believe there are other factors influencing the outcome in these situations in the real-world that are seldom considered or even acknowledged when discussing this subject. The rate of twist of the rifling in the barrel is just one and one that I feel is often ignored, all things being otherwise equal such as marksmanship, muzzle velocity, bore diameter and bullet weight.
Why do I say this? Because for seven years I ran a professional trap line and being 'cost-conscious' (i.e. 'cheap') and I often used a Browning High Power with an aftermarket barrel that featured a non-standard rate of twist that made mil-surplus FMJ bullets devastating on feral dogs at close range. It all had to do with 'yaw' of the bullet once inside the impact media. The gun and ammo combo wasn't worth a crap beyond 15 or 20 yards but up close it caused more damage than the best hollow-point/frangible bullet out there and I think it would have performed well against most in use today.
Another factor is How Much Oxygen Is IN Their Blood Stream? If they are well oxygenated, then you can blow the entire heart/lung mechanism OUT of their body and it won't do you a bit of good for the next two or three minutes. How long do you have to live?
Thus, I feel whenever the subject of "Handgun Stopping Power" comes up the focus should be on Terminal ballistics and your knowledge of the anatomy of the subject target species.
The only sure 'shot' I'm convince of after killing or to use a euphemism "permanently stopping" the target animal (I've killed over 2,000 of all kinds of critters) is the high spine shot. It is not so much being a caliber dependent shot, but more a 'penetration' dependent problem. Sometimes the bullet has to get through a lot of stuff to reach that spinal cord. Granted, it is an extremely difficult shot to make; especially so in a 'dynamic situation', but it is the one shot I believe in. Heart/lung shots are fatal, but do NOT guarantee quick stops. The head shot generally is a good stopper, but there are no guarantees because I've seen the bullet ricochet off the side of the skull even if it momentarily puts the animal down for the briefest of seconds. I question if any of this would change in a lethal force self-defense scenario.
In fact, the best advice I could give anyone on this subject is simply you have to be prepared to keep shooting until they stop moving and to keep shooting WELL! Past experience has taught me your first shot is going to be your best in terms of bullet placement because after the first one everything goes to Hell and it's pretty tough to get a good sight picture on a good area. With the first gunshot the 'dynamics' of the situation accelerate far faster than anyone can anticipate; unless of course you've done it before. (Something to think about when coming up against 'experienced' criminals.)
Either they are running like all git out away from you, or they are closing the distance between you and them at an unbelievable speed. Hold your water and watch your front sight as you complete the trigger pull.....FAST!
There is no magic handgun out there or handgun caliber for that matter. There are skill levels that appear to be 'magic' but they take training (often for years) and lots of good practice; not piss poor practice either. I also firmly believe you can't know too much about anatomy, animal or otherwise because the shot presented to you is seldom expected or something seen in a textbook.
Just my thoughts on "Handgun Stopping Power"....
All The Best,
Frank W. James
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
DILLINGER AUCTION....
The amount of rain we've received over the past 24 hours has varied considerably, but the fact remains it's too wet to do anything for a couple of days. I had an 1" here, but the east place only had 6/10th of an inch of rain in its gauge, while I didn't check the gauge over at the west place due to the fact I know it's too wet for now. More rain is predicted for later today but the extent of it is unknown. I'll probably 'run' again sometime this coming Friday.
But from now on, I'm going to have a close, personal relationship with 'MUD'.
This lack of field activity has enabled me to dig through the piles in my office and when I say 'piles' believe me they ARE piles, because everything is just stacked here and there. I'm trying to stay caught up on bill paying but beyond that I pretty much ignore my snail mail as well as a good percentage of my email.
I did find an item of interest in today's FARM WORLD, under the 'Antiques and Collectibles' column. It seems the sister of John Dillinger, Frances Helen Dillinger Thompson, age 87, is having an auction on Dec. 12, 2009 at Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas, of the following items that belonged to her infamous brother. They include: personal letters, the timepiece he was wearing when he was killed, three different personal firearms that supposedly belonged to him (pictured in the article is what appears to be a per-war Colt Woodsman), as well as the famous wooden gun he used to escape from the Crown Point jail. (This article claims he carved it from a 'washboard'.) Also listed in the items up for auction is a wool hunting jacket he bought in Chicago just prior to the Little Bohemia shootout. Supposedly these items have been stored in a small Indiana home, near the original Dillinger farm near Mooresville, for over 75 years. The organizers of the auction expect these items to bring a gross value of somewhere between $600,000 and $800,000. Fascinating the stuff you find in a farm publication. Farmers as a whole are terrible pack rats and this 'collector' column is just another testament to the tendency.
In order to do something besides come in the house, eat supper, shower & clean up and then fall asleep last night I went to a movie. It was "MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS". Normally I would write a review but it was so inane and senseless I just don't feel it's worth the effort. I wouldn't even give it a 'thumbs UP' or 'thumbs DOWN' because I'm not sure what it was....other than 'mindless'. I guess my review is more of an "open hand, or NO Thumbs". George Clooney is viewed by some as a great actor, but I'm convinced he's just 'loony'. It's not a stretch for him to portray the characters we've been seeing him play lately because they probably are closer to his natural personality than many of us realize. I'm swearing off 'Loony Clooney' movies from here on out. Just not worth my money.
Today has been a day of joy for the little family dog. He's not alone and he's been able to accompany me on various errands. In years past he rode in the combine, but he gets so dirty that neither my wife or I have the energy at the end of the day to give him a bath, so this year we've been keeping him in the sunroom with bathroom privileges in the connected garage during the day. He hates being alone and is always so glad when we get home. Well, today has been a day where I can't get two feet away from him. He follows me everywhere and I mean 'everywhere'. He is a companion.
My son laughs constantly over one of my favorite sayings, which is...."No man is ever so ugly that a woman or a dog won't love him."
All The Best,
Frank W. James
But from now on, I'm going to have a close, personal relationship with 'MUD'.
This lack of field activity has enabled me to dig through the piles in my office and when I say 'piles' believe me they ARE piles, because everything is just stacked here and there. I'm trying to stay caught up on bill paying but beyond that I pretty much ignore my snail mail as well as a good percentage of my email.
I did find an item of interest in today's FARM WORLD, under the 'Antiques and Collectibles' column. It seems the sister of John Dillinger, Frances Helen Dillinger Thompson, age 87, is having an auction on Dec. 12, 2009 at Heritage Auctions, Dallas, Texas, of the following items that belonged to her infamous brother. They include: personal letters, the timepiece he was wearing when he was killed, three different personal firearms that supposedly belonged to him (pictured in the article is what appears to be a per-war Colt Woodsman), as well as the famous wooden gun he used to escape from the Crown Point jail. (This article claims he carved it from a 'washboard'.) Also listed in the items up for auction is a wool hunting jacket he bought in Chicago just prior to the Little Bohemia shootout. Supposedly these items have been stored in a small Indiana home, near the original Dillinger farm near Mooresville, for over 75 years. The organizers of the auction expect these items to bring a gross value of somewhere between $600,000 and $800,000. Fascinating the stuff you find in a farm publication. Farmers as a whole are terrible pack rats and this 'collector' column is just another testament to the tendency.
In order to do something besides come in the house, eat supper, shower & clean up and then fall asleep last night I went to a movie. It was "MEN WHO STARE AT GOATS". Normally I would write a review but it was so inane and senseless I just don't feel it's worth the effort. I wouldn't even give it a 'thumbs UP' or 'thumbs DOWN' because I'm not sure what it was....other than 'mindless'. I guess my review is more of an "open hand, or NO Thumbs". George Clooney is viewed by some as a great actor, but I'm convinced he's just 'loony'. It's not a stretch for him to portray the characters we've been seeing him play lately because they probably are closer to his natural personality than many of us realize. I'm swearing off 'Loony Clooney' movies from here on out. Just not worth my money.
Today has been a day of joy for the little family dog. He's not alone and he's been able to accompany me on various errands. In years past he rode in the combine, but he gets so dirty that neither my wife or I have the energy at the end of the day to give him a bath, so this year we've been keeping him in the sunroom with bathroom privileges in the connected garage during the day. He hates being alone and is always so glad when we get home. Well, today has been a day where I can't get two feet away from him. He follows me everywhere and I mean 'everywhere'. He is a companion.
My son laughs constantly over one of my favorite sayings, which is...."No man is ever so ugly that a woman or a dog won't love him."
All The Best,
Frank W. James
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
HOW DO YOU EAT AN ELEPHANT?...
I was up and down all night long checking the weather on the interweb. What I determined about 4:00AM this morning was the oncoming weather system coming our way seemed to have 'stalled' just west of Peoria, Illinois and even then it appeared to be headed just south of our location.
I laid in bed and pondered this lack of movement (or delayed movement as the case proved to be) when in reality I should have been off my ass and starting early. At 6:00AM, I decided it was worth a try and headed out for the west place. Didn't go to coffee, just stopped at Mickey D's and grabbed a cup to go. Got the grain carts in place and discovered that while it was 'greasy' in places for the combine, the corn fodder was very dry. We had a 17+ mph wind out of the east all night long and that made things better.
Long story short, I was audacious (thanks, George Patton) and aggressive and wound up sending three semi-loads to town before the rain finally did knock me out of the field. 15 less acres to do.
I guess that's how you eat an elephant; one bite at a time. I'm now down to 120 acres or slightly less to go. (Sunday I had more than 140 acres to go!)
The 'Meek' may inherit the earth, but I'll betcha they will still have corn that needs to be harvested.
Now, I'm going to find that couch I was dreaming of yesterday.
All The Best,
Frank W. James
I laid in bed and pondered this lack of movement (or delayed movement as the case proved to be) when in reality I should have been off my ass and starting early. At 6:00AM, I decided it was worth a try and headed out for the west place. Didn't go to coffee, just stopped at Mickey D's and grabbed a cup to go. Got the grain carts in place and discovered that while it was 'greasy' in places for the combine, the corn fodder was very dry. We had a 17+ mph wind out of the east all night long and that made things better.
Long story short, I was audacious (thanks, George Patton) and aggressive and wound up sending three semi-loads to town before the rain finally did knock me out of the field. 15 less acres to do.
I guess that's how you eat an elephant; one bite at a time. I'm now down to 120 acres or slightly less to go. (Sunday I had more than 140 acres to go!)
The 'Meek' may inherit the earth, but I'll betcha they will still have corn that needs to be harvested.
Now, I'm going to find that couch I was dreaming of yesterday.
All The Best,
Frank W. James
Monday, November 16, 2009
MECHANICAL CATCH-UP DAY...
I got my Monday morning 'load-out', but it rained.....and rained. By 2:00PM I had a 1/2" in the rain gauge and it rained well after that. I spent most of the day doing check-up chores like servicing the two tractors on the grain cart; changing the oil, lubricating the front end parts and so forth in the shop over at the west place.
One of my cousins stopped by on his way home, via his daughter's place in Illinois, and then later a salesman. Both visits were welcome breaks from jobs that are messy (at least for me) and on a day where nothing that could be done was absolutely urgent.
My intention early on was to do a couple of really important chores and then find the couch in the middle of the afternoon. Never happened. Finally about 4:00PM I stopped for the day, went home, cleaned up and went to a farm supply store in Lafayette to get a couple more pairs of work pants. Last week I ripped, badly, three different pair of pants and as a result decided my 'work' clothes needed some improvement. The odd thing I found was the difficulty in finding farm work clothes that weren't made from blue denim and fashioned after the jeans I wore as a kid. What's with that? Of course, I was shocked to find that cargo pockets were notably M.I.A. on any of the products offered, so I took the least objectionable and we will see how they work out.
My wife says I'm one of those men who has to have a thousand 'pockets' on everything and then I go about filling them. She's right, it's part of my personality. When I'm working on the farm I absolutely, positively have to have a shirt with TWO pockets. One for my notebook and pen and the other for my flat cell phone. I've found one pocket work shirts are about as handy as a broken crescent wrench and about as useful.
I'm still into sleeping and I'm posting this during one of my middle-of-the-night walk-a-rounds. I only sleep about four hours at a time any more, then I'm up for a short while before returning to bed. I see that more rain is coming so I'll probably sleep in tomorrow and get up late around 7:30AM. I can think of more small things that need some attention on the combine and the tractors.
Corn still in the field is a worry and wearing on me. I'll be glad when this mess is in the 'bin'.
All The Best,
Frank W. James
One of my cousins stopped by on his way home, via his daughter's place in Illinois, and then later a salesman. Both visits were welcome breaks from jobs that are messy (at least for me) and on a day where nothing that could be done was absolutely urgent.
My intention early on was to do a couple of really important chores and then find the couch in the middle of the afternoon. Never happened. Finally about 4:00PM I stopped for the day, went home, cleaned up and went to a farm supply store in Lafayette to get a couple more pairs of work pants. Last week I ripped, badly, three different pair of pants and as a result decided my 'work' clothes needed some improvement. The odd thing I found was the difficulty in finding farm work clothes that weren't made from blue denim and fashioned after the jeans I wore as a kid. What's with that? Of course, I was shocked to find that cargo pockets were notably M.I.A. on any of the products offered, so I took the least objectionable and we will see how they work out.
My wife says I'm one of those men who has to have a thousand 'pockets' on everything and then I go about filling them. She's right, it's part of my personality. When I'm working on the farm I absolutely, positively have to have a shirt with TWO pockets. One for my notebook and pen and the other for my flat cell phone. I've found one pocket work shirts are about as handy as a broken crescent wrench and about as useful.
I'm still into sleeping and I'm posting this during one of my middle-of-the-night walk-a-rounds. I only sleep about four hours at a time any more, then I'm up for a short while before returning to bed. I see that more rain is coming so I'll probably sleep in tomorrow and get up late around 7:30AM. I can think of more small things that need some attention on the combine and the tractors.
Corn still in the field is a worry and wearing on me. I'll be glad when this mess is in the 'bin'.
All The Best,
Frank W. James
COLOR ME 'TIRED'...
Friday afternoon I picked up the ammonia tool-bar and the all important ammonia distribution computer, which was mounted in my tractor cab. I left the fertilizer plant about 1:30PM and started emptying ammonia 'bottles' (those white tanks on wheels seen throughout the Corn Belt Midwest in the Spring and Fall) in the main field at the west place. One of the plant principles agreed to chase bottles for me throughout the weekend.
We had a few glitches with the computer at the west place and I didn't get down the amount I wanted, but it's fixable. Essentially, there was a programing error. However, it was corrected before I moved to home.
I took the bar and assorted rigmarole back at 3:00PM Sunday and in those 49-1/2 hours, I slept briefly (twice) and got my nitrogen down for the 2010 crop for 341 acres. After taking everything off the big tractor, I went to the west place, hitched it back to the big grain cart and filled both carts with shelled corn as it started to rain lightly.
I'm now ready for my Monday morning 'Load-Out', if I can get a semi-truck from the elevator.
My 'Plan' worked.
Rain is forecast for today and I don't know if I'll be able to run the combine or not (the grain cleaning sieves or screens plug up if it gets too wet), and if we get the 1/2 inch they are talking about it could make things a little gummy on top for those still wanting to knife in ammonia. I don't care. Mine's done and all I lost for this option was the chance to ship two (maybe three, but I doubt it) semi-loads of corn to town.
I went to bed last night before the Colts/Patriots game even started. I found watching the inside of my eyelids far more important than a professional sports event.
I, at least, knew I had won part of my game.
All The Best,
Frank W. James
We had a few glitches with the computer at the west place and I didn't get down the amount I wanted, but it's fixable. Essentially, there was a programing error. However, it was corrected before I moved to home.
I took the bar and assorted rigmarole back at 3:00PM Sunday and in those 49-1/2 hours, I slept briefly (twice) and got my nitrogen down for the 2010 crop for 341 acres. After taking everything off the big tractor, I went to the west place, hitched it back to the big grain cart and filled both carts with shelled corn as it started to rain lightly.
I'm now ready for my Monday morning 'Load-Out', if I can get a semi-truck from the elevator.
My 'Plan' worked.
Rain is forecast for today and I don't know if I'll be able to run the combine or not (the grain cleaning sieves or screens plug up if it gets too wet), and if we get the 1/2 inch they are talking about it could make things a little gummy on top for those still wanting to knife in ammonia. I don't care. Mine's done and all I lost for this option was the chance to ship two (maybe three, but I doubt it) semi-loads of corn to town.
I went to bed last night before the Colts/Patriots game even started. I found watching the inside of my eyelids far more important than a professional sports event.
I, at least, knew I had won part of my game.
All The Best,
Frank W. James
Friday, November 13, 2009
STRESS TEST AND STRATEGIC DECISIONS...
A while back my regular doctor did an EKG on me and decided that I, at some point in the past, had a heart attack. "Not to my knowledge, Doc. My heart is black as the Ace of Spades and broken in several pieces, but there is nothing wrong with my physical heart." He disagreed and ordered a 'Stress Test' for me at the local heart institute.
Today was the day and I must admit I wasn't in a very good mood having to waste time having it done when I could have been doing something useful like......WORK! It was the standard 8 minutes on an elevated treadmill, all the while you're hooked up like a NASA monkey in a spaceship and I decided before the whole thing started I was going to beat it. Not it beat me.
I did the whole 8 minutes and the last two were at 4 mph on a 12 degree incline. Three times they asked me if I was okay while I was running in my boots. Each time I replied, "I'm fine", while continuing to breathe through my nose, not my mouth. In the last minute the cardiologist asked "How long have you had chest pain?"
My response was "Twelve years and six months." (That's how long it's been since Valerie has been gone.) He never asked me another thing.
Afterwards they make you lay on your left side while they do an image and other things of your heart as it tries to slow down. He looked over at me after studying several things for a few minutes and said, "Your heart is normal."
"That what I told Holmes," I said. It's just Black and Broken in several pieces.
(After the doctor left, the nurses did pay me a compliment and said "We've had 40 year olds who couldn't do what you just did." Not bad for a 63 year old fat guy, huh?)
Coming home from that fiasco, I decided I needed to make a strategic decision. Since the elevators are only opening a few hours a day at present and I hate sitting around with my thumb up my posterior I decided to start putting next year's Ammonia down while the ground is still dry. I figure three hard days and the job will be done and then I can go back to playing the "...waiting in the elevator line..." blues.
The deciding factor for me was the weather forecast for this area for the coming week. Essentially, it's supposed to start off slow on Sunday, but by Wednesday we are going to be wet. (The interweb is a BIG improvement in this regard for farmers making decisions about how to proceed with regards to planning decisions.) The corn is still standing good even though I still have about 140 acres left to harvest, but if the ground gets wet it will never dry out now because we are so late in the season and that means there will precious little opportunity to get the ammonia on before year's end.
My Dad's Motto was, " DO SOMETHING EVEN IF IT'S WRONG!" I'm sure many will think me nuts for ignoring corn while putting ammonia on, but the fact is I don't think the elevator will be open for more than two hours tomorrow and if I run hard tomorrow and Sunday I will have most of it, if not all of the ammonia, on and then I can still go back to corn.
So, my decision may be wrong but I'll be doing something (hard and heavy) and therefore there may be light blogging for the next couple of days.
All The Best,
Frank W. James
Today was the day and I must admit I wasn't in a very good mood having to waste time having it done when I could have been doing something useful like......WORK! It was the standard 8 minutes on an elevated treadmill, all the while you're hooked up like a NASA monkey in a spaceship and I decided before the whole thing started I was going to beat it. Not it beat me.
I did the whole 8 minutes and the last two were at 4 mph on a 12 degree incline. Three times they asked me if I was okay while I was running in my boots. Each time I replied, "I'm fine", while continuing to breathe through my nose, not my mouth. In the last minute the cardiologist asked "How long have you had chest pain?"
My response was "Twelve years and six months." (That's how long it's been since Valerie has been gone.) He never asked me another thing.
Afterwards they make you lay on your left side while they do an image and other things of your heart as it tries to slow down. He looked over at me after studying several things for a few minutes and said, "Your heart is normal."
"That what I told Holmes," I said. It's just Black and Broken in several pieces.
(After the doctor left, the nurses did pay me a compliment and said "We've had 40 year olds who couldn't do what you just did." Not bad for a 63 year old fat guy, huh?)
Coming home from that fiasco, I decided I needed to make a strategic decision. Since the elevators are only opening a few hours a day at present and I hate sitting around with my thumb up my posterior I decided to start putting next year's Ammonia down while the ground is still dry. I figure three hard days and the job will be done and then I can go back to playing the "...waiting in the elevator line..." blues.
The deciding factor for me was the weather forecast for this area for the coming week. Essentially, it's supposed to start off slow on Sunday, but by Wednesday we are going to be wet. (The interweb is a BIG improvement in this regard for farmers making decisions about how to proceed with regards to planning decisions.) The corn is still standing good even though I still have about 140 acres left to harvest, but if the ground gets wet it will never dry out now because we are so late in the season and that means there will precious little opportunity to get the ammonia on before year's end.
My Dad's Motto was, " DO SOMETHING EVEN IF IT'S WRONG!" I'm sure many will think me nuts for ignoring corn while putting ammonia on, but the fact is I don't think the elevator will be open for more than two hours tomorrow and if I run hard tomorrow and Sunday I will have most of it, if not all of the ammonia, on and then I can still go back to corn.
So, my decision may be wrong but I'll be doing something (hard and heavy) and therefore there may be light blogging for the next couple of days.
All The Best,
Frank W. James
Thursday, November 12, 2009
LIGHTS OUTS!...
Got four semi-loads in before the elevator closed at Noon. Pretty good by my standards, then I opened up the north field so the deer hunters could actually have some fields of fire as opposed to phone-booth engagement distances with a Bowie knife. Where upon I moved the tractor and small disc over to the east place to work the bean stubble there. The hydraulic leak has moderated significantly which makes me think it has something to do with the position of the value as to whether or not it likes to puke oil like a dog vomits.
Everything was going along quite smoothly well after dark discing when I started smelling something strange. I couldn't identify it but I knew it didn't smell 'good' in the sense that something bad was about to happen. I checked all the gauges and everything indicated all systems were 'Go' and in good order, then the lights went out. The fuse melted, as did the fuse holder surrounding it. I mean it was DARK. Tried to fix it, but the fuse box/holder was melted.
Okay great, I'm a mile from the shed and my transportation back home. Sooooo, tonight and well after dark, I drove the tractor and disc in the stealth mode down a blacktopped county road and a popular one at that, all the while constantly scanning ahead and my mirrors for any sign of an oncoming headlight. Fortunately none appeared and after a half-mile I reached my property line and was able to drive the rest of the way through my own field.
Another damn thing to add to the list of things that need attention on that tractor. Tomorrow is a screwed-up day as I have to be gone all morning so no harvesting will be accomplished. I just hope the elevator is able to open on Saturday.....at least for a little while.
All The Best,
Frank W. James
Everything was going along quite smoothly well after dark discing when I started smelling something strange. I couldn't identify it but I knew it didn't smell 'good' in the sense that something bad was about to happen. I checked all the gauges and everything indicated all systems were 'Go' and in good order, then the lights went out. The fuse melted, as did the fuse holder surrounding it. I mean it was DARK. Tried to fix it, but the fuse box/holder was melted.
Okay great, I'm a mile from the shed and my transportation back home. Sooooo, tonight and well after dark, I drove the tractor and disc in the stealth mode down a blacktopped county road and a popular one at that, all the while constantly scanning ahead and my mirrors for any sign of an oncoming headlight. Fortunately none appeared and after a half-mile I reached my property line and was able to drive the rest of the way through my own field.
Another damn thing to add to the list of things that need attention on that tractor. Tomorrow is a screwed-up day as I have to be gone all morning so no harvesting will be accomplished. I just hope the elevator is able to open on Saturday.....at least for a little while.
All The Best,
Frank W. James
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