What To Do If You Get Pulled Over

After being a little over-zealous and just all around not thinking about what speed I was going, those flashing lights pulled up behind me on the way out of town to go skiing.
Being my first time having been pulled over, I was prepared and calm. Luckily, a few things I learned back in high school flooded into my mind.

Here is the basics of what you should do if you get pulled over.
1- keep your hands on the steering wheel where they can be seen and don't move them
2- don't move until the officer speaks to you
3- when he asks you for your license and registration, ask him if you can move your hands to get them
4- when he takes them back to his/her vehicle, keep your hands on the steering until he/she gets back

I was lucky and only got a warning.  But the officer also thanked me for keeping my hands where he could see them.
When we were taught this in high school, it did not make sense until the teacher explained some things.
One of the most dangerous things an officer can do is pull someone over. When they do, they are essentially walking up to the vehicle blind, not knowing what could happen. The simple act of keeping your hands on the steering wheel can give the officer a great deal of ease as they approach the unknown of your vehicle. The worst thing you can do is start moving around and rummaging through things.
If I were a cop, the scene from "Fargo" where they officer is shot when he is standing at the drivers window would run through my mind every time I approached a pulled over vehicle.

So, put the officer at easy, don't be stupid and maybe you to will get off with just a warning.

Peace all

Mountain Biking is an Addiction Cured Only by Poverty

Or in my case, a trip to the Holy Land.

This quote is from my favorite mountain biking website which pretty much sums up what mountain biking and bike building has done to me.
For some only poverty can stop the buying and upgrading of a mountain bike. For me, it's the realization that I will be traveling over seas and it would be nice to have some money for that trip and also for the upcoming gifts I will be buying.
So, for a while, I'm not buying any bike stuff. And as I have read many times on my favorite mountain biking website, I'm not the only person with this kind of problem.

And here is a glimpse of the bike build that is currently on hold.

Peace all

Ghosting

No one that I know of has ever flat out called me an asshole, still there are many moments in life where I feel like I have been one.

If you live in the state of Montana on-line dating is pretty much pointless... especially on the Catholic dating sites. There are about a grand total of 5 women that live in Montana on these sights. If I were to say live in California or anywhere on the east coast it might be worth the time.

Yet, there are a lot of women out there looking for a relationship and, unfortunately I've been one of those guys. A ghoster.

Not responding to e-mails from interested people or flat out stopping to respond after a few e-mails is kind of an asshole move. It shows a lack of maturity.

I've been ghosted and it really doesn't bother me that much, but I know I'm not like most people, especially ladies. 

I'm sorry for all those times I failed to be a mature adult.

Peace all

Sometimes, All You Can Do Is Pray

I'm at a point in my life that could best be described as an "in-between stage".

Single, living alone away from my family with a full time job. Yet I'm close enough to home that I go there once or twice a month and my mother still buys groceries for me... even though I don't ask her to.  I call that the "in-between stage". 

What else could I call it?

I don't quite have my own independent life as I see it. For all intensive purposes I do, still I call the home where my parents live my permanent address. Heck, I still get mail sent there (another reason to go home every once in a while). 

My immediate family is like everyone elses'... weird and not normal.  They are going through some major changes right now which I am not really a part of. I'm glad for that, because the changes are not easy nor are everyone happy with them. Change is always going to happen and all we as humans can really do is pray for help to get through the constancy of change. 

I've used my family as an excuse to move closer to home. Now that I'm home, I'm so glad to be back in Montana and that is not just because of my family. 

If I'm honest with myself, I don't want to leave Montana. That's not because I would be far away from my family again. I just enjoy living in Montana and I really don't want to go anywhere else. 

I'm praying for help and guidance for my family and also for some guidance for myself that will hopefully keep me here in Montana. 

I'm ready for whatever God has in store for me though. I can leave Montana but Montana will never leave me (how cliche is that!)

Peace all

Persistence and Patience

Recently I have started seriously archery hunting. The bow and arrows I am using I purchased almost 10 years ago. They have sat in my parents garage until last year. Getting them out a year ago is about all I did. I shot it a bit but did not do any hunting, mainly because I had a new job and did not have many places I knew of close by to go.

A year later a year smarter has allowed me to do some hunting. Whenever I am out I am so thankful to be able to do so, even though I have picked one of the most difficult quarry to get with a bow... the pronghorn antelope.

They don't call them speed goats for nothing. These critters are fast and spooky. Getting withing 100 yards of them is a feat in itself. They like the open country so it is almost impossible to stalk up to them. 

On Wednesday I did. I got to within 150 yards and then let them close the distance, which they did, but the big buck was at 70 yards and I did not feel comfortable at that range. They spooked and ran off.  I met them at the other end of the valley and had them within 100 yards as they crossed a creek.

Yesterday instead of chasing, I sat and waited. I knew about where they were going to go, but I did not know when. Well, after 4 hours of sitting and waiting they came. They went right were I thought they would. Problem was, they didn't stop. The herd sprinted past me, 20 yards away, and I never got a shot. I could smell their distinctive antelope smell as their breeze blew by me. There were some stragglers that started me. I almost got a shot off, but I arrow fell off my rest. 

Needless to say, I have learned a lot this week about archery hunting and antelope hunting. Hopefully my patience and persistence will pay off, but if not, that's cool too. The experiences and views have been worth it. 

Peace all

Can't Sleep

Maybe it is because I do not have bats flapping over my head or the sound of other guys snoring... whatever it is I cannot sleep. I woke up two hours ago and here I sit at 5 a.m.... blogging. 

I did not write much over the summer. Being a full time camp councilor did not allow me many chances to put my thoughts down in writing. Each new day held new challenges so there was not much point on dwelling on things.

One post I did write over the summer was commented on. That does not happen often. The funny thing for me is it almost makes me feel validated as a Catholic blogger. The commenter is what I like to call a "Rad-Trad" or a radical-traditionalist who hates the Second Vatican Council and how it changed the Church. It's quite interesting what she posted, or most likely copied and pasted off of a website. 

Anyway... Vatican II was not the problem, it was the implementation and down right horrible understanding of Vatican II that has lead to so many problems in our Church. Almost all the bishops in the world could not be heretics. Their thoughts were great but their follow through was abysmal. 

Any-who... my summer is over.  It was a great summer and I feel blessed beyond belief for the friends that I made this summer and the youth that I got to interact with. 

Now for a new year of new and exciting changes and challenges!

Peace all!

Beautiful Wedding

The wedding of two people who are committed to ministry and God is an amazing ceremony to witness.
Unfortunately it is too rare today that couples have their first focus on God. I know that my two friends who just got married were questioned all along the way.
Moving to the same town most would think it would be normal for them to live together. They chose not to. A simple gesture like that shows how truly committed they are to each other but most in our society do not see it that way.
Father mentioned that for both of them their greatest goal now is to get their spouse to heaven. How often is that mentioned at other wedding ceremonies these days?
The greatest thing I took away from the ceremony was hope.
There is hope for the future as long as we have faith-filled couples like Jake and Tiff in our world.