All campers understand this old brochure.

    If you tell everyone you camper for quality time in nature and so the family can bond its true. But the real reason is so you and the wife can play. Admit it I am right this add from 1970 knew it. enjoy.

     here is a link to the whole sales brochure.
Komfort kamper

If you knew ?

     If you knew there was a good chance you could die in a year or so what would your reaction be ?  For some it might be to climb into bed and wait for the end in a comatose state. For others it could be just going through the motions of life till the end. Now for most that are reading this I would hope they are like me.   MAN Up try to cheat death and live but just in case get your affairs in order.

     Now I am going to live for a long while but there is a chance my treatments may fail  "In the end the Death takes us all".

     Are your affairs in order ? Do you have a Will ? Are you a collector of guns, tools, cars, or a hundred other items ? Would your spouse or kids have a clue as to the value ? Do you have projects that are valuable if finished ,you should complete ? Do you have property that needs to be shuffled so it goes to who you want it to?  These are morbid thoughts but they are valid for any one sick or of advanced age. Their valid for any one you ever know.

     As I have posted many times I have been working for a year on my daughters place. It is basically finished but when the electrician tried to pull a permit they wouldn't till I go get a county inspector to sign off on what I have done so far. I know the roof I put on will fail and I will have to remove it. I built it on the trailer, according to the county it has to be "self supporting like a car port". So I am 2 weeks out on her moving.

    

  My sons place just need 200$ in material then me to pay the deposits and turn on fees for water and electricity. About 500 total has him a permanent home! Trouble is cash is tight its winter so income is down and the slush fund is dwindling .
    The Blountsville house is under contract to a lady when it sells I will be ok. I will double what I have in it.
    My BOL is still on hold not ready to let it go yet. I have 2 interested parties so that should be an easy sell if needed.
   In the past I bought a lot of beer memorabilia I am going to sell. I have 2 cooper  moonshine stills I will put on e bay.

   In the yard I have to decide about 2 vending trailer and 2 trucks that are taking up space.

    Now I am not planning on death but I am going to have my affairs in order the way I want. I have never seen anything as putrid and despicable as the way some families act on settling an estate!!!!! The squabbling over petty stuff and legal actions over property have left me  ashamed I knew or was related to them. Yall understand what I am saying!!!!
As a prepper I looked at a dozen different ways life as we know it could end but never its actual end. I now understand as a husband a father and a Man I should have . Regardless of your age or health if you haven't given it a hard look it is an eye opener. MAN UP its your family take care of them don't think it will work out and they will do ok.
   

Tests are in.

     Well I got my test and biopsy report today Not Good. I am stage 4 laryngeal  throat cancer. The ENT surgeon pushed for removal of voice box , neck lymph nodes and permeant tracheotomy  followed by radiation as the way to go. The radiation /chemo doctor pushed starting with rad/chemo as the way to go. My  general practitioner advised me to go with radiation /chemo first because I could still have surgery if necessary . ALL OPTIONS  SUCK!!!!!!

      I choose the radiation / chemo as my option . Breathing through a hole in my neck and not being able to talk didn't appeal to me. I like the water to much for a stoma tracheotomy.  If it is a have to I would do it but not till all other options are gone.

  I have a appointment to get mapped for the radiation next week and probably one with the chemo doctor to. Then I will start the treatments of 7 doses of radiation a week for 6 weeks followed by 6 weeks or more of chemo.   If the tumor isn't gone then it is back to the knife.

     Even though the news wasn't good I am going to beat this. It hasn't moved to my lungs or any where but my neck its a matter of getting it now.  I did lose 6 more pounds in 2 weeks but I am back to eating ok now.  My G/P wants me to start drinking Carnation breakfast shakes 3 times a day . I can still drop 40 pounds before I am at the perfect 180 by chart.  Which is funny I passed the 200 mark when I was 12 . My Mother always told me at 50 things would fall apart seems she was right !!!!  Mom is taking my health hard I can hear her thinking of my stepdad JC when we talk. He had a bad heart that gave out because of cancer treatments.

   Ok that's it for my health when I blog on here it will be about normal stuff . Life is to short to be down ! Its almost time to go camping and I am itching to go. If I beat the big C and get my disability started I am off to see how much living I can really do!!

An unofficial redneck holiday

   While not an observed  holiday it should be. Today is the  Birthday of  John Moses Browning 

    a few links here 
                     here
                     here 

     It his birthday fire off a few in his honor.

God Bless the USA" at Trump's Inauguration

     As I watched Trump sing along and fist pump at the end my opinion of him changed. Before I hoped he would do a 1/4 of what he said he would and it would make him a good president. I have always felt this was an ego trip for him. I thought he would try because he want the Trump name to be immortalized. Perhaps from the emotion on his face this song and his words during the campaign they weren't just words but his beliefs.

  

No wall needed.

    Over the last year Trump has been talking about a wall along the Mexican border. Sounds great and I believe it would slow illegal's and drugs from coming in to the country. But as with any fence it can still be breached at some point. Even if we spend 20 Billion the desperate and drug runners would find a way .

 There is a better ,cheaper way that we have used in the past and in 65 years very few have risked crossing. It is not impressive to see but one miss step and the next person will think long and hard before trying .

  These 2 pictures are of the Korean DMZ  it has kept the 2 populations separate since the 1952-53 era . It is a passive system as far as foot traffic is concerned . They use thousands of these to discourage people from fleeing either side.

Now I know it would out rage a lot of folks but in a few years not many would think of crossing the boarder except legally . The loss to the drug cartels would be huge and our expense would be a fraction of the wall. If we used mines we wouldn't even have to do the whole border . A few put out here and there it would be bluff in some area,s . Just something to think about that works.

Prepparing for illness

     Ok this is not a poor pitiful me post . I feel good about the future but there are some hard decisions that will be coming in the future. I understand I will have to face one or more things surgery, chemo, radiation or a combo of all 3.

      Now I run my house the old way, I am head Jackass!! I pay the bills do the shopping earn the funds, make most the important decisions .I do listen to everyone's points of view on stuff but since I pay for or have to do the work I have veto power. With the possibility of me being down for a time I have to prepare the wife and family to take over some things they have no clues about.

    Most of us that read prepper blogs are Alfa personalities and have never considered if something happens to us will our loved ones be able to take over our jobs. In my case it will be illness taking me out of daily chores, income, spending management. Not only have I been sheltering the wife I have found she doesn't want the responsibility shifted to her. I tried to talk to her and it was a stone wall if she wont accept it, it wont happen. She will be getting a crash course in household management over the next 2 weeks. I love my wife but her money skills suck plus her shopping skills can net us 2 meals and junk food for 100$ a trip.

      It will be an interesting next 2 weeks . In the morning I have to go for Labs, X rays, CT scans, at 8 o'clock on the way back I have to pick up 350$ worth of wiring and electrical conduit for my daughters. after lunch I will stub it in from the pole. Thursday I see the ENT about doing the biopsy then meet the electrician to pay for permit and him to connect what I stubbed in. Sunday my step son will do the rest of the plumbing and gas for me and her place will be ready to move in.

    Hopefully the next week I will have a break between doctor visits. I need to install an exterior electrical load center on my sons house the old one has been gutted and wiring cut. It will be about 12 hours work but will allow him to move in after a few other odds and ends he can do.

 

     Preparing my family to move forward while I am down is as much for me as them. The kids moving out was delayed because of me feeling bad then the holidays now its time to get them set. The wife has become a couch potato the last few years and that's my fault. Once she is up to speed I will rest easier .

 

    Thinking about preparing for being out as leader and if my loved one could carry on while sick during good times makes me think have many preppers thought about it to? 

Goverment think. is amazing

    Yesterday I hinted at the run around it was to get seen and insurance . Part of the problem is I work with no pay check I make a living most would consider poverty level but pays the bills and allows travel and extras.

1 if you don't make enuff to file taxes the insurance market place is worthless.

2 if you make under 10,000 from varied sources your looked at as lying / drug dealer to live.

3 you have to show what your source is

4 If you make this little and appy for help they want to know WHY you haven't already applied for everything under the sun!
     I have a rental trailer that nets me 6500 a year in income well below filing amount . My BBQ and Mt Dew is more than this but the bastards can F&%$#@ off on that .

    After the emergency room visit my E N T appointment was canceled due to no insurance. I called the financial aid department and was informed because I didn't work I didn't qualify for market place insurance and without that I couldn't qualify to get co pay forgiveness. I was referred to the county indigent care program at another hospital/clinic.
   I had this medical care for a couple years till renewal in 2014. At that time they demanded I go to the IRS for a letter of non-filing to continue benefits. I had a disputed with the IRS in 2006 and the thought of walking back in their office , Not Happening Alive Not happening ever !!!

  I went to the indigent care qualifying page . If I  have an open disability case with social security and proof of residency I qualify. So last Thursday I go to Social Security and apply for disability based on beginning cancer treatments. I understand I will be deigned but it will get me the indigent care insurance!!!! Before I was done I had to file for 3 different forms of disability. My Ex wife died in 2009 so I had to apply 2 times based on her and 1 on just me. Seems there are special rules for widowers over 50. It took 4 hours but I did it. I raced to the indigent care office with all the paper work. They quit taking applicants at 2,  I was 3 minutes late.

   Friday morning I got there at 8 am and was took right back. The lady was polite till she saw my income was so low and my lease was 5 years old with my tenant.  How much does he pay NOW this lease is 5 years old?   The same , He has never been late has helped me do repairs and so OCD the place is immaculate. Ok here is your blue card go to the appointment office for a primary care appointment.   

   The girl at the appointment office makes me an appointment with a primary care doctor for  APRIL 1st. So I explain to her its my throat what I have going on I let her hear the voice message that I had an appointment to see their ENT Wednesday. The girl calls around double checks and informs me No they just passed the buck.  Ok what can I do before my throat closes and I die in my sleep???  She said we are a county department work the system!!!! Monday come into the urgent care clinic tell the doctor what is wrong in your throat they will get you an emergency appointment with the   E N T  department. Since you were seen at UAB to start with they will refer you back to them at our cost!!!!!  We got rules to follow but ways to get thing done to.

    I did what sweetie told me . I see the clinics E N T at 9 tomorrow to get a referral back the office that I was suppose to be at today. It took 8 trips in to Birmingham about 32 hour of wait/work, 60$ in gas . I am at the same point I was at on the 26th except insured and have medical files in 5 different offices. It also started a disability application in case thing get worse. The indigent care application forces me to apply for food stamps as they go hand in hand now it seems.

New year aint starting so good.

    Ok here is the reason why I want the house cleared. It is why my projects have took so long and lost 40+ pounds since spring.

    For about 6 months I have had a sore throat and right after Thanksgiving my neck started swelling on the right side. It would come and go . I made a promise to the wife that I would go to a doctor as soon as Christmas was over. For me that is something . Well Christmas weekend the food the talking and general holiday commotion did me in. I couldn't talk I was coughing blood and it looked like I had a hamster stuck in my throat.

    Monday morning after Christmas I agreed to go to the emergency room. The blood scared me ,but what sealed the deal was what the wife said  she would do to me and what she wouldn't do for me, unless I got my ass in the car.

  

    It took 16 hour of waiting and being seen. I was X rayed , CT scanned, had a scope run down my nose and throat. Well I had a pretty good idea what the verdict was going to be.

    I have a "growth" on the epiglottis in my throat ( the flap over your wind pipe) till a biopsy then I can call it cancer. The blood was from the swelling, irritation food ,coughing and sodas. The lump is a swollen lymph node due to the "growth". I got 3 steroid shots  told to sleep sitting  in a chair for the night . An appointment with an  E N T and wished merry Christmas .

     Not having insurance it will be interesting to see what the bill for that visit will be. Since then I have gotten a form of medical insurance but that's 2 post in itself .

Family

   Sorry for not posting for a while. We all know life gets hectic at the holidays. I hope every one had a good Christmas and New Year. It seems like for 2 weeks we have run somewhere  every day. All in all it was a nice time with family .

     It looks like me and the wife will be getting our house back to our selves by the end of the month. I am down to odds and ends on my daughters place before she can move in. My Son got the Deed he has been waiting on and we put in a couple of days their .  All he needs me for is to have a new power panel set and re splice the house wiring . The step daughter and grandkids HAVE TO GO!!!!
We love them but the level of activity and noise is unbelievable. Its beyond normal the mom is a hollower on face book 24/7. The kids want to be entertained and are incapable of imagination or self amusement .