Beautiful Outlaw

                                                                
     When you envision a beautiful outlaw, who comes to mind? Tom Laughlin in Billy Jack? Willie or Waylon? How about Rebecca Romijn as Mystique in X-Men or Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct? Marlon Brando?   I just finished the book, Beautiful Outlaw, by John Eldredge. It's about Jesus. It may break every preconceived notion you have ever had about the man. If you have ever uttered the phrase, "I hate religion", this book is for you. You will get more ammunition than you need, to have a serious discussion on how rotten religion can be. If you are already a fan of Jesus, this book will put him in a whole different light.   
     Don't hate the player, hate the game. Ever said that before? I lived in Detroit, the year or so "that" was the popular buzz. It seemed like everyone said it at one time or another. It seemed to pertain to just about everything and this book takes that exact approach. It deals directly with religious fog and it begins to show us Jesus, before the world started washing all his robes in  Oxyclean.
     This guy exhibited , perhaps the highest level of emotional intelligence possible. It talks about him being a wanted man since birth. A guy that took it right to 'um! He was coy, laid back, deliberate and when needed, an ass kicking machine! The scene where Jesus empties the temple, plays out in a fashion that would make Francis Ford Coppola or Quintin Tarantino experience an "ah hah" moment. [Jesus]Telling the crowd, things are about to get buck wild if they don't clear out? [eyes panning the room]Scrounging around for something to make a serious whip out of, as he's breaking the bad news to them? Dumping tables [like Scarface]and throwing crap across the room, and at the peak of his fury, coming to a screeching halt, doing a 180 and gently picking up a cage of doves and asks someone to see that they are taken out as well, only to turn on a dime, once again and start re wrecking the place. How cool is that? 
     In this book, Eldredge, explains Jesus as a guy, more content to go fishing with The Big Labowski than definitely, the Pope. When things were down and out, Jesus preferred to head to the woods and have a fire or go fishing with the fellas. Here was a guy that hated stupid rules. If they had buttons in those days, Jesus probably would have worn one that said, "Question Authority". Cook for friends? Heck yes! Might as well invite the whole town in for dinner, they're all laying around outside anyway. Dang, it's 2:00a.m. and we are all out of wine, How does 160 gallons sound? Thanks Jesus.[aw, it was nothing. It was my moms idea anyway]
     Fierce Intention, Extravagant Generosity, Disruptive Honesty,Cunning. These are just a few examples of how Eldredge refers to Jesus. Ever use  them before to describe Jesus? At certain times in this book, it could almost seem as though he's talking about Chazz Palminteri's character "Sonny" from A Bronx Tale.
   If you have any inclination to peer through the religious fog, read the book. If you wish to bust the chops of the next person that tells you, go to church or confession or you're going to hell, read the book. If you're a person that roots for the underdog, out numbered and stays cool, like Fonzie, the whole time, read the book. If you hate smug, pious people who think they know everything, read the book. If you want to see Jesus for more than just that guy with long hair, in a bright white robe, so tenderly carrying that lamb across his shoulders, read the book.

Memorial Day

The next time you are out and see someone in their military uniform, send them a drink, pay for their meal or just say thank you.

In Flanders Fields
By: Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae, MD (1872-1918)
Canadian Army
In Flanders Fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

And I'm proud to be an American,
where at least I know I'm free.
And I won't forget the men who died,
who gave that right to me. -Lee Greenwood

http://www.arlingtoncemetery.mil/



http://www.nps.gov/kowa/index.htm  Korean War Memorial

http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/build-a-gulf-war-memorial.html

http://action.uso.org/action/memorial-day-2012?sc=OM_Google-P_Contentm-GeneralMilitary-C_Army=www.gopetition.com&page=GG2&donate=WS12MDG355&page-name=MEM_1205

http://www.military-missions.org/care-packages/

Snow Day

If your surprised about the weather on Memorial Day weekend, you ain't from around here. Early Saturday morning found me bundled up and high in the mountains. I ran into the same spike elk from last week. Last week I made sure I had plenty of sun block on, this time, lots of layers. The elk were not in a big hurry to light out, but when they did, the snow went flying.

     My first year out here in Montana, I was living in a hotel, waiting for the rest of my belongings to be moved out. It was a warm week, the last week in May. I decided to head up to Glacier National Park for Memorial day weekend. Since I did not have any camping gear with me, I definitely traveled lite. With no tent and no sleeping bag, I commandeered the cover from under my hotel bed spread. I packed my small cooler with hot dogs, chips and a few cold beers. What else would anyone need?
     Upon arriving at Glacier, I found out the main road was still not open. I decided to drive into the National Forrest and find a remote area to spend the night. As I parked the car and headed off into the woods, I found a secluded opening along side of a small creek. I began to collect fire wood for the night and when I thought I had enough, I built a small, rock semi-circle to help contain and reflect the heat from the fire. After I got the fire started, I laid my blanket out on the ground and began to stack the wood neatly all around where my pillow would be. (If I had brought a pillow) I wanted to be able to simply reach over my head, while sleeping, and place another handful of fuel on the fire. It wasn't much, but it would be home for the night. After a few hot dogs, one bag of chips and a few beers, I turned in for the evening.
     The small reflective stone wall worked well and the wood within easy arms reach turned out to function flawlessly as well. As the night rolled on, the temperature dropped steadily. Like a well oiled machine, I continued to stoke the fire. Every time the fire began to die down, I would awaken long enough to pitch in a few small logs. Alas, I woke to no more wood, no flashlight and even colder temperatures. I decided to pull all the hot stones in towards me. With a few flannel shirt arm sweeps, I drew the rocks in like freshly won poker chips. I snuggled up to the warmth and pulled the blanket over my head to capture all the heat I could. Ahhhh, I slept like a cozy baby;that is until I awoke to the chill of a cold blanket, now weighting me down. In a small morning daze, I worked to fling the cover off and to my surprise, I had received an additional blanket during the night. It was a blanket of snow; 16 inches to be exact.
    When I say, "I broke camp", what I really mean is that I shook the blanket off, grabbed my cooler and headed back towards the car. Still in amazement, I brushed off the snow from the windows an started my car. Once I got it moving, I was afraid to stop, for fear of becoming stuck and having to spend another night. My ride home, over McDonald pass was one I will never forget. Snow in May and me driving around without chains or snow tires on my car. Who would do that?

Little Peoples Pizza

Friday night we had company come over. They had little kids, so I made them their own little pizzas. To be honest, the crunchy bread sticks were a much bigger hit.

Reward and Recognition

     I'm not underscoring rewards or recognition, but when it comes to employees, it's a touchy area. It seems of late, the new age employees often have a sense of entitlement; What have you done for me lately. Heck, it actually goes a step beyond that to; what's in it for me. When employees wish to be rewarded for simply doing their jobs, there's something fishy in Denmark. If, as a manager, you've dusted off the carrot and the stick, you're being up managed. It's no different than your dog teaching you to give it snack to quiet down the barking. It's no different than the kids training you to buy them a toy at the store if they promise not to cry. If you need to bribe your employees to perform, you are actually the star of the show.
     A while back, I received a memo. It seems our company actually sent some people to a seminar on rewarding employees. Attached were some notes taken at the seminar and a line that assured they were well worth taking a couple minutes to read (3 pages in outline form). They were followed by 200+ ideas for low cost R&R's from attendees.
 My reply to the memo was as follows, and it was specific to the department I ran at the time:

It was interesting to read the notes from the seminar. How much is too much and how much is enough?
I still say we reward our department with something that costs less than a candy bar and will last all of them, much longer than a brand new car. We gave them "pride". We convinced them they were craftsmen, capible of setting the bar for an entire company. The surprising thing is that it has stood the test of time! I believe we were the originators of the daily one on ones. We told them every day, we loved them. We had all the hard conversations necessary. When the opportunity arose, we: helped them move, gave them furniture, fixed their plumbing, loaned them cars, wrenched on their cars, loaned them money, did electrical work, cooked them breakfast, hung dry wall, gave them a place to live, installed flooring, counseled them on family matters, roofed their house, picked them up and took them home from work, taught them to balance a check book, towed their broke down cars, gave them hair cuts and even helped them find jobs when they no longer worked here.
The most important thing about this was that we did this from the heart. Walking it out as opposed to doing it out of a sense of duty, makes all the difference in the world. All these things will last, long after the pizza is gone.
The hardest part is dealing with peoples' selfish tendency to say, "what have you done for me lately". Perhaps a candy bar really does fill that void. The true test of managing or leading with servitude mentality, is the ability to forgive, dust yourself off and say, once again, "what can I do to help you be happy, more successful and grow?"

That letter was written three years ago,and I still have a top performing department that continues to set serious records and displays an undying willingness to grow and improve. I have never dangled one single carrot in front of them. We have, however,
celebrated our serious victories. Always, a surprise to them.

Dan Pink give a great explanation to the theory of the carrot and the stick. Check it out!

    www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kgNMG7R_5o

Best Blueberry Shake Ride

Sunday ended up being a terrific day for a ride. What started out as a 1 hour ride for ice cream in Big Timber, Turned out to be a seven hour tour through seemingly endless rolling hills. Before we knew it, Big Timber was upon us and time seemed nonexistent; like we were there in a flash. I decided to keep rolling east on I90 and head for Columbus. I figured we could find a place to get some ice cream there.

     With a quick top off of the tank, we headed into town, and just like almost everywhere else in this state, before we knew it we were out of town. Headed south through town we crossed the Yellowstone River and headed for Joliet. The scenery was gorgeous and the rolling curves seemed like they were built for bikes.
     A word of caution, you gotta be careful at the pumps, you never know what going on at the station or when the gas pumps will eventually revolt. It's the fumes man. Here we see three reasons why huffing gas is bad for you.


As is typical my adventures, I did run into a celebrity while traveling through Joliet. As we drove slowly down the main drag I noticed his just sitting in the driveway of , what turned out to be the home of a local artist. We did several turn rounds before I made up my mind to stop. While he seemed to ignore me as I approached with camera in hand and refused to say one word, I did manage to take a few pictures. He is a star to your kids and you may know him by the catch phrase of his alter ego. Git 'er done!

 About 6 miles east of Joliet is a hidden treasure of old school fast food. The Quick Stop Drive In,
http://quickstopdrivein.com/menu   A destination for any day you spend more than 23 seconds trying to decide what you want to do today. You can get an Elvis shake,Dr. malt, cheese curds or even a flat dog.
If you have 75cents burning a hole in your pocket, you can add a scoop of huckleberry ice cream to any pop! I had the blueberry milkshake and it was without a doubt the best blueberry shake EVER. You go and then come back here and vote. The place is fun. Fun food, fun atmosphere and a fun destination.

If you care to see the route, click on the link below.
http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=Livingston,+MT&daddr=Big+Timber,+MT+to:Columbus,+MT+to:Joliet,+MT+to:Red+Lodge,+MT+to:Absarokee,+MT+to:Columbus,+MT+to:Livingston,+MT&hl=en&sll=45.417732,-109.706726&sspn=0.296416,0.724411&geocode=FePAuAId8Pho-SkjR6AnvhNFUzFMjIRaJjKWRQ%3BFXJguwId8Dty-Slv4zGm-O1FUzGmigL61EbWMg%3BFUxcuAIdh_x8-SktmwGk5a9IUzGAaI1QcqLVqg%3BFagMtgIdRT6B-SnPuK1_DsFIUzF4kNlEBoEIrg%3BFfJ6sQIdmwZ9-Sn1_Eb3GSpPUzEL1yB19jWKtQ%3BFXKWtgIdgAh6-SkXGGQc_UVPUzFFkB9P8wdK0w%3BFUxcuAIdh_x8-SktmwGk5a9IUzGAaI1QcqLVqg%3BFePAuAId8Pho-SkjR6AnvhNFUzFMjIRaJjKWRQ&oq=Absarokee,MT&mra=ls&t=m&z=9

Barking Spiker

Spent the morning up in the mountains looking for bear. Saw plenty of sign, just no bear. The morning was quiet, warm and beautiful. The wind was almost non existant and the ground was still wet from the nights rain. It made for silent stalking, especially when we got into more and more elk.

We cut off a small heard making their way to one of the small watering holes. Here is a spike bull that seemed to be leading the heard care free and unaware of us untill the last minute. He ambled along until he got to less than 10 yards and after wandering what we were, he stuck around long enough for me to take some pictures and have some fun with him. I took a video and tried to strike up a conversation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gvqo88_oc0A&feature=youtu.be

Silence of the Chicken

    I decided to take care of my Beautiful Bride on Mothers Day. I tried something new. I bought a whole chicken and splayed it. I then turned it "somewhat" inside out. I then peeled all the skin away from the meat but not off the chucken. Kind of Hannibal Lecter like. I took fresh thyme and other poultry seasoning, and pushed it all under the skin. I seasoned the entire outside of the bird after that and placed it on the grill.
    I put some smoked bacon on the top rack, just above the bird. I love the smokey flavor of bacon on the grill and why not baste the bird with some pork fat? When the chicken hit 180 degrees I plated it while I  made up a quick bed of whole wheat pasta and cilantro sauce.

Just like the guy at the bottom of the elevator, it's not what it appears. (but don't shoot the chicken in the leg,he's is dead) While the chicken may look like a class 3 carcinogen, it's just the skin. All the flavor is inside. I got so excited, or hungry, I started to eat before taking a picture of dinner plated.
F.Y.I. we did not have Chianti nor fava beans.

Sexy Beast

     Swimming with sharks, base jumping, "chasing the dragon" or even running the naked mile (http://www.michigandaily.com/content/naked-mile-tradition-worth-preserving), what ever it is people do, they do it for the rush. For me, one of those things is getting on my bike and going. On Saturday, I made a quick 80 mile run to Ennis and needed to be back to pick up my beautiful bride by noon. As my pal Jeff and I were saddling up, we met two guys from Indianapolis, who were on their way to the pacific north west. The minute I realized they were on a long ride, I got kind of twitterpaited. Normally I would bust out the map, the Ipad, the scrapbook, the markers and highlighters the picnic basket (blah,blah,blah, ect.ect.) and talk about every possible pass and scenic byway you could hit, but I was pressed for time. I did pull out the map and give some quick recommendations, but I was so jacked up about a trip I wasn't even on. I was so excited I was starting to black out, due to the short circuit caused by so many choices and so little time.
     I'm sure they got some credible information from me. One thing I learned for sure was that, guys from Indianapolis, are either extremely confident or very prideful. I could have sworn that one guy referred to himself as "Sexy Beast". He could have been referring to his K series BMW. Have a great, safe  ride boys!
Later that afternoon, I picked up my girl and headed out on a short loop around the house. What would a quick ride be without stopping off to say hi to Lightning Jack. Hey Indianapolis, here is a picture of my sexy beast.

     My favorite part of that small loop, is starting off under the Absorokas, passing the Crazy Mountains and riding in the shadows of the Bridgers before running right back into the Absorokas again. Looking at the snow caps on hot summer days, is so cool.

     A funny thing happened when I stopped, in some gravel, to take this picture of the Bridgers. While I can't bring myself to blurt it out cleanly, just picture adolescent, country bumpkins out for a night of mischief. Cow tippin'. Yep, I laid my strawberry roan down. Now, you boys from Indianapolis might take notice right now that my "girl" is a brunette. I'm talking about my bike. Yep, albeit soft as baby goose feathers, I laid her down. Not so much as a scratch though just as painful on the brain.
     I guess, the more I think about it, the more I realize my entire day was a bit off plumb. It could be because I was out by the campfire till 3:00a.m.. Notice I didn't say "up" by the fire, cause my palls kicked my boot at 3:00a.m. and told me to go to bed, they were leaving. Three hours sleep just ain't enough. That's right, my pal Jeff was over at the house sitting at my picnic table at 6:30a.m., ready to go. He rode my beamer and I rode my roan. It was the first early "cold ride" where I wasn't on my BMW that has hand warmers. Needless to say I was very cold as well as tired. Not the best combination for a bike ride. We stopped in Bozeman to get some coffee and let the outside air warm up a bit, before shoving off for Ennis.
  As you can see, I was off my mark for the entire day, but it didn't end there. As I got home around 6:00p.m., I lumbered into the kitchen for a cold glass of water. As I went to untie my bandanna, from around my neck, I heard a low sort of humming or buzzing if you will. Yep, it was a bumble bee. Yep, he got me me. Yep, in the soft area of skin between what would be considered the throat and the neck.

Now who's the Sexy Beast?

Branding

Wade,Beau and Ron.

Spent Sunday afternoon branding cattle. I got a chance to run the tilt table today. If you've ever done burpees or squats until you puked, that what it's like running the tilt table.


It's like this only with a small cow 65 times.



At one time, I got the inoculation for bovine pneumonia sprayed on my face. My only worry was that I might wake up in the middle of the night, wander aimlessly around the house crapping all over the place. The boys assured me that that won't happen to me for another 15 years. All in all it was perfect weather, hard work and great friendship.

Snow Out

Looking for black bears was called off today as it snowed so hard, you wouldn't have seen one if it walked past you! Perhaps Polar bears? Cinco de mucho snow.

Avengers Movie Review

     Last night, I went to see The Avengers in 3-D. I always enjoy seeing any movie at my small town theatre, but is cool seeing the Marvel  marvel.com/   movies especially. The 3-D was neither bothersome nor outstanding. When I saw Captain America (the movie) in 3-D, it was o.k. as well. The best part was having to duck a ricocheting star spangled shield. I will say this, whether you are a Marvel fan or not, whether you like 3-D movies or not, go see the 3-D Spiderman movie when it comes out! I believe they got it spot on for this one. I've never been a hughe fan of the web slinger, but I can't wait for this one to come out.

    

The movie itself was good. It had a good plot and unlike some of the Marvel movies, it didn't take too long to reel you in with action. Robert Downey Jr., gives the role of Tony Stark so much flair. If you never followed the Iron Man comic books, you miss the ironic part of Downey Jr. playing the role of Tony Stark. By that I mean, personal bad habits, checkered past. It might be the single most "inside joke" going. You gotta be real quick to catch every subtle jab Downey tosses out during the whole movie; it will be worth getting the DVD to make sure you don't.

 
 Scarlette Johansson as the Black Widow was almost perfect. She plays a super hot Russian, super Hero, without looking like she built for the runway. She's a muscle car, not a rail dragster. The only part I didn't care for was when she pulled he twin rigged Glock 26's and used them to fight off giant armored soldiers from another planet. Just a bit under gunned in my opinion. Although, she does carry them around in their twin, thigh high holsters better than most. You'd have to check out Lola, from Transporter 2, but that would be bad girl vs good girl.
     My favorite line in the movie came from David Banner. When things are getting ready to go south, real bad, they look to him and say you better get mad, he says," that's easy, I'm always mad". Mark Ruffalo does the best job of anyone, playing Dr.David Banner. He continuously looks under duress. He maintains troubled eyes, always looking for "what's the catch", in all that surrounds him. One of the final scenes with Loki, take me back to 1976, as I learned a valuable lesson. I'm not as big on the outside as I am on the inside. Giving away 80 lbs. in your weight class, is absurd. I'm reminded of that lesson every morning as I roll out of bed. Here is a list of 131 things that will invoke the Hulk: http://kennethjohnson.us/HulkOutList.html


Hulk hands? I got 'em

I like Thor, I didn't care for the Thor movie all that much, but then again, I preferred Prometheus as far as Greek God. I also prefer the trident to the hammer. Then once again, I'd pick St. Michael over Prometheus in a street brawl. In the movie, Loki actually steals the thunder from Thor. (pun untended) It's been a long time since I've seen someone rock the mullet the way Loki does.

      If you are not a hardcore Marvel fan, you might not have recognised Hawkeye as a Super Hero, at the movies start. Easy to see why he gets missed in some of the movie promo stills. If you learn anything from this, know, "first impressions are everything". You may also, not quite understand that his arrows, although endless in supply, can run out. How's that for an oxymoron?

Being a hugh Samuel L Jackson fan, I must say, I find it hard to picture Sgt.Nick Fury as a black guy. The white walls make it all work. I will say, I prefer Samuel to David Hasselhoff. At minimum, you gotta' be a mans man if you want to emulate Sarge. Once again, I reflect back on just how many dinner reservations I've made under "Fury, party of 4". My hospital volley ball team was named, Nick Fury and the howling commandos. I still have my, Nick Fury agent of S.H.I.E.L.D, t-shirt. It's from back in the day and it still fits.
     Last but not least, we the Captain. Although his uniform might be best suited for "ink on paper" he still embodies the cornerstone for Americas hero. He is authentic, he knows what it means to put himself last. He looks at tough guys, who are in it for the fanfare as neophytes. I love it when he tells Tony to, "put the suit on". When it all goes buck wild, Captain America takes charge and calls the shots like a well oiled, well respected quarterback. He knows when to stop the pissing contest and when to forge ahead. he prefers to let his actions speak for themselves.
     A great movie for the whole family. Don't get mad when the kids get home and start springing off the couch and delivering gong like blows with trash can lids. Embrace it, cause at the end of the day, it could be worse; they could be sitting quietly on the couch playing Grand Theft Auto.