Heather's Heavenly Vapes - THE BIG THREAD (Part 6)

[ShowMeTwice]

Good Afternoon Army. Home for a few days...
Driving north on NC57 (rural route north of Durham, bypasses Durham to Roxboro) on a bright sunny morning. NO traffic on the two-lane. easing along at 55mph ...
Work van runs a stop sign and darts into my lane from the right. 45 feet in front of me. 73000 lbs @ 55mph.
Point of impact was my front right corner to his driver's side front corner. spun him 270* and rolled him 270*, so he landed on his drivers' door facing the direction I was coming from. Impact also shoved my right steering tire back eight inches along the leaf spring and bent the steering cross arm, so I was going to make a right turn whether I wanted to or not. Across a 5' wide 3' deep ditch and onto a grassy area near the intersection. Came to a stop maybe ten feet from the woods line.

The State Police informed me that the other driver did not have a Driver's License, or insurance, or could understand English. He got a really quick primer when he tried to tell me "You Stop !" (ECF regulations will not allow my to post my response).
It took two Class 8 wreckers to get me out of the grass and onto the roadway again. The lumber, still secured to the trailer, was delivered to the customer 15 miles away, and another driver who had delivered in Cary was rerouted to bring me home. But as the day went by, my neck began to stiffen and hurt (same area from last year) so it looks like I am home for the rest of the week. Although I did have to return to work for a DOT Incident Report, and a drug & alcohol test.
Maybe now I will finally get some 'promises' in the mail.

Dang…

73000 lbs @ 55 mph - I am surprised that van isn't more…ummm, totaled.

Like Bronze said "nice tie down" = agree!

Neck injuries suck the big one! (don't know if that will get censored)

Take it easy man.

 

[kkay59]

Brett, I am glad you are mostly okay. Sorry to hear about the neck injury. I was in a wreck in my 20's, we were hit from behind. I still have trouble with my neck all of these years later. No license, insurance, and not even speaking our language...yes I think I know a bit about that too. I won't give a full description of my thoughts on that, but it wouldn't be nice.

 

[kkay59]

Thanks Kkay59!

I like your dog she is very cute. Haha, yes…the spelling thing I know exactly what you mean.

Isn't that just how it goes with dogs you train for someone else and they end up being yours? We had one of those too.

After mine go I don't think I'll get anymore which is a zinger but I'm not 100% on that. For me the thought of a pet outliving me - ouch - unless I have someone lined up who would take them. I know my younger brother will take mine if something happens.

I love Aussie's. Had an blue merle Aussie back in the 90's. He was a real character!
View attachment 815353
Echo taking a break after playing frisbee at a park. He was soooo fast. Always "let's play, let's play".

Truth be told, I became attached to the little one too. How could I not? She adored me and is really a big lap dog. I thought she would be maybe 12 pounds. No, she is close to double that. Still she is a love bug, but she does have her spicy moments too. She thinks she is bigger than she is, and doesn't back down easily. However she will let me handle her food, but no other pet can come near it. I did have a heck of a time housebreaking her, but mission accomplished.

Aussies are great dogs, but for some reason I like the GSD a bit more. The mixture is perfect though. My dog came from two parents that were working dogs. I usually prefer girl dogs, but when I got my big dog, I wanted a male. I did a personality test with two from the litter, and talked to the owners before that. I knew I did not want an alpha dog, nor a shy one. The boy puppy was too distracted, and did not pass all of my tests. Still for his age, he passed a lot of the tests. The girl pup that you see in the photo, passed all of my tests with flying colors. She would let me put her on her back, loud noises didn't scare her then, she followed me very well etc... She was the runt, and she still is a big dog for this mixture. Her mom was a 100 pound GSD, and that is large for a female. The owners bred this mixture for livestock/guard dogs. They are very well suited for that. My dogs ears are up, but none of the other pups had that trait. They kept two from the first litter. Then they bred the second litter, which my dog came from that one. After that they were getting the mother dog spayed. All I can say is, you wouldn't want to mess around on their property. These type of dogs are very devoted working dogs. You couldn't ask for more.

 

[WhiteHighlights]

Ok, I'm LMAO.

Here are some more:

The wife had a Vega complete with rusting out floorboard in the back. Flintstones! Got it from her older brother. She also had a very bright yellow Gremlin for a short time - yikes, talk about ugly.

My Mom had a powder blue Maverick it was really, ummm, ugly.

Older brother had a Pinto and later an AMC Alliance which was also piece of crap.

Are we related? My younger brother had a Vega, my older brother had a Pinto and my first car was a powder blue Maverick bought from my mom the day I got my drivers license (btw- don't believe what they tell you about little old ladies driving a car only to church on Sundays, that car had a v8 in it and mom had a lead foot). My older sister broke the mold, she had a '63 Corvette with a racing clutch.

 

[DavidOH]

Evening....

 

[DavidOH]

USED to be Tobacco Road. Now it's mostly Solar Farms.
The other driver banged his head against the driver's window. He was up and walking around before the EMT's laid him down and called for an ambulance.

Glad your okay for the most part..(even the other guy)

guess my day wasn't so bad after all.

 

[Bunnykiller]

hmmm looks like the crazy drivers went north... hope the neck does better... how long is the truck gonna be down?

 

[Bunnykiller]

3 things you probably wont ever see...

the bottom side of the "Flat Earth"
a 50 megaton thermonuclear warhead in your refridgerator
an exhaust pipe on a Tesla car

 

[Hulamoon]

Thanks LA!

Yes mine is very feisty and always into everything too.

She is a calico. My other cat is also a calico. I have yet to see a male calico.

From Wikipedia: A Calico cat is a domestic cat with two X chromosomes (almost always a female) who is typically about 25% to 75% white and also has mostly large patches of (usually) orange and black or (sometimes) cream and grey. Calico cat - Wikipedia

I seem to recall there may have been one. Literally, just one male, in the whole history of calico coloring. Could be wrong though...

 

[Hulamoon]

Wow Brett. That could have been a whole lot worse if not for your attention and focus. Ticks me off so much when irresponsible doesn't pay a penalty. I really hope your neck recovers quickly. Don't stint the treatment - and get one of those neck braces from Wallys or somewhere - they're very comforting when your neck feels like it can't support your head. Take it easy bud. I watch too many Hi'ways to Hell and Heavy Rescues (Weather channel) I guess, but I worry about our truckers!

 

[PapawBrett]

hmmm looks like the crazy drivers went north... hope the neck does better... how long is the truck gonna be down?

Don't know yet, but they have about forty trucks so I will be driving Monday.
I'd rather have my truck. My truck might smell like feet, but at least it smells like my feet.

Have a Safe and Blessed Day

 

[DavidOH]

Morning......

 

[Bunnykiller]

Mornin All...

 

[Bunnykiller]

if a mirage looks like water on the ground, how can you tell if there is a mirage occurring on the smooth water of a lake?

 

[PapawBrett]

if a mirage looks like water on the ground, how can you tell if there is a mirage occurring on the smooth water of a lake?

It's called a "Ghost Ship".

 

[Bronze]

Good morning Army. How's the neck Pop?

 

[PapawBrett]

Good morning Army. How's the neck Pop?

Sore. Range of motion returning. Taking it easy, for now.
Thanks for asking.

 

[Bronze]

Sore. Range of motion returning. Taking it easy, for now.
Thanks for asking.

That other dude has got to be hurting.

 

[MostlySunny]

Brett I’m so sorry to read and see about your accident I hope your neck eases up and you are able to get some time off to rest.

 

[ShowMeTwice]

Truth be told, I became attached to the little one too. How could I not? She adored me and is really a big lap dog. I thought she would be maybe 12 pounds. No, she is close to double that. Still she is a love bug, but she does have her spicy moments too. She thinks she is bigger than she is, and doesn't back down easily. However she will let me handle her food, but no other pet can come near it. I did have a heck of a time housebreaking her, but mission accomplished.

Aussies are great dogs, but for some reason I like the GSD a bit more. The mixture is perfect though. My dog came from two parents that were working dogs. I usually prefer girl dogs, but when I got my big dog, I wanted a male. I did a personality test with two from the litter, and talked to the owners before that. I knew I did not want an alpha dog, nor a shy one. The boy puppy was too distracted, and did not pass all of my tests. Still for his age, he passed a lot of the tests. The girl pup that you see in the photo, passed all of my tests with flying colors. She would let me put her on her back, loud noises didn't scare her then, she followed me very well etc... She was the runt, and she still is a big dog for this mixture. Her mom was a 100 pound GSD, and that is large for a female. The owners bred this mixture for livestock/guard dogs. They are very well suited for that. My dogs ears are up, but none of the other pups had that trait. They kept two from the first litter. Then they bred the second litter, which my dog came from that one. After that they were getting the mother dog spayed. All I can say is, you wouldn't want to mess around on their property. These type of dogs are very devoted working dogs. You couldn't ask for more.

Working dogs, yes absolutely. My favorite. I love spicy dogs. Intense + driven = bring it on.

I've been around German shepherds from my earliest memories. We always had at least one (childhood) and all from my uncle. My uncle imported and trained GS's for a living all european stock. Mostly schutzhund which is protection, obedience and tracking. Many of his dogs went on to become police officers, private security and to folks who wanted/needed protection dogs. My uncle taught us a lot and it was always great fun being around so many shepherds at his kennel. He trained horses too. Dogs and horses - a boys best friends!!! I learned how to ride bareback from him - yes guys can do it (and no the junk isn't affected).

Dogs are pack animals (so are horses) and if you understand pack dynamics you can "read" any dog in five minutes or so. Watching a litter over the course of 12 weeks, or longer, you learn who is who and they learn who is who. You learn which ones are pet quality and which ones may become something special.

Temperament = the key to all with any breed. The best predictor is always lineage. HQ breeders have that history dating back generations. Pedigree. There are testing methods and there are testing methods - I've seen most.

In our country there are no "real" standards and that is a shame. I could argue there should be and they ought to be tough. Quality standards would eliminate the puppy mills and many, if not most, breeders outright. In Germany there are strict requirements for breed value number (hips not $) and breeding.

This is my current shepherds father being put through the paces. He was very gifted and 'special'.

The following video is him apprehending a fake criminal with a gun. Turn the volume up. No dog was harmed or hurt in this video it's all part of schutzhund training. Honestly this is ALL play for the dog. The lady you hear issuing the commands is a good friend of ours and frankly one of the best trainers around. She rivals any male trainer and honestly we always thought her superior to most.