Picto Diary - 21 to 31 March 2022 - Grandpa does Grass Roots Politics

Above: Sprinters. Snow Park Lodge parking. Deer Valley, UT. 21 March 2022
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Brilliant branding strategy. All Sprinters come off of a Mercedes assembly line in Stuttgart. They are branded as Mercedes for the elites and Freightliners for the deplorables. My tan one one the right is, of course, a Freightliner. When the mud hits the fan, its truckers I want to hang out with... not uppity, Mercedes Benz elites who don't know how to do anything.

Cold. Bluebird. Unexpectedly good hard snow skiing today. Exception: At 10AM, Magnet was a bit too hard and slick. 2x Peeler softer (better) than others. Laps mandatory.

Masking Conformity or Melodrama at the Theater - WSJ  21 March 2022

All good letters. My own general response to the mask scam was to stay away from places where they were required. We ate out with our prior regularity from the time Utah restaurants reopened in May 2020 and I confess to following the absurd protocol of wearing the mask while entering the restaurant and taking it off when seated at the table. Out of necessity, I have flown twice in the last two years, but have otherwise successfully resisted discretionary flying. We've put 40 thousand miles on the Sprinter in the last two years and spent a lot of time outdoors. We went to a lot of events where mask requirements were ignored: Duchesne County Fair, Speed Week at Bonneville Salt Flats, one hundred plus days of skiing 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22, outdoor concerts in parks across the West. I don't feel like I missed much as I was as active as ever, without masking, throughout the masking period. Amazon substituted substantially for retail visits where masks were required. It was with great sadness that I watched Americans submitting to the anti-science masking protocol. Overall, I feel good about, for the most part, not participating in the mask charade... certainly, at the very least, a catastrophic moral crime against children. One of the reasons I could never be a Democrat is their wholesale rejection of science across multiple fronts.

Above: Bishop and Freedie (eating) in mobile Kennel. Deer Valley, UT. 22 March 2022.
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'Cake
Daggett

Reward
Magnet

Bishop charged with Freddie while TIMDT plays in the desert sun.

Above: Carden School. Salt Lake City, UT. 22 March 2022.

Both Z and Grrr qualified for the Math Bowl which took place at school today. It’s similar to a spelling bee but with math problems and they got to work in teams. They both worked hard. Zach’s team took first place!

Smart boys!

Above: Mynduveroan and Ballou. Midway, UT. 22 March 2022.

Above: Bumps on Square Deal ski run. Deer Valley, UT. 23 March 2022.
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3 Ply
Crescent
Orion
J'elle

60 ski days YTD.
17 lifts (runs) today.
769 lifts YTD.
(1 lift = 900 vertical feet).

Excellent Spring, bluebird conditions. Feeling good on the hyper carving Stockli SC Lasers.

Above: Platinum Studios, Bountiful, UT. 23 March 2022.

Mike, sound engineer, and Jay, composer, mix and match one of the trumpet parts as they construct a master big band recording of nine Jay Lawrence compositions. Bishop is executive producer of this effort.

Above: Deer Valley, UT. File image. 25 March 2022. 61 13 782 Spring skiing. Every run is perfect for a half hour. You just have to determine when that will be. Bad timing means ice or slush. Timed Star Gazer and Magnet pretty well today...between 9:45 AM and 10:15 AM.

Above: Marksmanship prep vehicle. Echo, UT. 25 March 2022. Charging mags in marksmanship prep vehicle. Kid, dog, grandpa, freedom.

Above: John Curtis, US Congressman, Utah District Three. Park City Public Library. 26 March 2022 (file image).

Within the last year, I decided, as a 76-year-old grandfather, to enter into grassroots politics. It seems late in the game to become active in party politics, but my assessment of current conditions in the United States impelled me to act. The US is on a trajectory where its citizens will have, within a generation, markedly less freedom, less safety, and a lower standard of living. Elites are teeing up a litany of forced compliance to social change not backed by science, including Covid-19 protocols, abortion, critical race theory (CRT), and gender fluidity indoctrination public schools. Many Americans seem blind to this fearful future, having been gulled by people pushing radical ideologies that have failed every time they have been tried. Like the proverbial frog in the pot, Americans, for the most part, are fat, dumb and happy, oblivious to the slowly increasing temperature of the water in the pot. I thought that anything I could do to help awaken Americans out of their comfortable, but dangerous, stupor would be a good thing.

To realize my intent to become more involved, I became a delegate to the Utah Pub Convention. Today, 26 March 2022, attended a luncheon for Summit County and Wasatch County convention delegates held at the Park City Library hosted by US House candidate John Curtis, Utah District Three. The purpose of the luncheon was for Curtis to solicit delegate votes at the upcoming state convention, 23 April 2022.

Curtis is running for his third full term in Congress. Others running for Utah District Three in 2022 include Chris Herrod, Brandon Casper, Jason Preston, Tim Aalders, and Lyman Wight. Should Curtis receive the vote of 40% or more eligible delegates at the upcoming convention, he will be eligible for a primary election run-off in August 2022. Should Curtis receive 60% of the delegate vote, no primary will be required, and he will be the Republican party's nominee for the general election in November 2022.

Should a primary be required, Curtis is favored to win easily. However, there is some risk that Curtis may not win the 40% delegate convention vote required to be eligible to run in the primary election, given stirrings coming from the right that Curtis may not be sufficiently MAGA. Curtis favors the January 6 Inquiry and has openly disdained vocal MAGA Congressmen such as Marjorie Taylor Green, Matt Gaetz, and Lauren Boebert. Curtis could have fulfilled a petition requirement that would have guaranteed his eligibility in the primary, but apparently feeling secure about receiving a 40% delegate vote, chose not to.

Present at the luncheon were Congressman Curtis, four of Curtis' congressional staff, and seven delegates (of a total of 25 invited).

Opening Statement:

Curtis outlined his position on climate change. He chairs Conservative Climate Caucus (CCC). Rather than denying climate change, Curtis believes Conservatives should acknowledge that man is contributing to a changing climate and that there are conservative options to fight climate change that lesson our impact on the climate while sustaining economic growth and improved standard of living. There are over 70 Republican congressmen who are members of the CCC.

Curtis noted that bad "go green" energy policy in Europe had resulted in Europe becoming dependent on Russian natural gas. Russian natural gas is 40% dirtier than US natural gas. It is important that the US not make the same energy mistakes as Europe. The US can continue economic growth AND reduced carbon emissions by using a more intelligent medley of energy sources, including nuclear power and natural gas.

Q and A selected points were made:

Asked why there seems to be indifference to mounting threats from within on individual freedom, Curtis replied, "A generation removed from sacrifice values sacrifice less. A silver lining from the Ukraine/Russia war is that more Americans may learn to value the freedom that they have taken for granted."

"We have political indifference right here in Utah," said Curtis. "How many people showed up at the recent caucus? Not many. The way to address the threats we face is to get involved. I ran for Congress. It is important to know the issues and be able to react through democratic processes to make your views known."

"I believe the new Republican Congress to be elected later this year will be able to redress many of the threats that you talk about. Jim Jordan, the likely next Speaker of the House, has promised to hold congressional hearings on any number of the wrongheaded policies put forward by the current administration."

"We must learn to work across the aisle. There are many examples, not always known to the public, where Democrats and Republicans are working together to get important legislation passed. The MTGs and AOCs of the world may make a lot of noise and get a lot of attention, but most of these activist, publicity seeking congressmen do not have senior committee assignments where most of the real work gets done."

"Polarizing issues are exaggerated by people living in fear. We have to start listening to one another."

"People complain about how bad Washington pols are. But remember, elected representatives are a reflection of those who voted them in."

"Transgendered children: "We all have a responsibility to show love to transgendered children. We need 'guard rails,' however, in areas such as transgendered males competing in women's sports." Curtis reminded that one of his sons was gay.

Liz Cheney: "She was voted out of the Republican leadership not for her criticism of DJT but for her using her leadership position to voice her anti-Trump views." I noted to the Congressman that I was a supporter of Harriet Hageman, who seeks to replace Liz Cheney as Wyoming's sole congressional representative.

Ukraine: "People won't fight for a dictator. People will fight for a democratically elected leader."

China: "We were fooled about China. At the end of the Cold War, we thought China would adopt democratic principles and be at home in the world family of nations. That hasn't happened. China, with her nationalistic and tribal mindset, seeks to become the world's number one global hegemon. The US has underestimated and underappreciated China's malevolent intent."

My comments:

John Curtis is a decent man with an idealized view (IMHO) of the power of a collaborative Washington to do right when it comes to defending those principles which made America the greatest nation in the world. John Curtis and I believe in the same things: constitutional integrity, freedom, rule of law, right to private property, limited government, strong border control etc. We differ in how best, at this stage, to stop, or at least slow, the socialist juggernaut that is slowly eroding those traditional American principles. I believe that you have to fight the socialist monster with monster tactics of your own. For example, a new Republican Congress should immediately impeach Joe Biden for malfeasance related to America's southern border. John Curtis would likely disagree with me on that point.

I have yet to evaluate John Curtis' competitors so I can't yet confirm my delegate vote for Utah Third District US Congress.

I should have asked the Congressman his views on DJT as a candidate for president in 2024. DJT has my strong support for 2024. I will seek an answer to this question.

I applaud John Curtis' efforts to reach out to us delegates in Summit and Wasatch Counties, particularly given the fact that voting from those areas won't have a significant impact on the election's outcome. Most Pub convention delegates are found in Utah County on the southern side of the Wasatch Front.

Above: Freightliner Sprinter. Park City, UT. 27 March 2021.

Sprinters, made in Stuttgart, are branded as either Mercedes or Freightliner. Many people have accused me of virtue signaling by driving the rarer, more uppity Sprinter Freightliner brand. Despite risking accusations of being called snooty, my choice of Freightliner was calculated. It was simply this. When the mud hits the fan, I'd rather hang out with culturally superior truck drivers than ex suits, like me, who don't know how to do anything.

Above: Jeep Rubican 392. Ivins, UT. 27 March 2022.

This one is the first I have seen since taking possession of a Rubican 292 in February.

Above: Looking north from Cliff Side Restaurant. St. George, UT. 28 March 2022.

Above: Deep Pocket Band. Caleb Chapman Soundhouse, American Fork, UT. 29 March 2022.

Best rock and roll since attending the ZZ Top concert October 2021 in Las Vegas. Check out the drummer.

Above: Snow Park Lodge Parking Lot. Deer Valley, UT. 30 March 2022. Image taken from home bound Sliver Lake Express lift.
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Silver Lake bound kid sneered at me as I passed his chair while on my descent to Snow Park Lodge. "You're supposed to ski down, not take the lift down," he said. I didn't have time for a rejoinder to the snooty kid. Ordinarily I'd sympathize with the kid's outspoken jibe. I mean, you don't ride the lift down. You ski down! I had decided that I didn't want to ski in the mashed potato snow as I neared the bottom at Snow Park Lodge.

Earlier I had taken a yard sale tumble while skiing mashed potatoes on Star Gazer. After falling I slid, ski-less and pole-less, fully fifty yards down the run. I stood up and looked up the run hoping for a following skier to pick up my skis and poles and bring them to me. This is the normal, accepted protocol for aiding a skier that has been separated from his gear. I waited about three minutes before two male skiers came over the sight line, saw my skis and skied over to them. One called out, "Are you OK?" I said yes and waited for the helpful skiers to arrive with my skis and poles. I wasn't hurt. I had fallen into soft, slushy, comfy snow on a slow deliberate turn.

I skied a half dozen more runs (none with the soft, slushy snow of Star Gazer) in the Flagstaff and Lady Morgan areas, and after deciding to quit skiing took the lift down to avoid another mashed potato snow encounter. Knock on wood.

I've fallen this year a bit more than in previous years. In early January I was skiing down Homeward Bound when I came upon a number of stopped skiers blocking most of the narrow track. As I slowed, I saw an opening, on the hillside side of the track that I thought I could negotiate. As I approached the opening, one of the skiers blocking the track started up without checking uphill. He skied right into the opening I was hoping to go through. My mid course correction was a rapid turn to the left into the side of the hill adjacent to the track. I avoided a collision but I was laying in over three feet of powder snow after my forced fall. The skier I was trying to avoid was not even aware of my plight. He and his friends skied on down the run. Because the snow was so deep where I had fallen, it took me a while to extricate myself. I more or less crawled over to the edge of the ski run where the surface was firm.

There are two ski rules that apply here. One. Downhill skier has the right of way. In this respect, it was my job to avoid the downhill skier, which I did. The other rule says, look uphill before you start. This skier did not look uphill before closing the slot through which I had hoped to ski. It would have been nice if the skier who skied into my track had looked uphill and waited for me to pass. But, in the end, I, the uphill skier was responsible to avoid the downhill skier, which I did.

In mid January, I was skiing down the lower part of Homeward Bound Run, which connects Ontario ski run with the Silver Lake base area. This portion of Homeward Bound is a slight pitch, narrow road run out to the open area at Silver Lake Village. On this particular day, the temperature was close to 0 degrees and the run was icy hard. I got going a little faster than I wanted to be going and at the lower opening of the run into the Silverlake area there were some standing skiers. In order to avoid these skiers I had to maneuver left, going quite fast on the icy surface. I lost control and went down. I acquired some bruises on my leg and a sore shoulder, both of which seemed more or less healed by the end of the next week.

End February was when I had my yard sale fall on Lucky Bill. On the appointed day, I skied this run for the first time. It had never been groomed until this day, so I had to try it. The light was flat and I had difficulty at the bottom of the run seeing where the compression to the flat was. I misjudged the bottom area and went flying. I received a gash on my right arm which required ten external stitches and eight internal stitches.

It is said that if you're not falling, you aren't pushing the envelope hard enough. Still, I'm growing older and "it must needs be" that there will come a point where tolerating falls will seem less macho and more bad judgement. Fortunately, today's fall was an easy one, even though I slid a long way. I need to be more deliberate in skiing mashed potatoes. And if I see that mouthy kid again who sneered at me earlier while I was descending on the lift, I'll tell him, "Eat snow!"

Above: Ruths Chris Steakhouse. Mezzanine, The Monk, Magnolia, and Bishop. Park City, UT. 30 March 2022

Long time (not old, long time) friends being introduced.

Above: Bougainvillea. At home, Ivins, UT. 31 March 2022.

TIMDT now working on the outside of the house. Buying pots and plants. Looking nice!

Addendum:

Hey, how about a photo of a waiter?

I was once in an upscale restaurant in Southeast Asia where the wait staff were naked, but all female... It didn't "creep" me out but being a Quaker in good standing I averted my eyes.

Dr. G
Often on the roads around the glode, next month to Germany, following Carl Stearns Clancy and Will Rogers trail in 1927.