The Balrog broke a bolt off her wooden doll stroller and hauled it to the local slave pit for me to fix. It required me to use some JB Weld to reattach the bolt and keep some strength in the wooden frame, so naturally there is some cure time. She gave the project to me right before lunch...

5 minutes ago as her mother and I stood in the overhang discussing and packing for a trip out to Montana I hear the dreaded "clip clop" of The Balrog's cowgirl boots headed my way...
She came around the corner, stopped when she saw me standing there and placed her hands on her hips, I am not joking, and looked at me real serious.
"How is my stroller project coming along?"

I try to keep a straight face, really I do... but this time I burst out with the biggest laugh of the day. That was exactly what she said, as verified by the Dread Princess.

Hhhmmm....i'll have to check that button out next time i fly on fleabay. At least the vendor i saw on GB responded to an offer i made on a used sig p226 mk25 in fde. Got it for $100 less than their original asking price and they went out of their way to make sure i received it to do my transfer before July 1st....a total of $625 with shipping wasn't too bad.

Had lunch with the guy I started my business with

We met when we were framing houses as employees of another contractor. When I decided to strike out on my own the company was going to fold and he didn't have anywhere else to go. Our boss had moved on and wasn't really doing anything more than paperwork by that point. Even though this guy was a highly functional drug addict I liked keeping him around. He had a conscious, did good work, and was always honest with me. At one point I told him to go home and get strait "Come back when you're ready to work". Not flat out firing him must have had an impact because three days later he came back and put in a good day, then several more after. He was also great at weeding through the other guys that our boss hired off CL. Tell me who was functional, who to try, and who to get rid of because they really had a problem. We were definitely the odd couple, but it worked

When I started the LLC I didn't want to deal with L&I so I made all (4) of us partners, we split profits equally. My guy and I framed a house together before the other two guys came on (they were employees of another contractor and wanted to finish the house that they were on, I appreciated that. Ethics are important). After we were done and paid I quickly realized that you don't hand a meth addict $5,000 in cash. Didn't see him for close to two weeks. Boy, was I naive. After that he settled in and realized how good we had it (I also started managing his money for him). Lots of work and consistency is really what he needed. Someone to believe in him didn't hurt either

Everything was great till the down turn back in ought eight (I don't normally use 'ought', but when I do it's referring to the downturn). The four of us split up to try and keep busy, helping each other as much as we could. My guy went back to the union because that's what he did before I met him. They kept him somewhat busy through the slow time but not enough. He went through another dark period. Off the radar and I never knew when I would hear from him. It was hard for all of us but I was really worried about him. Fortunately he made it through, and when things picked back up he became a hot commodity doing high rises in Seattle. He knows his shit and can lead others. It's hard to complain about hardship to someone that's been through what he has. He's also huge and can move whatever you point to

We had lunch for a couple of reasons. He's hurt and can't work right now. All the years of hard labor have caught up to him. He had shoulder surgery six weeks ago and it will be another six weeks before he's somewhat mobile. The other reason is that I closed out my contractor's license last week and felt like going full circle. We had a lot of ups and down over the years. More than most sane people do anyway. I like seeing how well he's doing now compared to when I met him. I certainly can't take credit for that but also don't take any fault

Sorry for the wall of text, just felt good seeing an old friend

That is a great story, and like you already stated most people would have turned their backs on a “functional” addict but good on you for keeping him straight. I can tell you with 100% certainty that if you were not looking out for him his life who would have spun completely out of control, the impact you have made in this guys life saved him.....Trust me on this.

Frat boy and Dumbass stayed out of my way at work today. We actually got something done, which is astounding.

Also found out the manager is a retired Sheriff, and wants to learn to shoot better. I spy a range trip in the near future...

Well? WTF? How didit turn out dammit?

BTW Precious story. love 'em all.

Damn Mike, you,have way too many bosses!

Does that worry anyone else?


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Not sure if this is the right thread or not . . . but on 6/29/18 I bought a Silencerco product, and submitted the paperwork for the free suppressor they were offering.

That free suppressor arrived at the FFL (Kelly's Gun Sales) today. Holy hell, OVER a year!

Now I start the one-year wait before I can actually receive it.

Yeah, Fuk that shit ^^^^^^

He described that during qualifications he rated slightly above average, but he wants to be "Good or Better than."

Picked up a new sleeping bag for camping this weekend. Bags have come a long way in 40 years. My old Gander Mountain bag has done well for 40 years, but it is a beast of a bulky heavy down bag. Can't wait to try the new bag out.

What did you get?

Scored about 25 rough cut hazelnut boards for 30 bucks