Random observations

I have been halfway following the brouhaha over the Secret Service guys and their illicit late night activities.

Hey, since when is that news? Heck, for all those with delicate sensibilities, understand this, that has been going on since Methuselah was a child and his palace guard was involved.

I for one, probably have to thank at least one bunch of  Secret Service types for having a 3 a.m. party. You see, back in those dark years of 1970 when Mr. Nixon was president and had his compound at the South edge of San Clemente, California, I spent much of the summer working at the gas station just up the road than had the contract to provide the gas for the tanks of its thirsty Broncos and sedans.  I worked the graveyard shift, which had its moments, but was mostly pretty boring.

However, I had one solace: It at least was fairly well patrolled by law enforcement … and the Secret Service detail was billeted in the motel right behind it … which turned out to be my benefit. In a given night I would have at least two or three San Clemente city police cars roll by, one or two Orange County sheriff’s deputies, several California state park rangers and an occasional California Highway Patrol cruise by.

Well, this one night about 3am a band of bikers tootled in to get a little gas, between the six bikes it was like about $2 worth (at .30 a gallon) , and then basically camped out for the next hour. I wasn’t going to tell them to leave, California bikers having the reputations they did, so I just sat in my chair in front of the open service bay and read a book, as customers would come off the freeway, take one look and whip right back on the freeway.

Well, it seems that they had been sitting there for about 45-50 minutes, when one of the Secret Service types left his room for a second trip to the motel ice machine and saw that the bikers were still lurking. He called the local police, who dispatched a patrol car, which showed up a few minutes later, much to my delight.

Anyway, the friendly police officer and I chatted a bit, and he just sat there until the bikers got the hint and rumbled back on to the southbound I-5.  Shortly later, two carloads of CHP were seen zipping south on the freeway in pursuit.

Anyway, call it what you will, but I was glad the Secret Service agents were having there little party.

BTW: Nixon wasn’t in residence at the time … but that is other stories.

Second thing, the dust up about the uniformed idiots who apparently let someone get ahold of their pictures of them posing with dead Taliban. Would people please get a grip. This is a warzone in Afghanistan and US soldiers are not saints. Granted, most of them are pretty good guys, but some are merely jerks and stupid at that. I could tell tales about that stupidity, but what would be the point. Armies are designed by geniuses to be run by idiots. It has been that way since time immemorial.

Oh, and you don’t think the other side does do similar things? Give me a flipping break! Why this one standard (a pretty impossible one at that) for one side and another for the other side. It just drives me up the wall that we have people back here who keep falling for this crap and get all upset.

Nuff said.