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is it true that the store burned down? this may be one of the saddest days of my life. i have some really good friends, but that mountain in general and big lake in particular are some of the best friends i've ever had. this is heart breaking. about 54 years ago i caught my first trout at big lake. when i was an infant we camped at big lake the weekend it opened. every one of my kids caught their first fish at big lake. we used to keep the water churned up several days a week, every week it was open with my junky, leaky ol' boat with a 7.5 horse sears gamefisher on it. ice fished there many times. camped and hunted and cut wood and picniced all around it. we have caught thousands of trout and made more memorys than can be listed at big lake. i know the lake is still there, but this is a sad, sad deal. selfish people need to think about what can happen by being stupid for a few minutes. i really hope the folks that started the fire understand what their selfishness and stupidity has done and understand how many folks lives have been harmed by this fire. homes are lost, livelihoods have been lost, businesses have been lost, millions have been wasted on something that was completely avoidable and caused by selfish and lazy and stupid actions. and the forest circus sitting on their stupid, fat butts saying it would burn itself out just compounded the stupid and lazy actions of others. the land will recover and in some cases will be better for it. mother nature always wins. but the human toll here needs to be taken into account also. and it is large. Lark.

boy, is this great! Lark.

dang, why all the anger? i hope nobody loses a house. really hate to hear about singleshot's folk's place. hope it survives. i hope nobody loses their house. to tell folks "tough luck" for living in the forest is sorta cold hearted. fire is a true part of the system, but you can't mismanage things for a century and then decide to just let stuff burn. the forst circus has built roads and developed the forest for 100 years and enticed folks to live there. to just say tough luck because you get burned out by a fire is like saying tough luck to somebody that gets there place robbed and saying it's their fault for living in town. another thing to think about, 30 years ago when logging was a real enterprise, you didn't see fire like this. they kept the brush cleared up and their was a lot more access for fire personell to get in and fight fires. not too long ago, the dude fire was biggest fire in the history of the state. we have a couple fires a year that are much larger than the dude. this one is already a lot bigger. if you're going to manage something, you can't decide to just quit. anyway, hate to hear this about the mountain. i'm intimate with every foot of the area. sure hope everyone is ok. Lark.

well, i'm homeward bound saturday. leave here just after noon, then to the town my ancestor founded, chicago, lay up for a couple hours and on to phx. went over 40 days with no sun. rained every day for over 50 days straight. headed home to a state on fire it sounds like. you guys get that fire put out before i get back. i am bringin' 40 lbs o' lobsters and digby scallops with me too. one 5 pounder. the pots will be boilin' when i get to the house and we are gonna have us a lobster slob down. be nice to dry out a little and get some sun. this is the only time since birth that ain't had a farmer tan line somewhere. i look like an albino. later dudes. Lark.

dang, that's a big fire. one thing about it, from looks of the map, that is one area that could use a little burning. sure hope it misses the structures. anybody know if it burned the old lee cabin? it looks like it is right in the middle of it. Lark.

that little piece o' bone with the hole in it ain't anything random. that is what is left of a snell ear ring. indians would take a full sea shell, probably a clam, and cut the middle out until it was a ring and carve the little bump with the hole in and wear em around. you seldom see a full one. almost everyone i've ever seen looked just like that. but that is a helluva find. if you ever find another one, you'll be really lucky. they are usually dug up. anyway, that is cooler than any ol' elk antler. Lark.

if it used to, it's probably dirty. that or the catch is worn down. them are fine peestolas. Lark.

practice more. or poke your eye out. no wait, that's too extreme. try an eye patch. a friend of mine did that with his kid and it worked ok. i saw a guy on tv who was born with no arms shooting a pistol the other day. changed clips, cocked and fired a 1911. saw another guy who was a pro bass fisherman who only had a part of a messed up arm and no legs. he drove his own boat, tied on his own lures, with his mouth, casted his own pole and caught and reeled in his own fish. all i'm saying is that a guy can do anything, if there is enough desire. shooting righty or lefty is pretty insignificant when you look at life in general. shoot however you're most comfortable and don't get caught up in the "you can't do that because" bs. later, Lark.

i have always liked wool. kind of sensitive to wash and dry, but it is great stuff. tough and warm. Lark.

google this name. karoly takacs. yeah, it's a real name. when it comes to shooting, if you can lift your gun and aren't blind, you can shoot it proficiently. anyway you want to. eye dominance doesn't matter when one eye is closed. you still see in a straight line. Lark.

whatever eye you have open is your dominant eye. the dominant eye deal is pretty much a myth. you generally have a little better vision in your dominant eye, but if you are right handed and left eye dominant, you're probably better off shooting right handed and just learning to keep your left eye closed tightly. the only thing that really matter is how you are most comfortable shooting. you can train your eyes and hands to do anything. my uncle shoots equally as well right or left handed and right or left eyed. a lot of times his first shot is right handed and his second shot is lefthanded and then back to right if he needs to shoot again. when i was a kid, just for the heck of it, i started shooting my bb gun left handed and with my left eye. i've always been kind of ambidextrous (amphibious if you're from aj) and it didn't take long at all to be as good with either hand. i still a shotgun or iron sighted rifle left handed a lot, and i am severely right eye dominant. a friend of mine bought a new bow and got all rigged up, lefthanded, because he was left eye dominant and his stupid uncle told him he had to do it that way. he finally had to give up and go righty because he could never get cooridinated enough to shoot lefty. wasted about a grand on his lefty stuff. shoot however you're most comfortable and train your eyes to shoot they way you want em too. if you don't have enough control over your own body to make one eye close and the other stay open, then take up golf. Lark.

apparantly osamba was a jack muslim. says he had a big stash o' porno. i imagine peta will be outraged. wonder if they'll find a big bacon stash too? Lark. http://ca.news.yahoo.com/exclusive-pornography-found-bin-laden-hideout-officials-162214194.html

i have a .250/3000 that had the same treatment. i put a peep sight on it and a new butt stock and it makes a dandy saddle rifle. are you selling the 25/35? Lark.

once you get him weaned i'll trade ya a good mule and a saddle for him. Lark.

when will this global warming end? oh the humanity. you guys oughta be up her in hellifax. i ain't seen the sun in 12 days. they are booking vampire vacations here because they can walk around all day and not worry about it. i have to trim my toes every night. the webs between em, not the toe nails. Lark.

!@#$%&!!!! would any o' them 99's happen to be a savage hi power? Lark.

really skinny straight crosshairs with a dot is what i like. i also like the leupold tapered crosshairs with a dot. Lark.

congratulations dude. now get busy and have a couple more so's they can punk stuff outta canyons for ya. Lark.

now that's some rotten @$$ed news. man, what a fantastic building. how in the heck did it go up so fast? takes awhile for them big ol' logs to light up. musta been a gas leak or some deal. that is just too dang bad. glad nobody got hurt. Lark.

if you still have it when i get home we'll talk Bill. pre 64 model 70's are like dirt, they ain't ever makin' any more of em again and you can't improve on perfection. just the fact that you owned it makes it worth somethin'. Lark.

the nba still exista? i quit watchin' it decades ago, when it got phonier than 'rasslin'. Lark.

what about the marlin .30/30? Lark.

nothing better than a good family. congratulations. Lark.

just realized today is cinco de mayo. everybody have a good one. man i miss mexican food. wish i could be at casa reynoso for a gollo and a cheese crisp for lunch. Lark.

they've been talkin' about clonin' extinct species. i kinda think that janet napalitano could be a wooly mammoth. so they'll probably turn over the wolf management to home land security too. Lark.