painterman67

prayers sent..........hope he fills you with the peace you and your father deserve. David

they have been going up for you since then.........nothing specific has been asked for just to look in on you when he can.............more sent and good luck with all you are doing.... David

prayers sent .........hope the misses heals well David

wish I could help but have hit a rough spot myself............the bills are paid and food is in the cubbard but thats it...........all can do is send up prayers for you.............hope they help. David

just wantedd to say thanks for all the b-day wishes...left the house at 7:30 am and just got back in..,great day riding and my hand feel really good....better than it has in years in fact so Im looking forward to wed to get the left had operated on........ Tahnks again DAvid

wish we could but we will be in the Nantahala gorge that weekend and Ill mor ethan likely be riding the dragon if my hands cooperate. David

So sorry Joe...........prayers will continue as long as needed and maybey just a little bit longer. Gods peace be with you David

What a fathers day gift HUH............Happy fathers day 2 days early to you adn give your son our thanks from the painterman family. David

consider it done Joe...prayers sent for you and yours.......... godspeed my friend and all the peace that comes form him David

good call dingy I didnt think of that david

Im kinda agree with squidley here. Mine did the same thing. All the lights would and all electrical as far as that goes but would not crank. Quick call to miffinman revieled that I had blown the mian fuse located just in front of the battery box/fuse box setup. Put in a new one and charged the battery and cranked wright up mine a 91 vr by the way so it should be close. also agreee with dingy makes sure the car is not running DAvid Also a quick thought if you think the starter is the culprit you should be able to hook the ground to the frame and touck positive to positive side of starter. If its not the starter it should turn over at least

walmart sells pipe cleaners over in the craft section or you can go to the tobacco shops to get them...............oooooopps never mind wrong type of pipe. David

how lopng you going to be in Asheville miss Annie........I just asked(begged more like it) the wife if I could go this weekend. She said if my hand heals well enough for her, and aflac actually comes through then I can ride my bike up. Hope all goes well as I would love to actually meet youand your other half. David

kinda sounds like a M&E in the making.............anybody up there willing to startthis....as soon as my hands heal I would love to make the trip. David and congrats to those who have paved the way......you four make us proud to be American

Passing on the right side is against the law in NC just for that reason. Cant tell you how many times Ive seen peaple wreck doing that and the ones passing on the right always gets the ticket. Even if the front vehicle is giving a left hand turn signal. Not saying you were wrong but dont get caught doing it in North Carolina you just might get an officer whos looking to prove something. Glad to hear you was able to get over the curb and out of the way safely though. David

My Geography is terrible but Ive got a 91 that it would take 2 minutes to try this for you,Im in Nc and off work for the next 7 weeks....shoot me a pm and ill help you out if I can David

He was getting old and paunchy And his hair was falling fast, And he sat around the Legion, Telling stories of the past. Of a war that he once fought in And the deeds that he had done, In his exploits with his buddies; They were heroes, every one. And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors His tales became a joke, All his buddies listened quietly For they knew whereof he spoke. But we'll hear his tales no longer, For old Bob has passed away, And the world's a little poorer For a Soldier died today. He won’t be mourned by many, Just his children and his wife. For he lived an ordinary, Very quiet sort of life. He held a job and raised a family, Going quietly on his way; And the world won't note his passing, 'Tho a Soldier died today. When politicians leave this earth, Their bodies lie in state, While thousands note their passing, And proclaim that they were great. Papers tell of their life stories From the time that they were young But the passing of a Soldier Goes unnoticed, and unsung. Is the greatest contribution To the welfare of our land, Someone who breaks his promise And cons his fellow man? Or the ordinary fellow Who in times of war and strife, Goes off to serve his country And offers up his life? The politician's stipend And the style in which he lives, Are often disproportionate, To the service that he gives. While the ordinary Soldier, Who offered up his all, Is paid off with a medal And perhaps a pension, small. It is not the politicians With their compromise and ploys, Who won for us the freedom That our country now enjoys. Should you find yourself in danger, With your enemies at hand, Would you really want some cop-out, With his ever waffling stand? Or would you want a Soldier-- His home, his country, his kin, Just a common Soldier, Who would fight until the end? He was just a common Soldier, And his ranks are growing thin, But his presence should remind us We may need his like again. For when countries are in conflict, We find the Soldier's part Is to clean up all the troubles That the politicians start. If we cannot do him honor While he's here to hear the praise, Then at least let's give him homage At the ending of his days. Perhaps just a simple headline In the paper that might say: "OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING, A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."

figure youd be home on the year that I cant go to MD.............. glad to hear Jeff is home safe. David

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60114112 not sure if you have an Ikea store local to you but the one closest to me in about an hr away. They sale sheepskins but the small print says not online. You can also google ikea.com to find a store near you went and found the link for ikea .com http://www.ikea.com/ DAvid

Ikea for sheepskin.......... DAvid

This was sent to me and I just thought I would share it with you all........... .French view American Military by Jean-Marc Liotier American troops in Afghanistan through the eyes of a French OMLT infantryman The US often hears echoes of worldwide hostility against the application of its foreign policy, but seldom are they reached by the voices of people who experience first hand how close we are to the USA. In spite of contextual political differences and conflicting interests that generate friction, we do share the same fundamental values - and when push comes to shove that is what really counts. Through the eyes of that French OMLT (Operational Mentoring Liaison Teams) infantryman you can see how strong the bond is on the ground. In contrast with the Americans, the French soldiers don't seem to write much online - or maybe the proportion is the same but we just have fewer people deployed. Whatever the reason, this is a rare and moving testimony which is why I decided to translate it into English, so that American people can catch a glimpse of the way European soldiers see them. Not much high philosophy here, just the first hand impressions of a soldier in contact - but that only makes it more authentic. Here is link to the original French if you want to double check. Article, http://omlt3-kdk3.over-blog.com/article-22935665.html_ ( http://omlt3-kdk3.over-blog.com/article-22935665.html ) and here is English translation : "We have shared our daily life with two US units for quite a while - they are the first and fourth companies of a prestigious infantry battalion whose name I will withhold for the sake of military secrecy. To the common man it is a unit just like any other. But we live with them and got to know them, and we henceforth know that we have the honor to live with one of the most renowned units of the US Army - one that the movies brought to the public as series showing "ordinary soldiers thrust into extraordinary events". Who are they, those soldiers from abroad, how is their daily life, and what support do they bring to the men of our OMLT every day? Few of them belong to the Easy Company, the one the TV series focuses on. This one nowadays is named Echo Company, and it has become the support company. They have a very strong American accent - the language they speak seems to be not even English. How many times did I have to write down what I wanted to say rather than waste precious minutes trying various pronunciations of a seemingly common word? Whatever state they are from, no two accents are alike and they themselves admit that in some crisis situations they have difficulties understanding each other. Heavily built, fed at the earliest age with Gatorade, proteins at places like Waffle House and McDonalds - they are all heads and shoulders taller than us and their muscles remind us of Rambo. Our frames are amusingly skinny to them - even the strongest of us - and because of that they often mistake us for Afghans. Here we discover America as it is often depicted: their values are taken to their paroxysm, often amplified by the loneliness of this outpost in the middle of that Afghan valley. Honor, motherland - everything here reminds of that: the American flag floating in the wind above the outpost, just like the one on the postage parcels. Even if recruits often originate from the heart of American cities and gang territory, no one here has any goal other than to hold high and proud the star spangled banner. Each man knows he can count on the support of their whole people who provide them through the mail all the things that an American could miss in such a remote front-line location: books, chewing gums, razorblades, Gatorade, toothpaste etc. Every man is aware of how much the American people backs him in his difficult mission. And that is a first shock to our preconceptions: the American soldier is no individualist. The team, the group, the combat team are the focus of all his attention. And they are impressive warriors! We have not come across bad ones, as strange at it may seem to you when you know how critical French people can be. Even if some of them are a bit on the heavy side, all of them provide us everyday with lessons in infantry know-how. Beyond the wearing of a combat kit that never seems to discomfort them (helmet strap, helmet, combat goggles, rifles etc.) the long hours of watch at the outpost never seem to annoy them in the slightest. On the one square meter tower above the perimeter wall they stand the five consecutive hours in full battle rattle and night vision goggles on top, their sight focused in the directions of likely danger. No distractions, no pauses, they are like statues nights and days. At night, all movements are performed in the dark - only a handful of subdued red lights indicate the occasional presence of a soldier on the move. Same with the vehicles whose lights are covered - everything happens in pitch dark even filling the fuel tanks with the Japy pump. And combat? If you have seen Rambo you have seen it all - always coming to the rescue when one of our teams gets in trouble, and always in the shortest delay. That is one of their tricks: they switch from T-shirt and sandals to combat ready in three minutes. Arriving in contact with the enemy, the way they fight is simple and disconcerting: they just charge! They disembark and assault in stride, they bomb first and ask questions later - which cuts any pussyfooting short. (This is the main area where I'd like to comment. Anyone with a passing knowledge of Kipling knows the lines from Chant Pagan: 'If your officer's dead and the sergeants look white/remember its ruin to run from a fight. /So take open order, lie down, sit tight/And wait for supports like a soldier./ This, in fact, is the basic philosophy of both British and Continental soldiers. 'In the absence of orders, take a defensive position.' Indeed, virtually every army in the world. The American soldier and Marine, however, are imbued from early in their training with the ethos: In the Absence of Orders: Attack! Where other forces, for good or ill, will wait for precise orders and plans to respond to an attack or any other 'incident', the American force will simply go counting on firepower and SOP to carry the day. This is one of the great strengths of the American force in combat and it is something that even our closest allies, such as the Brits and Aussies (that latter being closer by the way) find repeatedly surprising. No wonder it surprises the hell out of our enemies!) We seldom hear any harsh word, and from 5 AM onwards the camp chores are performed in beautiful order and always with excellent spirit. A passing American helicopter stops near a stranded vehicle just to check that everything is alright; an American combat team will rush to support ours before even knowing how dangerous the mission is - from what we have been given to witness, the American soldier is a beautiful and worthy heir to those who liberated France and Europe. To those who bestow us with the honor of sharing their combat outposts and who everyday give proof of their military excellence, to those who pay the daily tribute of America's army's deployment on Afghan soil, to those we owed this article, ourselves hoping that we will always remain worthy of them and to always continue hearing them say that we are all the same band of brothers".

not sure how far iceland is but Jonas ( aka starfan) is coming from there David

prayers sent my friend.Either way the man upstairs has his ears full. Godspped and heal well David

Be safe and good riding while here.Lots of crazy peaple out ther like me. Seriously though be safe and good riding. We are going to hate not getting to meet you two as I had to say no to coming to MD this year. I have to be in the docs office friday for checkup on hand so I cant be in ohio at the same time. David