The West is Best

 

I like the town of West, population 2,860. It's the Czech capital of Texas and justifiably famous for its kolaches. Pull off I35 on the way to or from Waco and get some, worth the stop. But that's not all, there's plenty of bars, see LL's franchise, and restaurants, which gives the place a happy, small town country vibe.

Plenty of Hardware, no Bullets

But I wasn't there for that, I was after ammo at True Value, which is a hardware store that sells guns and ammunition. At least it did, and even in the days of the infamous Obama bullet shortage this store was always stocked with ammo at normal prices. Maybe history would repeat itself, I walked through the door to find out.

Looking West

No. A few rifles, mostly Henry levers, nice, but hardly any bullets and what there was wasn't affordable. A solitary 500 round "value pack" of .22 LR for $80? Sorry, guys, not gonna do it. The pleasant young Czechoslovakian woman behind the counter apologized, "I'm sorry, nothing is normal now." I agreed, and we looked each other in the eye, "Ain't that the truth." A meeting of minds, for sure, but no bullets.

West is Catholic And Has More Fun Than Other Towns

So I headed back down the speedway deathtrap that is I35, and in a few short minutes was back in the rural haven of the County Seat itself. At its Walmart, in fact. Maybe this evil Chinese incursion onto US sovereign land would have bullets.

A Typical West Street Scene

Sure enough, there they were! Boxes of 12 and 20 gauge, .22 LR, .22 Mini Mag, .22 WMR and .17 HMR, and all at normal price. Shocked and astounded, I bought three 50 round boxes of CCI .22 WMR to go through the Marlin I don't have, and looked at a Savage bull barrel .17. Nice looking gun for 212 bucks, then again, so were the levers at True Value. Hmmm.

Look at Those Bad Boys!

And that was that, a short excursion into ammoland in North Central Texas. Now it's time for Hamburgers, to celebrate the victory of it all.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Dinosaurs And Breakfast

 

The day dawned bright and clear, such is country life in the pastoral idyll that is North Central Texas. Hey, I'm not complaining, and after the morning ritual of Morning Prayer, walking the dog to the Pick 'n Steal, checking the news and all of that, it seemed right to go for a Mexican breakfast. Why?

Because I like it and always get Huevos Rancheros; it's a tradition and a good one. So off I walked down the streets of this erstwhile cotton town to Montes and adventure, and there it was, a dinosaur! Two, in fact.

Impressed and startled, I took a few photos, imagining the time these ferocious beasts roamed the land, tearing their prey apart limb from limb until they miraculously turned into attractive birds. A parable, perhaps, for the diner itself.

Some say dinosaurs still exist, such as the Loch Ness Monster, Pterosaurs and other throwbacks to an earlier age, and perhaps they do. You'll remember the long extinct Coelacanth that was discovered alive and well in the waters of the modern world.

Regardless, I fell upon the delicious breakfast like a raptor before heading back to the safety of the Compound, mission accomplished. And now? Time to fry up some Striper and watch the People's Currency test all time highs. We hope.

Your Pal,

LSP

Ramblin' Man

  

Biden's America. Note made in China mask trash in foreground

The sun shone, birds sang, squirrels attacked a cat nesting on the Compound's fence, and the cat won. All was right with the world, so I went for a ramble after morning prayer.

Tarleton House, a wreck since "Biden"

Past the broken down shacks behind Tarleton House, past the flotsam and debris of Biden's America and into the comparative sanity of the local High's "discipline school."

Hail the Discipline School

Dicipline School? It used to be a bakery and sounds ferocious. Like, maybe, Prussian BCT, but it's just where malfeasant teens go to pass high school. The kids have to wear khakis and a polo, a veritable uniform, and they're not allowed to talk in class unless it's requested, either, and their performance or miserable lack thereof is monitored daily. Good heavens.

Doge Lofts?

Sounds a bit like school, which puts the normal ISD carry-on in perspective. Whatever, I know all this because the SPC attended this hallowed hall of academe before embarking on a career of military adventure. He's enrolled in college now, partly thanks to the DS. Thanks, teachers.

And on, past half-occupied warehouses which stand as mute monuments to King Cotton. You'd think some enterprising dogecoin millionaire would turn those upper stories into attractive lofts for people who want rural bucolic haven but have to commute to the appalling metrosprawl to earn a buck.

Then home, and guess what. Governor Abbott's lifting Texas' absurd, stupid, corrupt, iniquitous, snake oil, faked up China virus restrictions. About dam time. Let's hear it for secession.

Republic of Texas forever,

LSP