Posts Tagged ‘danger

18
Nov
23

On the Edge

By Bucktown 2 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I think I am just going to make every blog start with, it has been a while since I’ve posted on here….. Life is chaos. Mine is certainly full. I try hard to be enough for everyone I know, but I feel as though I constantly fall short and let people down. It is never my intention to fall short of expectations, but it still happens. I recently watched the movie “Dog” with Channing Tatum. I bet that guy wakes up everyday and says “Darn it, why can’t I be handsome like FknBucky??” Ahhh my twenties. Good days.

Don’t worry this entire blog is not going to be about how flipping good looking I am. Although it would make for some great reading. Nope, not today. I take Annabel out for a couple runs just about every day. She knows the route by heart and once I give the green light she takes off like a race car doing the quarter mile. She simply can’t get there fast enough. Where is there??? That is a great question.

We have checkpoints I created since she was a puppy. The easiest ones are streets. She can’t cross a street EVER unless I say okay. She will run to the very tip of the sidewalk. One more inch and she would be technically in the street so she doesn’t cross that line, but still gets as close to it as dogginly possible. Some people get freaked out at this, but I’ve learned to trust her. That line will not be crossed until I give permission. The word is “okay”, that gives permission to run ahead to the next checkpoint. I test her sometimes by yelling “Open”, “Almost”, and other similar sounding words. She flinches, but realizes those are not the right word and will sit and wait. Quite impressive.

The edge. One paw almost touching. I used to get almost upset in the beginning, but as I mentioned I trust her now so it doesn’t bother me anymore. In fact we had a conversation about it. I asked “Annie, why do you insist on being on the very edge??” She replied “The view is better.”

Think on that for a moment. I’m a great view kind of guy. I enjoy the edge. It makes me feel alive. To be safe, but close enough to the danger that I can smell it, taste it, and reach out and touch it if I wanted to. I’ve always been that way, but like everyone I had to grow up to properly know who I am. In life I don’t have time to waste so I’m flying to the next checkpoint as fast as possible, giving myself time to enjoy the view from the edge. Once the slow pokes finally catch up we all start again, but they never see the view I just witnessed because they just keep moving at that snail pace never realizing they missed out on something remarkable, beautiful, and many times life changing.

I remember a time we were driving around the mountains in Colorado on a Sunday afternoon. Nothing to do besides tell jokes and mess with each other. We stopped a few times to check out some views. One was on a very tall cliff. I’m sure something like a thousand feet down. We had four in the group, but only two of us ventured to the edge. Right on it. I stood there with my friend as the adrenaline started to pump understanding an inch or two separated me from certain death. I wasn’t scared. I was alive. The view was more gorgeous and precious. The moment went from nothing to a memory I’ll never forget as I stepped closer and closer to the edge. The other two guys were 20 ft behind us literally shaking with fear just thinking about being where I was. It was one of the first moments of my life that fear became a noun.

I understand who I am. I take risks. I enjoy the edge. I like the view. You have to figure out you. Don’t stand on the edge unless you are willing to accept the consequences. There is always a price to pay.

Whether you are in the front, middle, or back is up to you. Just be sure wherever you end up that you take time to enjoy the moment with those around you. When you feel your life is in chaos remember to control the only thing you always have control of. Your attitude.

FknBucky

READ * THINK * LIVE FREE

12
Apr
22

Driving Stupid

By Bucktown 6 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I got the RAGE. The road is mine. “Get out the way B___!!!” as Ludacris would say. I’m not alone as thousands of videos on youtube show idiots freaking out over driving issues. That in itself is the problem. I drive a lot. More than most people I know. I drive to work as I cover North and South Carolina for a sales territory. I also drive back to the midwest to see family a few times a year. I’ve driven from coast to coast multiple times in my life along with from Canada to Mexico/Gulf. What is the point of that?? Point is I’ve driven a lot. Stop interrupting me.

I see it every day. People out driving that would be better off thrown into a small box and left in the jungle somewhere far far away. Actually that would be a waste. We wouldn’t want that so we put them in a box, cook them in the sun for 5-6 days, and when nice a ripe we feed them to cannibal tribes in Brazil. It is a win win. I see you. I watch your crap car switch lanes. No blinker. No plan. Just you driving like all the other cars are simply obstacles. You can’t be bothered to think about the family in the car you just cut off. You got no time to think about the 52 year old man that is just trying to get home after working a long shift. His wife and kids have no other income as they are living paycheck to paycheck, but you don’t care because you have need for speed.

I watch as you swerve into this lane and that lane. Going up three car lengths to slam on your brakes when you finally see what the rest of us see. Traffic is backed up. Nowhere to go regardless of how many people you cut off. You try to do 85 mph on the freeway when traffic is moving 50 mph. Obviously you are a brain surgeon needing to go save lives in your 2001 Honda Accord. My guess is your meth dealer called and said he will meet you at the truck stop your Mom works at as a Lot Lizard. Yeah I went there.

I watched this happen on the way to the VA yesterday. Two cars could not accept that traffic was heavy. They came on about exit 60 going very fast to merge into traffic that was not going very fast. Both cars had to brake hard to not ram the cars in front of them. 4 lanes of traffic all going the same speed. I like go fast too when traffic is light, but I know when that isn’t happening. We’ve all seen these drivers who are happy to endanger every person around them to get 40 feet further. It is stupid beyond all. If you do this you are STUPID. Both cars exited on Exit 70. 10 miles. They maybe got a 1/4 mile further along than I was.

That quarter mile. What is that in the time of life clock? 10-15 seconds. Heck I’ll even be generous and say they saved a full minute driving recklessly with complete abandon for anyone else on that road at that time. You got away with the swerving, bumper riding, crap selfish driving this time, but what about the next time. It is a habit because you’re STUPID. You do it everyday, multiple times a day, year after year, and somehow you still have the balls to say ”It was an accident” when you cause a wreck and kill someone. Is that 1 minute worth a persons life??

Tell you what. Do me a favor and let me know which person you care about in your life that we can sacrifice so I can start driving like a jerk as well. If you are willing to gamble the lives of people I love so that you can get your precious minute then you got to ante up. Doesn’t sound so cool when you think about it in real life terms. This isn’t Grand Theft Auto where you simply crash, jump out of the car, and steal a new one. There are no extra lives for the people you hit or the people you supposedly love riding in your car. If you drive like this with your kids in the car you are a special sort of STUPID. Not only do you endanger them, but you are teaching the next generation of STUPID.

People die because of drivers like this. Kids, adults, Moms, Dads, and families are ruined for your precious seconds. Seconds. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10…. That amount of time cost someone their life by a STUPID driver. Slow down, let that car merge in, enjoy life instead of riding a bumper in front of you screaming at the driver like they care or can hear you. I hate the cars going slow in the passing lane as well, but when traffic is heavy it doesn’t matter. The next time you catch yourself doing these things remind yourself that no amount of time is worth a life. How much are you willing to gamble??

Be Safe my Friends.

FknBucky

READ * THINK * LIVE FREE

P.S. I’ve written about this before, but the message should be taught to EVERYONE that plans to drive or ride in an automobile. I ask that if you read this blog and agree please post a comment or share it. Please love yourself and others enough to let the minute go. Better yet ask your dead self if the 15 seconds were worth it.

25
Nov
21

45 Seconds

By Bucktown Leave a Comment
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Justice for Ryan Cooper. No one will forget him and we will search for the person/persons responsible forever. The truth will come out and you will be held accountable.

When I write these blogs I have a thought in my head that I can only get out by putting the words down on paper. I think about things constantly as the world around me changes I analyze everything in real time deciding how I feel about it. This is just the way I’m wired I guess and it isn’t changing at this point. The reason I say that is because yesterday was a roller coaster of emotion on my 8-9 hour drive to Alabama to spend Thanksgiving with my brothers family. I lived here for a good amount of time before I moved to Charlotte so quite of people in this small community know me as the better looking, smarter, definitely more intelligent brother.

I witnessed a semi truck drive over a car in Atlanta. I was on the phone with a business, when 2 lanes over (6 lanes at this point) a car tried to drive under a semi and was driven over. My immediate response was ”Oh My God” and I’m quite certain people lost their lives. It looked really bad, my heart broke for those involved, and I thought of their families getting ready for a fun holiday tomorrow/today with family only to have it become a tragedy. I drive A LOT. More than any of my friends. I’ve driven from Coast to Coast and from Canada to Mexico at least a dozen times. I am baffled by the horrible driving I witness daily.

Two hours after witnessing this accident I was caught up in traffic slowing to a stop and for the most part doing 5-10 mph for over 30 minutes. I finally got up to where the accident was only to see it was on the Northbound side of the Freeway. The only reason I was in stop and go traffic for 30 minutes was because looky-loos had to slow down and look at the crap sandwich on the other side of the freeway. I made a very sweet video about my feelings during this situation. If cursing offends you please don’t watch it. I believe in the 33 second video only 2 words are not cuss words. It is mostly for shock value and I hoped it would give my friends a laugh.

I made it to the exit in Southern Alabama and was only about 7 minutes from my LA (Lower Alabama) home. I pulled up to a very familiar intersection where lots of flashing lights were going on as the fire department was out directing traffic and not letting people turn left. I was going right at this T intersection, but still rolled down my window to confirm that was okay. I asked ”Can I go right??” and got this response from a sassy firewoman ”I don’t know, can you???”.

Clearly she knew who I was. FknBucky is famous. Thought you knew. I asked if my not as good looking as me brother was at the accident and she replied ”yes”. I asked if it was bad and she again said ”yes”. Little Brother has been on the volunteer fire department for almost a decade now and has seen a lot of bad things. Being this close to the freeway he has seen things most of us pray daily we will never have to witness. This part of the blog is going to be hard to read. People need to understand the consequences of doing stupid crap in a car.

The driver of the car thought it would be a good idea to pass other cars on this two lane highway. Accelerating to well over the speed limit the driver pulled out in the oncoming traffic lane and started to pass other drivers. I know this stretch of road and there is a town in about 10 miles. Even if they could do 80 miles an hour the whole way a person maybe would arrive 45 seconds sooner, but I’ll let you judge if that 45 seconds was worth the gamble. What is the wager Bucky?? Well, if you win you arrive to the 25 mile an hour zone and stop light 45 seconds sooner than if you had just drove the speed limit. If you lose people in your vehicle die.

While passing the cars it is believed a car came at this car so to avoid a head on collision the driver had to swerve quickly back into the correct lane. When they did this at extremely unsafe speeds this driver drove straight into the back of another vehicle. The vehicle lost control, flipped and rolled, and got all kinds of smashed up before finally coming to a rest. There were very bad injuries to the people in that all vehicles involved. I know of a similar accident where all 4 teenagers in the car were decapitated. Easily avoidable incidents like this happen way to often. In fact a few years ago about a couple hundred yards from my brothers house a group of kids were going to fast, swerved to miss a dog, lost control of the vehicle when it hit a concrete power line pole, and two 15 year old kids died. I wrote about that in a blog the day after.

I would much rather write a blog about being thankful for all the good in your life today. The truth is you should be thankful for everything. Instead I’m awake at 4 AM with this on my mind making it impossible to sleep until I get this out of my head. Just slow down. I see cars everyday that weave from one lane to the next cutting people off, passing on the right, and just driving like an asshole only to take the next exit. If this is you – KNOCK it off. If you constantly gamble the lives of people in your car and the lives of people in cars around you it is only a matter of time that you will lose the bet.

Life is beautiful. It is a gift. It is fragile and NOT guaranteed. It could be over too soon, but gambling your life on the way to Walmart is simply stupid. I write about this with a heavy heart, but if one person thinks about this blog, takes my advice to slow down, and not drive like an idiot it will be worth it. Please share this message with people you care about. The families of all the people involved in the accidents yesterday should be having a great day cooking a turkey today. Instead they are in shock, heartbroken, and possibly planning a funeral. 45 eff’ing Seconds…….

FknBucky

READ * THINK * LIVE FREE

Please take a moment to thank the volunteer Firemen/Firewomen and the volunteer Ambulance folks. They see things no one should have to witness and give their time to take care of others.

11
Nov
21

Going to make a Phone Call

By Bucktown Leave a Comment
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Justice for Ryan Cooper. I think about it every single day. I don’t understand with all the tools law enforcement has why don’t we have someone in custody for this horrible crime. You are missed and loved Ryan. Busch Light Brotherhood (includes the ladies) will never forget you and never stop looking for who is responsible.

It is Veterans Day. What does that mean to you?? Do you think about it?? I’m willing a bunch of people don’t give it a thought. Not those that read my blog because you are patriots and I appreciate every one of you. Keep reading, keep helping others EVERY DAY, and most of all keep making yourself better. Listen to Jim Rohn. I’ve sent his seminar to over 20 people to help them thru hard times.

We are free in this country. I do believe that is an enormous responsibility to not piss it away. In name of ”good” there are individuals willing to trade a little freedom for the easy road. Not me. I will overcome any obstacle and have proven that to myself more times than I can count. You can walk up to a military person and say ”Thank you for your service” and feel good about yourself the rest of the day. Words are crap. Lots of people say lots of things. You want to honor the men and women of the military?? Use your freedom for more than standing on a street corner holding a sign that says ”Poor Me, Life is hard”.

I believe the book ”Lone Survivor” should be mandatory reading for all high school kids. It is the only book I had to put down because I was crying to hard to read. I still remember the moment. I was living at La Jolla Palms in San Diego area, I bawled like hungry baby as I read those words, and relived the battle with author Marcus Luttrell. The bravery and sacrifice these warriors make without question is impossible to repay. Want to thank a Veteran?? Pick up a book. Read about the things these men and women go thru on the battlefield. Work at becoming a better human every single day of your life. You are free to educate yourself in this awesome country.

The four frogmen that went out to find a really bad guy, but 3 goat herders came up on top of them blowing their cover. They were faced with an impossible situation. Kill the herders so they would not be able to alert the massive amount of Taliban fighters very close by. They knew if they killed these unarmed goat herders they would most likely face a court martial. Simply tying them up could cause them to die and then a herd of goats would just be wandering around. The last choice of let them go and get ready for a very bad fight. This is what they did and the bravery is off the charts.

The Taliban fighters came at them fast and relentlessly. A chance to kill some elite American Seals would be very useful in the propaganda machine they used to control the mountain people. I believe the average education there is about 3rd grade level. Intelligent people are harder to control and manipulate. Hmmm if only someone had said the best way to honor the sacrifice made by military people is to educate yourself…. For the record reading the shampoo bottle while you poop does not count. It did not take long for the Seals to get pinned down by the Taliban and stuck without an exit plan. They were in trouble, but had no phone signal from their positions. Insert Lieutenant Michael Murphy.

Mike Murphy is a legend and always will be. He was incredibly respected by his Seal peers and by everyone that knew him. As the ”leader” of the four seals it was on him to get help on the way. He looked at his friends and said I’m going to make a phone call. He left the safety of their cover to get a phone signal. I’ve done this a hundred times, but never with a few hundred enemy fighters surrounding me and constantly shooting AK-47’s at me. He knew what was going to happen and did it anyway. Out in the open he called back to base and told them they were in big trouble and going to die without help. Mike Murphy died making that phone call. On a mountain in Afghanistan fighting for who knows what with rules and regulations that cost lives of wonderful people.

War is horrible. The reality is freaking horrible. Bad things happen. That is why it is called war and not fun. There is a lot more to this story, but I’m going to stop here. If you haven’t read the book make time to do that. It is an important story to know and we as a country owe it to those young men to actually remember. Never forget is a crap meme people put on their Facebook page on Sept 10-12. Don’t be one of those people. Read, educate yourself, and make a positive difference in your community. Pick up trash, play checkers with old people, make sandwiches for homeless people, or anything you think of that will simply make your environment a little better.

We get so caught up in this holiday and that holiday. They are just days like the other 364. Take time every day to make a positive difference. I truly believe the greatest way to honor our Veterans is to have pride in our communities, to educate ourselves and our children about why freedom is so precious, and simply be proud to say ”Fuck yeah! I’m American!!”

FknBucky

READ * THINK * LIVE FREE

31
May
21

The Families

By Bucktown 2 Comments
Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Army SPC Jeremiah Collins, says goodbye to his wife Angela (R) and daughters Skkye Collins (L) and Shyla Collins (2-R)

Yesterday I talked about respecting those that gave up everything for the idea of freedom. You can disagree with anything you want in America because you are free to do so. You don’t have to blindly agree with everything our government does, has done, or will do in the future. In fact it is your job as a citizen to question them, all of them, Donald Trump and Joe Biden, just because your “guy” or “gal” is in charge doesn’t mean they get a free pass to do whatever they want. I read a lot. I’ve read so many stories about incredibly brave men and women from all kinds of backgrounds that I know strength has nothing to do with race, gender, age, sexuality, or physical ability. I can’t do a push up, but I’m the strongest person you might ever meet. Or not.

To call me strong is easy. You see a wheelchair, think about how much it must suck, how sad or depressed you would be if it happened to you, and then label me as strong because I have a smile on my face. That isn’t strength, it is survival. I only have so many days left on Earth. It could be 1 more day or 10,000 more days, but I’m not going to waste them feeling sorry for myself about things I can’t change. Want to know real strength?? Go talk with the mother of 3 young children who’s husband is in harms way serving our country 6,494 miles from home. Yes I googled the distance from Charlotte, NC to Fallujah, Iraq. Keeping it real on FknBucky.

The families of our heroes need to be remembered on this Memorial Day as well. A friend of mine growing up lost her brother who was serving the USA when he was killed in a helicopter accident. I don’t know if she reads this blog or not, but I dedicate today’s blog to her brother and their family. His name is John Kaye and he was a hero. I bring it up to let her know a lot of people acknowledge the huge sacrifice he made to make sure the rest of us are safe and free. I didn’t know him well on a personal level, but I vow to never forget his name or sacrifice.

It is easy to forget the real reason for Memorial Day, but the families left behind to try and make sense of it all don’t have the luxury to forget. Commenting on a Meme in between beers 2 and 3 is not honoring those that gave their life in defense of our country. You don’t have to agree with the war, the military, or any of it, but you must understand these individuals believed in America enough to die for it. The sadness and the loss never really go away. It is impossible to understand the pain associated with loss like that unless you’ve been through it. We all hope you don’t experience that kind of grief.

Memorial Day is more than brats on a grill. More than having your first beer at 9 AM. It is important to take a few minutes, look around your life, and appreciate all that you have. Regardless of the hardships you have going on in your life, you are still here with the opportunity to change your life. The opportunity to read a book, start a business, have a family, or anything else you would like to do. Those that gave up their lives so we could be free don’t have the opportunity to do any of those things. Show your respect by living a full life. Chase your dreams. Hold those you love and tell them you love them often.

I’m very sorry that John Kaye lost his life serving our country. He was way too young and I know how much his sister and family loved him. He is missed by many and never forgotten. So remember him today, remember all of our fallen heroes, and don’t forget to honor the families that have lost their brother, son, Uncle, sister, daughter, or Aunt. Those labels came long before we called men like John a soldier, a Marine, a sailor, or any of the other terms used to describe service members.

I try to write about things that are meaningful and tell some jokes along the way. With a country so divided I hope that regardless of where you fall left or right you can take a moment to remember a hero that didn’t give his life to democrats or republicans. He gave his life for Americans. The least you can do is spend the day being just that. An American. An American that can see all the good we do together as a country. You have 364 other days to hate and trash the USA. Just for today drink your beers, eat the brats, and embrace the idea of freedom so many brave men and women died for.

FknBucky

Read * Think * Live Free

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 135 other subscribers

RSS Unknown Feed

  • An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.