Tuesday, October 28, 2008

The past week in AZ

I'm getting back in the groove of living in a house with lots of hot running water, a washer and dryer, and a fenced-in backyard for the dogs, and unlimited electric power. :-)

I have participated in three Anti-Illegal Alien activities in the past week.

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Saturday I spent a few hours at a huge car show handing out fliers educating the Arizona voting public on the intentionally fraudulent Prop 202. The title is "STOP HIRING ILLEGALS." But a YES vote on Prop 202 actually is contrary to what its name suggests. This initiative would intentionally gut Arizona's strong employer sanctions law and allow illegal-alien employers to return to "business as usual." Prop. 202 is being sponsored by the big business and other open-border groups that opposed passage of the state’s immigration reduction law and fought them in the courts. A group of my friends have been fighting hard all summer to stop Prop 202 from passing.

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Sunday I joined a dozen or so fellow citizens in a protest in front of the house of Phoenix's Mayor Phil Gordon to express our contempt for his Sanctuary City policies which encourage Illegal Aliens to come to Phoenix. Another Phoenix Police Officer was recently killed by an Illegal Alien drunk driver.......

"Officer Shane Figueroa, 25, was killed early Saturday in a collision southwest of downtown Phoenix. Authorities say the suspect, Salvado Vivas-Diaz, is in the U.S. illegally. He faces charges of manslaughter, aggravated assault and obstructing a criminal investigation.

"As we were interviewing him last night, he advised us that he was an undocumented worker from Mexico," said Phoenix Police Chief Jack Harris.

"He has been booked into county jail. We are doing further investigation not only on the accident, but on the background of the individual [as well]."

There are four warrants for Gonzalez's arrest under a different name, two of which are for DUI. He was booked on charges including manslaughter and assault.
Gonzalez suffered minor injuries, while his passenger, described by police as an adult male, was seriously hurt. Court documents said Vivas-Diaz had been deported previously and that he had used different names
.

Officer Shane Figueroa served less than three years as a Phoenix police officer. He leaves behind a wife and three-month-old daughter."

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And on Monday I joined 50 or so Americans who gathered at the Arizona State Capitol to honor Sheriff Joe Arpaio for his efforts in apprehending and deporting Illegal aliens. The rally was sponsored by the National Veterans Coalition. Several people came all the way from California to participate. We originally had planned to walk the 2 miles from the Capitol to the Sheriff's office. But because of the heat and the 50 or so open-border activists waiting for us at the other end, we decided to stay at the Capitol. Our event was capped off with an appearance by Joe the Sheriff himself. Here's some pictures:






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On a different note, today I joined the "Dance for Fitness" group in Sun City. It sort of reminded me of my days gone by when I went to "Jazzercise" classes. But "Dance for Fitness" is more like "Jazzercise for old people," like me!! It was fun and I'll probably go back tomorrow, unless I get word of a protest or demonstration I'm needed at.

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Back in Sun City

After 5 successful shifts at the border, Sunday I left Bisbee and returned to my little house in Sun City, AZ. It's always an interesting experience returning home after being gone for a length of time. Aside from all the work of unloading everything from the trailer and truck bed, I spend lots of time doing tons of laundry, and trying to decide what goes in the trailer and what stays in the condo. It's fun getting reacquainted with my condo and breaking certain habits particular to trailer living, but not necessary in house living.

Monday I had a dentist appointment for my 6 month cleaning, and this time my dentist informed me that the little bit of trouble I've been having with one upper molar(tooth number 14)requires a root canal. Not wanting to delay such a fun activity, I immediately made an appointment with an Endodontist and yesterday I had a root canal. The particular affected tooth had FOUR CANALS!! Anesthesia does wonders, but having to open my mouth wide for 45 minutes was very painful. And being reclined so much I felt like I was upside down mading it difficult to breath and swallow. YUCK!!! But I survived. :-) I filled my antibiotic prescription, but decided to pass on the pain meds, opting for Advil instead. So far the pain has been very minimal, or maybe I'm just really tough!!

I have a few more loads of stuff yet to unload, then I'll take my trailer to storage and wash my truck. Tonight I have a USA meeting to attend.

Thursday, October 16, 2008

New Mexico to Arizona

I left the Balloon Fiesta RV Park Friday afternoon and headed to the Sandia Peak Casino, about 2 miles away. I spent one quiet night there. Saturday I made it all the way to the Isleta Casino about 19 miles south from Sandia Peak Casino. Sunday I drove approximately 280 miles from Isleta to Lordsburg, NM and spent the night at a Visitors Center/Rest Stop. Monday morning I continued on my route and ended up at my destination of Bisbee, AZ. It was good to be back in Arizona. I left Sun City, AZ 5 months ago, on May 15Th. I knew I was back in AZ when I saw a US Border Patrol vehicle on the side of the road with approximately 20 Illegal Aliens sitting on the ground next to the vehicle. I guess our failing economy isn't stopping the flow of Illegal Aliens from coming into our country. I'll be spending 6 nights in Bisbee with Patriots' Border Alliance, observing and reporting Illegal Aliens to the US Border Patrol.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Friday

Well, I thought Thursday was my last day crewing, but, I left two beloved jackets in one of the permanent crew's vehicles, so I went back Friday morning to retrieve my jackets and crew for them one more time. It paid off because I got to ride again. The wind was coming up and none of the permanent crew wanted to risk a bumpy, windy landing. Inexperienced me said, "I'll go!!!" And I did. It was a much longer ride than Wednesday's ride, and in the opposite direction, so I got to see new sights. But since it was a last minute decision, I didn't have my camera with me so I didn't take anymore pictures. :-(

We landed in a field where other balloons had already landed, so lucky for us there were experienced people on the ground to help make our windy, bumpy landing a little less dramatic. We bounced a few times and the basket ended up laying flat on the ground, but I experienced not even a scratch. There were, however, reportedly a few serious accidents. But my pilot, Art, kept us away from power lines and shallow rivers. :-)

The wind is expected to last for several days, with rain sometime tonight. So I will be hitching up and heading to paved ground to avoid getting stuck in the mud again.

Thursday, October 09, 2008

Pictures From My Flight

Inflating the balloon


Lift off.



There's the huge Eagle.



The Eagle is Huge!!




Anna Belle the cow on the right.




OOOH, AAAH!!



My trailer and truck are almost in the middle, with the truck in front of the trailer.













The cute little plane looks like it crashed!!




I was told this balloon was tie-dyed by the owner. It's really pretty!!



It was a blast, but I'm finished crewing. Now I'm just going to enjoy the sights from the Balloon Fiesta Grounds.

Wednesday, October 08, 2008

Wednesday I Fly!!

The following pictures were taken by my friends Jeanne and Sharon. Tomorrow I'll post the pictures I took from the Balloon.



Filling the Balloon With Air.


Filling the Balloon with Hot Air



More Hot Air!!




Climbing in.



Getting ready.



Waiting to launch.




Still waiting to launch.




The "ZEBRA" heading out to give us the "all clear" to launch.



BYE!!!



UP,




UP,




...AND AWAY!!!


The Castle Crashes.





The Little Plane Takes Off.



Anna Belle the Cow. (one of my favorites)



The Cow Jumps Over the Moon, and the Motorhome.

Monday, October 06, 2008

Saturday night, Sunday and Monday

Saturday evening the weather went from really nice to really not very nice. It started raining around 8 PM and didn't stop until around 6 AM Sunday morning. All the Sunday morning balloon activities were cancelled. :-(


Here' a picture of one of my mats, half submerged under the river of mud that washed through my spot. I heard there was about 2" of rain Saturday night.



I decided to drive my dogs to higher ground for their morning walk. We didn't get very far. My truck got stuck in the mud right in front of my trailer.



There wasn't much going on at the Balloon Fiesta Grounds Sunday morning so the WINs took three cars and drove to Old Town Albuquerque. I took the some pictures of a cool alley.




But, the GLOW went on Sunday evening without a hitch. Hundreds of Balloons inflated, then when the whistle blew, everyone illuminated their balloon, making a beautiful GLOW across the whole field.













Monday morning the wind was a bit iffy, but lots of balloons launched anyway. The balloon I was crewing for didn't launch. They went to breakfast instead. But here's some pictures I took....










Stay tuned for the Tuesday and Wednesday report. Rumor has it I will be going up on Wednesday. :-)