Bench-Talk

AL beware, I think Big Mike did the snake in at the CROSSROADS ??????

Humble Henry !!!!

Henry Rivers:

AL beware, I think Big Mike did the snake in at the CROSSROADS ??????  Humble Henry !!!!

    Oh yeah..... Big Mike's been to 'The Crossroads'......no doubt about it.

  For those that don't know the meaning of 'The Crossroads', it's an old belief that persons possessing seemingly unearthly talent have sold their souls to the Devil in exchange for their talents. It's a commonly held belief that many musicians have gone to 'The Crossroads', the most notable example in modern times being old blues man Robert Johnson. In southern black communities it was a well-known notion that one could go to the crossroads and sell one's soul to the devil. The concept dates back to African Folklore. The diety Esu was believed to be the guardian of the crossroads, and was an intermediate between gods and humans. When Christianity was brought to African Culture, these pagan gods were labeled as being similar to the devil. Hence, the concept that one could find the devil at a crossroad. In celtic tradition, the bodies of the unholy were buried outside of town near crossroads to preserve consecrated ground.

Witchcraft and the devil are prominent topics in early blues. Johnson's lyrics are no exception. With songs like "Hell-Hound On My Trail", "Me And The Devil Blues" and "Cross Road Blues", it is no wonder that he caused such wild speculation.

Guitar legend Eric Clapton is another who, according to lore, visited 'The Crossroads'. One of Clapton's most famous songs is entitled 'Crossroads'..in which he twists the lyrics around to make us wonder if he really made the trip or not:

I went down to the crossroads,
Fell down on my knees.
I went down to the crossroads,
Fell down on my knees.
Asked the Lord above for mercy,
"Save me if you please."

You can run, you can run,
Tell my friend-boy Willie Brown.
You can run, you can run,
Tell my friend-boy Willie Brown.
And I'm standing at the crossroads,
Believe I'm sinking down.

   Clapton also recently recorded 'Me and Robert Johnson'..a tribute to the late Blues man. Coincidence? Hmmmm?

    Big Mike can visit 'The Crossroads' all he wants...his fate is sealed.  I can remember Randy telling me he had once buried Big Mike on the grounds of the original Rancho deRobinett, only to find the grave opened one day and Hiz remains gone. This fits in with the 'consecrated ground' theory. Another 'coincidence'?   I wonder........ 

Al,

I really like Eric Clapton music...(sorry Stan, no "Man in Black")...What is the address of the "crossroads"?.....I can't seem to find it on "Tom Tom".....;>)

-H

Thursday afternoon, between the rain and snow storms, BIG MIKE and RIKI (thank you Glen - the mongoose is the first PAL HE"s ever had!) sneaked out and played with the Borden RimRock, PacNor barreled 25BR . . . THEY returned to the shop smiling and have been doing so ever since . . this AM, BIG MIKE and RIKI were up early and gone before dawn . . . THEY left a note, pointing out , "az how eezy 't'd b trakin' snaaks en th sno" . . .  ;) RG

P.S. Thank goodness for global warming . . . I'm betting that the FORBIDDEN ZONE is whiter still! ;)

R.G. Robinett:

Thursday afternoon, between the rain and snow storms, BIG MIKE and RIKI (thank you Glen - the mongoose is the first PAL HE"s ever had!) sneaked out and played with the Borden RimRock, PacNor barreled 25BR . . . THEY returned to the shop smiling and have been doing so ever since . . this AM, BIG MIKE and RIKI were up early and gone before dawn . . . THEY left a note, pointing out , "az how eezy 't'd b trakin' snaaks is th sno" . . .  ;) RG

P.S. Thank goodness for global warming . . . I'm betting that the FORBIDDEN ZONE is whiter still! ;)

   Randy: Glad to hear that smiles are the order of the day around 'Whit's Splinter'.  Owing to the nasty weather, the Snake gun remains snug and warm in The Forbidden Zone. This week looks promising, though. We missed the huge snow dump that parts North and West of us recieved and got a bit of snow and freezing rain along with 25-35 mph winds.

   Meanwhile, The Lizard King rests peacefully in preparation for the battle to come, warm and snug in my sod hut on the Lone Prairie and under the watchful eyes of Olive the Wonder Dog and Vinnie the cat (aka 'The Hammer') .

   Tell BIG MIKE and his new pal RIKI to enjoy it while they can. ;<)    

LIZZARD KING . . . lizzard king ? BIG MIKE says HE last saw that wretch burried under a "rock", in Paris . . . and NOT Paris, Tennessee!

HE says,  "thet LK ain't az realzillaint az ME - I dun craal'd up frum blow  - & morun' 1ce !"  ;) RG

R.G. Robinett:

LIZZARD KING . . . lizzard king ? BIG MIKE says HE last saw that wretch burried under a "rock", in Paris . . . and NOT Paris, Tennessee! HE says,  "thet LK ain't az realzillaint az ME - I dun craal'd up frum blow  - & morun' 1ce !"  ;) RG

    Randy....I'm impressed!!!!!!!  

    I didn't figure you'd connect the dots on the Lizard King reference!  Your advanced studies on the dark side and myths of serious rock and roll music is paying dividends. You have learned much, young Jedi.

    "No one here gets......out alive."   -Jim Morrison

   Just today got to the range for the first time with the SGR-ified, reborn RFD gun previously slandered by Big Mike. 100 rounds fired, BIB 118's and Dakota 117's were tested via the 1:17 method, powder charges and neck tensions were tried and conclusions drawn.

   Am thinkin' that we're in good shape.   -Al

Al, HE's none to happy to learn of this . . . HE was last observed hitch-hiking toward Westbrook, carrying THE RED HAMMER and mumbling something about,  'rangun StanZZ hed' . . . and HE wasn't smilin' neither! ;) RG

R.G. Robinett:

Al, HE's none to happy to learn of this . . . HE was last observed hitch-hiking toward Westbrook, carrying THE RED HAMMER and mumbling something about,  'rangun StanZZ hed' . . . and HE wasn't smilin' neither! ;) RG

   Stan (formerly Stank) has advised me that all precautions are being taken. Suz has been issued a sidearm should the ne'er-do-well try to come in "...through the bathroom window".   Broderick Crawford  has also been spotted in a black 1958 Ford 4 door cruising the county gravel roads. Now..there's some rock 'n roll  and  T.V.  trivia for 'ya!  

    Might be some hints, there. (wink)  -Al

``Tricked! Tricked! Tricked! Rikk-tchk-tchk!'' chuckled Rikki-tikki-tavi.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVf7SG1-DGg

Atomic Rooster - Black Snake - 1972

Glen beware I have heard that BIG MIKE!  fears no man or BEAST

HUMBLE HENRY

Glenn Jackson:

``Tricked! Tricked! Tricked! Rikk-tchk-tchk!'' chuckled Rikki-tikki-tavi.

 

 

 

 

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zVf7SG1-DGg

Atomic Rooster - Black Snake - 1972

Thanks, Glenn! The first thing BIG MIKE noticed was the FAMILY JEWELS Mr.Tavi is carying!  HE calims, "not unlike OUR own" ! ;)

Al, HE was out shootin' the RimRock/PacNor 25 BR today - finally just took a day off to "do it right" . . . I'll post a pick in my alblum later tonight - it appears that "Humble" Henry didn't screw the barrel up too badly!  Oh, and my remaining stash of Brigadier 3032 proved to be Magic Powder for the 25BR/88 Gr. bullet combination . . . with Hodgdon BenchMark a close second . . . as usual, regardless of powder number, the tube "likes" a healthy jam-seat . . .  

I must say, that after a full day at the range with the Borden RimRock (Right Bolt, Left Port, Right Eject), I am most pleased with the action: it is simply VERY NICELY done! ;)  I left home without my stinkin' wind flag vanes - but, had mucho daisy wheels and poles! Still, despite the shifty wind and excessively ugly mirage (unusual for 100 Yd. at Webster City), with each powder ( 3032 & BenchMark), there proved to be two pleasingly WIDE and REPEATABLE "nodes" - so easy a Dakotan could do it! ;)  RG

It’s so clear, I’m sorry to say, if you want to win you’ve got to learn how to play head games.

Al, I’m sure you know where that one comes from. My take is that HE has learned well! Taunting you with pictures of targets that Terry shot and all that other babble and HE’s calling you out! Just remember….. WWBD!

B.M. Nice try, but I think you can do better. It’ll take more than that to get into the thick, still partly frozen head of someone from the frozbidden zone

I sure as heck don’t want to miss this one. Good luck to the both of you and to the looser……. "Everyone has to die… but that doesn’t mean you have to give up"

See you at the "Shootout at Webster City"  Enjoy the show.