Category: Diary of a Wooley kid

Check me out, all bloggin’ like I know stuff.

  • Is it worth a shot?

    Is it worth a shot?

    Hey, have you heard of a virus called of COVID-19?

    Few people know this about me: I was exposed to this wacky bug a few weeks ago. I just didn’t post about it on the ol’ Facebook wall. Thanks to all the smoke in air, conditions were unsafe to host my usual desert cleanups, so I didn’t have to reveal my dark secret.

    I got to slack from work for a week or so. In fact, that’s when I started blogging on this site!

    I threw up once. I suffered a runny nose and a headache for about a week, but I can’t say if it was from COVID or smoke. Wife & kiddos were mostly the same. In the Wooley house, we were all fortunate enough not to experience any serious complications.

    I was responsible, being careful not to infect anyone in the outside world. I watched some TV, and I worked on my truck. Quarantine rocked!

    Now I have a choice to make: Toss up a middle finger to the global peer pressure, or submit to the needle.

    “GASP! What the fork, Phil?!” you scream, punching the sheetrock. “You mean, you haven’t been vaccinated?!”

    Nope… not yet.

    I’m reading about it every day. Yeah, I still have cold feet about this. There’s some scary “what if” scenarios. I’m not talking Will Smith versus tweaker zombies. I’m thinking more along the lines of long-term health, or even genetic complications.

    The COVID media campaigns have squashed out most of the YouTubes and WordPresses featuring the normal paranoid freaks, who cook quality conspiracy theories. I really have to dig to find anything, other than “Take the damn shot!”

    As hard as they’re becoming to find, there are still some out there. My favorite conspiracy theory right now is about depopulation.


    Thinking about conspiracies & stuff, take a look outside. The world is kinda’ on fire.

    I’m not even touching the debate about whether or not, we humans broke the planet. Instead, I’m bringing up our dwindling space and resources. 7.9 billion is a lot of eating, pooping humans, who have to move around somehow. That’s a lot of vehicles, shit, and a HUGE appetite. We simply cannot sustain this growth.


    So what can we do about this?

    Humans are still banging each other everywhere. I knocked up my wife 5 times. If my kids have as many kids as we did, I’d be the proud grandpa of 25. I am living proof that we humans cannot be trusted to manage our own population through responsible breeding.

    Maybe we can spread to other planets? Mars looks much like Dayton, Nevada. I could get used to the scenery. It’s the lack of oxygen, which concerns me a little. It would take a lot of money and effort to build any decent habitat there. None of the other moons or planets seem doable either.

    Space stations might work. But with the price tags and explodi bois involved in building those, I bet there’s only enough room for for a $elect few.


    What’s left to do? Do we let it all dry up and burn, or…?

    We’re a pretty smart bunch at times, so I’m sure someone saw it all coming, and has some sort of plan. I wouldn’t be surprised if that plan involves chemically, or genetically putting a stop to our crotch goblin factories. It would be cleaner than genocide, and you could easily hide the hand that threw that rock… at least for a while.

    It sounds extreme, but imagine living on Earth with only 500 million people. Less land would be needed for farming. Water would clear up all over the world. Endangered animals would bounce back, and the sky might even be blue again. It’d be a great time to be terrestrial.

    But wait! we’d still have stuff to keep running, so that we can fly to Florida, and take advantage of the better fishing. Who’s going to push all the buttons, and pull the levers after they wipe out the bottom 94% of humans?

    Which brings me to the main topic of this post: Armageddon and Elon Muskbots


    Yuuuuup… Muskbots.

    What do you think? Will the billionaires have all of us po-folk spayed and neutered, so their spoiled grandkids can enjoy a more spacious, cleaner earth, with all the bacon they can eat?

    I bet some of them think it’s worth a shot. 

  • When I cry, people bleed

    When I cry, people bleed

    Everyone deals with grief differently. Some turn to their spiritual beliefs for comfort and guidance. For me, it’s blood sacrifice.

    I know, this is starting to sound really weird. But it’s not what it sounds like. It’s a good, wholesome deed, which members of almost every religion can participate in, and God won’t hate ya’ for it — PROMISE.

    To best explain how this all works, let me share a little about some very important people.


    Adrian

    I met this little guy back in 2000, shortly before I married his aunt. Adrian was a very smart, deep kid. You could talk for hours about the wonders of the universe with him, and he loved to draw, so of course, we hit it off early.

    Somewhere on an old VHS tape, I have some very shaky footage of a bumpy trail ride in my ’98 Jeep Cherokee. While very little can be seen, other than the back of a seat, you can hear the excited (sometimes terrified) voices of Adrian and his little brother, as they cheer on my crazy driving. We toss creative insults back & forth, stealing from Beavis & Butthead, calling each other things like butt munchkin, or turd burgler. Eventually, the term “Trout Snipper” slipped out. From that point on, it was our own special insult for each other.

    Adrian and his brother Cristian were a great introduction to family for me. I hadn’t really been around little dudes I claimed as my own before them. When their little sis came along, they were awesome big brothers. And when I started growing my Wooley crew, they were equally awesome cousins.

    Fast forward a couple decades: we’re all busy. Family has moved around and rearranged some. Adrian is in his mid 20’s, doing young guy stuff. I’m wrapped up in work, my kids, and nonprofits. Not only that, I’ve stirred the pot with family, and made things awkward at times. With all that, I mostly lose contact with Adrian. I see him every once in a while, at family gatherings, or out in the real world.

    One day, I got told he was sick, in the hospital. A few days later, he was gone. This was in January, 2021 — a couple days before protestors stormed the U.S. Capitol.

    I cannot describe the pain felt that day. As I type this, I cannot help the tears. It still hurts.


    Mamacita

    About 30 years ago, my dad married a sweet lady named Julie. I don’t blame him. Everyone who met her, immediately fell in love with her.

    My Mamacita was a very active lady, who loved dancing, tiny flowers, babies, and Jesus. She also claimed to be the first person to bring tacos to Crestview, Florida. This was one of many stories she loved to tell.

    Having moved across the country many moons ago, I was separated from her geographically. We made a few family road and plane trips to visit when we could (7 people traveling is expensive). When she started getting really sick, I made those trips alone to be with her at the hospital.

    Mamacita defied the odds several times, bouncing back from strokes, after the doctors suggested we say our goodbyes. She was stubborn like that.

    But in June of 2021, her time her was done. I was beside her for a couple weeks, telling her it was OK to let go. Watching her suffer was hard. I eventually had to return home. She died a day after I got back.


    How this all connects to blood drives

    Keith Holtrop bleeding for the Fernley Pigs Monday, February 1, 2021

    I already had Desert Pigs hosting blood drives through Vitalant prior to my hardships of 2021. But now, they have new meaning.

    While I was dealing with the shock of Adrian’s death, I had a blood drive scheduled. As I was feeling my grief, I thought about how many others have felt, or will feel the same, as they lose loved ones. Then I thought about what blood donation really means: PREVENTING THAT PAIN FOR SOMEONE ELSE.

    While it doesn’t take my pain away, I know these blood drives have already saved literally hundreds of people. That’s hundreds of hugs and second chances. No, it doesn’t stop these tears, but it gives them value. BECAUSE I cry for the ones I lost, I’m driven to make sure someone gets to see their own Trout Snipper or Mamacita again.

    If arranging a place for a blood bus, and rallying up some donors is all it takes to save lives, then I don’t see me ever stoping. We’ve collected many gallons, but it has a shelf life, and there’s never enough to go around.

    DesertPigs.com/BLOOD

    I encourage others to find a blood bank nearby, and bleed in honor of someone you miss. Think about your pain, and how you are saving up to 3 others from feeling it.

    You will probably cry, and that’s ok. Those tears helped save lives.

  • Strange Parts of Dayton

    Strange Parts of Dayton

    This really happened on my phone in August of 2021…

    As some time passes, and she contacts LCSO about the mystery object, we pondered on what it could be. Possibly an old burrito? Some stick-poking was in order. Since I was still trying to get mobilized, and she was there on scene, the brave Shelley proceeded to poke.

    Oh GOD! Now I’ve talked this poor woman into doing something, which will surely give her PTSD. Nice work, Phil!

    42 minutes passed until I heard from Shelley again. That’s approximately 47 million years in “OMGWTF is going on” time.

    Then my Messenger dinged…