A Political Addict Prepares for Winter

Special to FreeRepublic ^ | 23 Oct., 2004 | John Armor (Congressman Billybob)

[Congressman Billybob]

This is a little relief from politics. Don't we all need that from time to time? Plus, this is more genuine than politics.

[Howlin]

Simply beautifully written. I can almost smell the fires.

I'm on my way.

And don't you dare forget the carbon monoxide detector.

[Howlin]

"I love calling North Carolina home" ping!

[mystery-ak]

Thanks...I enjoyed reading this...political addicts, well, now I have a name for this malady....LOL

[daviddennis]

I could never live in that kind of climate. Well, I suppose that's a lie. I grew up in New England and, believe me, never want to even visit the place again. Can't stand the cold. I live in Los Angeles, and today things are a little nippy by my standards (50s or so).

Okay, a personal question: If it's more genuine than politics, why does politics attract you so much?

And with that bad a chance of losing power, why not just buy a generator? As I recall, for a few hundred bucks you can get something adequate to at least make sure your computer and TV keep humming for the duration of the emergency. (I know you say your computer's on battery - but it doesn't last for days, does it?)

D

[Maria S]

"I laid those markers down two months ago, on 29 August."


1. Please refresh my memory about your predictions.
2. I do hope you have indoor plumbing...if not for yourself, then at least for the girls in your family.

[spodefly]

BTTT

[Choose Ye This Day]

Wind chill of 30 below? Sounds like a tropical paradise, compared to Minne-so-cold.

[Vicki]

Did I mention that I am probably the only person you know who heats his house entirely with wood?

We heat our house entirely with wood. We haven't turned on the electric furnance for 3 years. I get almost all of my wood free from a cabinet shop up the street. I grew up in a 2-story, 4 bedroom house and all we had was a free-standing wood stove. There is nothing like the warmth from wood.

[AFPhys]

A nice, relaxing piece. Thanks for the read.

[El Gran Salseron]

"Even if I have build a nice fire before I can do that."

Not trying to be nit-picky.....it just seems that you are almost as much a perfectionist as I am.

I think you mean, "Even if I have TO build."

[Congressman Billybob]

We DO have a 50-watt propane generator. It is, alas, on the fritz.

Billybob

[Congressman Billybob]

That's 50 AMPS, not 50 watts. BB

[Congressman Billybob]

Politics ARE real, when you get down to the basics. That's why the US Constitution, and the political theories of the Framers, are where I ground my politics. On a good day, I'll go back to Aristotle.

Billybob

[Coldwater Creek]

Living in L.A., if you get the urge for snow you can always to go Lake Arrowhead or Big Bear. We lived in Whittier and Lake Arrowhead for 26 years, but now in West Tenn. Hardly ever see mountains or snow like we did in So. California.

[Congressman Billybob]

Predictions in my column of 29 August: Bush wins by 10% and takes a landslide in the Electoral College; Repubs gain 2 Senate seats; Repubs gain 13 House seats; Repubs gain 1 Governor (11 of those are up for election); Repubs gain 131 state legislators, nationally.

On your other comment, we are in the sticks, but we are not primitive. We have five bathrooms, three with Jacuzzis. A library, a movie theater, a hot tub -- it's a nice house, just at the end of a half-mile gravel road in the mountains.

Billybob

[Congressman Billybob]

You are absolutely right. There is something special about the heat from a wood fire. In the back hall we had a Franklin stove that was built in 1933. It finally developed too many cracks and problems.

So we replaced it with a new Franklin stove. Hardware stores hereabout carry such classic cast iron stoves for about $125.

Billybob

[Congressman Billybob]

You are absolutely right. The mind got ahead of the fingers; it should have said "TO build." BB

[Maria S]

Yikes! 5 bathrooms! There for a few minutes, I was worried about the female "Billybobs" in your home! LOL!!

[cajungirl]

I like my thermostat. But in Louisiana, I grew up in a house with a floor furnace that was only turned on about once a year. you really don't need heat down here, in fact I like having no heat on at all. Our AC goes about 11 months a year however.