I can’t help it. Kamala keeps bringing old songs to mind. As she decides that she wants to go this way and that way, it reminds me of the old children’s song. Did you ever see a lassie go this way and that way. Go this way and that way. Go this way and that.

There is another verse using laddie instead of lassie. It is something of a stretch but we might manage to wrap that one around her running mate. However, most Walz goes the one way, the wrong way.

Well, I’ll let you decide, does it apply or not.

Heard an advertisement by a business south the Mississippi/Tennessee line. Part of his pitch was that they would be able to deal in safety. Now let me see. Is that the meaning of audacity?

As I thought it over, I must admit it was a good idea. Maybe all of our businesses need to start doing it. It just might help to drop our sales tax a point or two. I like it.

As a side note, I looked up the meaning of the word audacity and found an ap that allows editing of audio. I don’t know if it is any good, but it says it’s free. It might be worth a try. I’m always wanting to modify some of my files. Some are not loud enough; some are monaural. A few have too much base, which can get a little distracting.

Now that’s a mouth full. I suppose to some degree, I suffer from it. Whenever I have to go to a big gathering, I generally look for a corner to hide in. Even so, it is not so bad that I become froze. I can carry on normal activities and conversations. I am just uncomfortable when I am around more than a dozen or so people.

Now, on the other hand, it would appear Kamala can’t deal with crowds at all. She clearly doesn’t like to face a dozen or so members of the media. That’s saying something clearly. To her, the media is on her side.

Well, maybe I chose the wrong phobia. Is there a word for fear of saying something embarrassing? Well, I guess there is an informal one. Many call it hoof and mouth phobia. That is when a person is fears inserting a foot in his mouth. Just maybe she is afraid of doing that so she just hides in the basement.

Then again, maybe she’s afraid she’ll just do some of that cackling. That would be enough to even drive the dems away.

Well, there is a possibility that she is doing something smart. She might have hired someone that will teach her how to speak without irritating all around. I really doubt she is doing that, but one can always hope.

Walz said that the weapon that he carried into war should not be legal for civilians, or something like that anyway. The weapon he had, if he had a rifle was likely an M-16, which is capable of fully automatic. I know. I did carry one with me virtually everywhere I went in Vietnam. Also, I qualified with it.

Here’s the news. It is illegal for civilians unless the holder has a special federal license. There is a civilian rifle which resembles the M-16 and it is called the AR-15. It is strictly simi automatic. That is it is designed to fire one shot for each time the trigger is pulled. In general, they both shoot the same ammo. However, the AR-15 can be configured for other ammo.

My guess is that any sgt. maj. or equivalent would know that. If Walz doesn’t, shame on him.

On the other hand, most E-6s and above don’t carry rifles, but rather a sidearm. When I was in the Marines, that was a .45 semi-automatic pistol. It, in some form has been available to just about anyone since the early 1900s. If that is the weapon he was referring to, that is even more sad.

It is a display of ignorance or deceit… maybe both.

They needed good leaders in Iraq, not the guys who turn at the first hint of shooting, or even before. Kind of glad he opted out. As an aside, it would also be good to have leaders who know the boys from girls.

We’ve all heard it a thousand times, maybe a thousand and two. When it is said a tire is flat, someone else says, “Only on the bottom.” I guess that makes it not only an old joke but an old tire(d) joke.

I do find it interesting that after over a hundred years of building cars, they have improved the reliability of about everything but the tires. To wit, when a nail punctures a tire, it flatens. Actually, it’s not just nails that will do it. The last flat I had was due to a piece of rebar that was sticking up out of the parking lot. What really hurts is that I saw it. I just forgot it was there. That little slip of memory cost me about $60.

I find it interesting as I think back over the decades. Tires have changed a lot and the way we deal with them. The first time I replaced tires, they cost me $20 each for 2 and that included mounting. That was a long time ago.

Way back when, they had tires that had tubes in them. When they had a flat, they took them off, put a patch on the tubes and put them back on the car. It generally took a little over an hour because of the time to put the patch on. As far as I know, it lasted just fine.

On the other hand, if the tube couldn’t be patched, they replaced it. Much less expensive than replacing the whole tire. The fact that the tire had a hole in it was not even considered. It didn’t have to be airtight.

I guess on or around 1950, they came out with the tubeless tire. They tell me that they have many advantages. My guess is that the one of the biggest advantages was for the ones selling them. For a while, they still sold tubes for the tire that had a hole in it. It was the fast and inexpensive fix. Don’t have a clue as to why, but they stopped doing that. At first, they tried fixing the tires. That kind of went the way of the dinosaur when they came out with steel belted radials. I’m told they can’t do that anymore.

So, as you go down the road and that front tire sets that nail up strait and the rear tire rolls over it, it’s going to cost you some money. No patches. No tubes. You will have to take the wheel in and get a new tire mounted on it. If you have a regular car, it’s going to be about $60. If you have a big pickup, you’re going to have to shell out about $160.

I think it is a conspiracy. Why can’t we go back to the $20 tires. Okay. They don’t stop as good and they don’t corner as good. Generally, the new ones do last longer, unless you poke a hole in them. Sorry. Even if the tire is one day old, it will have to be replaced

Until recently, when you bought a new car, you got a spare tire with it. It was the same as the other four. The neat part was that if you included it in the tire rotation, your tires lasted longer. Sorry. Can’t do that with radials.

Those that made the cars decided to change things. Their logic was that the spare tire on the vast majority of cars never touch the road. That was how they explained it to me. So, instead of a real wheel for a spare, the put a toy wheel in the trunk. It works good, but the driver is warned to watch the speed and range. It is, so to speak, an emergency spare. It is designed only to hold up long enough to get a real tire.

When I bought my Nissan EV, I figured that it was what was in the trunk. It did make sense to me. Well, a few months after I bought the car, I was poking my nose around in the trunk and discovered, there was no spare. There wasn’t even one of the toys.

Now that was a surprise. It was also pretty disappointing. I even thought about taking the car back to the dealer and demand a spare, even if I have to pay for it. I still might do that. Fact is, I don’t even know if they have them. I might have to pay for a full extra wheel and tire.

Then, after I got to looking around in the trunk some more. I found a pump that could be plugged into the cigarette lighter.” In addition, there was a small bottle. The instructions were, “put the bottle in a hole in the pump and turn the pump on.” The liquid would, hopefully seal the tire good enough to last until the tire could be replace.

Now that was a surprise. I got to thinking about it and I guess it does have an advantage. I am 76. Those wheels are big. I actually might need help lift the things. I mean, when I was a 22-year-old marine, no problem. Not so much now.

Suddenly, just hooking up the pump and sealer to the wheel started sounding much better.

Then, on the other hand, the big question, what do I do if I am out on some lonely road and the sealer fails to seal? Those old tubes are starting to look really good. Even if they would not be a long range solution, it might get me home.