Friday Belt

I am shamelessly stealing a Post Title from The Trad. Well, borrowing actually...and it certainly is not the type of belt Tin-Tin would describe. Here we see the USBA Championship belt carried by the Title holder/Champ last evening at Bally's in Atlantic City.
After a long week toiling in the trenches of the Law, the Sportsman decided it was time for a Sportsman's day. So, I bugged out of the office early yesterday and picked up my faithful buddy and fellow Sportsman, Linc. We headed to Germantown Cricket Club for lunch and an afternoon of tennis and some gym time. Then we lazed by the pool until 5 p.m. and hopped in Linc's limo at 6:30 for a rolling Happy Hour on the way to A.C. The comestibles featured Mount Gay Extra Old on the rocks with a squeeze of Lime, Corona's and a huge bag of cashews. The fights were presented by my good friend and famous Hall of Fame boxing promoter,Russell Peltz of Peltz Boxing. It was a good card and each fight was more exciting than the last. I was lucky enough to get a picture with garret "the ultimate warrier" Wilson the Cruiserweight Champ who was carrying his USBA belt in a special custom suitcase.
We then hit the Craps tables for a few rolls of the bones and headed back to the Main Line with White House Hoagies on board.

Sportsmen's Ethics

The following was written by Joe Hackett and published in The Adirondack Daily Enterprise. I believe this is a quality piece and offers rules and lessons for those of us who take to the outdoors to hunt,fish,camp and explore.It is a bit long for the attention span of most of us Bloggers, but this Sportsman believes it to be worth the time.

ADIRONDACK DAILY ENTERPRISE COLUMN by Joe Hackett on May 28,2011:

There is always room for improvement in our personal outdoor behavior. Ethics are principles we apply to such behavior, even when we know nobody is watching. It is doing the right thing, simply because we know it is the right thing.

The effort may be as simple as picking up someone else's trash, releasing a foul hooked fish, or respecting a fellow hunter's territory. There's no award or pat on the back, just a personal sense of satisfaction.

We should conduct ourselves in a manner comparable to what we expect from others and extend a similar respect for fish, wildlife and the environment.

Many outdoor travelers like to believe they are the first to discover a special waterfall or visit a unique location, even when they know otherwise.

It may be an ancient compulsion retained in our genetic stew, a relic deeply recessed in our psyche that provides a dusty reminder of a time spent as hunter-gatherers.

This urge reveals an unwavering human curiosity to discover what lies beyond the far horizon. It is this inexplicable force that continues to draw climbers to Mount Everest, divers to the deep seas and astronauts into space.

Quite simply, it is our need for adventure and the unique sense of freedom that results from such experiences. However, we must realize that our sense of freedom and the adventures that accompany this travel are often limited by our own actions and the actions of others.

Royal Robbins, a well known climber and kayaker explained it when he wrote, "A simple equation exists between freedom and numbers: the more people, the less freedom."

Regardless of the remoteness or the wild character of the lands we travel, our personal sense of adventure can easily be diminished and even ruined due to the actions of others. If a cigarette butt is found discarded along a lonely trail, a worm container left floating on a remote pond or a banana peel left atop a soaring mountain, it is evidence of the hand of man and an intrusion on the natural landscape.

Whether on a trail, in the woods or on the water, all outdoor travelers should attempt to understand the needs and desires of fellow enthusiasts to encourage a spirit of goodwill and cooperation in the sharing and protection of our precious natural resources.

Passing on the tradition

The first book published on the principles of fishing with rod and reel was entitled "The Compleat Angler." Authored by Izaak Walton in 1653, it addressed the topic of sharing our outdoor experiences.

Walton understood the mentoring process, writing "As no man is born an artist, so no man is born an angler."

As far back as the 1650s, Walton knew the most effective method of instilling goodwill and cooperation among fellow outdoor travelers is best accomplished by example. This remains true in 2011.

Most outdoorsmen and women didn't just pop out of bed one morning to declare, "I'm going to become an outdoor enthusiast today."

It simply doesn't happen that way. We learn our outdoors skills somehow, somewhere, from someone largely by hands-on experience.

Surveys indicate the vast majority of outdoor travelers acquire original sporting knowledge from experiences with a mentor. Typically a father or a friendly uncle is the cited provider. Angling is the usual introductory activity.

As part of the process, most sportsmen report receiving instruction on the basics of outdoor travel and learning how to bait a hook, cast a line and catch a fish. Rarely is there mention of the ethical aspects of outdoor endeavors.

More often, we develop our personal outdoor and sporting ethics through observation. We are taught to respect our elders and we learn by mimicking their behavior.

Although outdoor travelers comprise a very diverse fraternity of men and women, it is quite surprising to consider our commonality. Most outdoor travelers we meet, whether afield or afloat, share similar interests and/or backgrounds.

We may not be mirror images, but the resemblance is often undeniable. The complete angler of today is an ethical angler, sporting a wide grin.

Etiquette matters

We do not go to the green woods and crystal waters to rough it, we go to smooth it. We get it rough enough at home, in towns and cities. -Nessmuk, 1863

I believe the most successful outdoor traveler is the one having the most fun, and the second most successful traveler is the person sharing that experience. Yet sharing often causes problems.

Unfortunately, the majority of outdoor travelers rarely distribute evenly throughout our wild lands. The most concentrated use is typically found within a few specific locations contained in a few specific wilderness areas, where the vast majority of people journey to seek solitude.

In fact, over half of all travelers utilize less than 10 percent of the total designated wilderness in the Adirondacks. Additionally, most backcountry travel occurs on less than 10 percent of the total trail miles.

Research indicates visitation patterns are unevenly distributed and certain seasons tend to be more popular. Weekend and holiday use is always high, with weekends attracting five times the traffic as weekdays. Travelers are likely to find the highest degree of solitude during midweek or off-season.

The ability to get along with fellow outdoor travelers is really a matter of treating others as you would expect to be treated. However, there are a few rules beyond simply extending common courtesy.

Respect privacy and peace of mind by maintaining a sensible distance at all times on the trail or the water and when making camp. Be as quiet as possible and speak in low tones, especially in the evening and near the water.

Travel light, travel right

There are a variety of concepts used to explain the idea of responsible recreation. However, the popular framework established by the Leave No Trace (LNT) program offers some of the finest and most widely accepted principles for enjoying the outdoors with minimal impact.

Originally, the LNT program was established for backpackers in order to provide a simple set of environmentally sensitive methods that, when properly applied, would insure a satisfying and sustainable outdoor experience for everyone involved.

The LNT ethic employs a common sense approach to outdoor travel and incorporates seven basic tenets:

Plan ahead and prepare

Travel and camp on durable surfaces

Dispose of waste properly

Leave what you find

Minimize campfire impacts

Respect wildlife

Be considerate of other visitors

All outdoor travelers, regardless of recreational pursuit, should make an effort to enjoy the outdoors without the risk of spoiling anyone else's experience, or the environment in the process.

Most outdoor enthusiasts understand this concept and they are willing to invest the time to restore, enhance and conserve the backcountry for the benefit of all.

Woking Waterstone's Book Signing This Saturday

I shall be signing copies of Hard Time on Saturday July 16th, 2011 - Waterstone's, Unit 44, The Peacocks Centre, Woking, Surrey, GU21 6GD (01483 767 564) from 11am until 4pm. Map.

Click here for the previous book signing blog

Shaun Attwood

From Polish Avenger (Letter 4)

Polish Avenger - A software-engineering undergraduate sentenced to 25 years because his friend was shot dead during a burglary they were both committing. Author of the classic "Shit Slinger" series.

Hello there, Old Bean!

Yes, believe it or not, you are indeed reading that most scarce of commodities, that superbly rare item, that additionally overdramatic superlative description – a letter from yours truly! Yes, contrary to rumours and myth, they do still exist. And I do apologize for the exceptional doldrums in my writing.

A number of things all collided and put my mind quite out of the literary mode for a while, no great crises or tragedies, more of a gradual slide into the tamasic realm of sloth, indolence and distraction. But I’m sloughing all that off now, and reinvigorating. It just may be time to re-emerge from out ’neath the proverbial rock I’ve been living under.

The fellows here carry on as they do. T-Bone dropped by to visit us for a short while. Jack’s chemo is coming along quite well. Stubborn old Marine. Foot wheels him out to the field where they park the wheelchair, then Jack proceeds to wear him out with various callisthenics, and walking laps with a cane. We joke that that’s the way they do chemo in the Corps! His spirits are pretty high, too, and we’ve even got him back to painting a little. Leukemia’s a real bastard to beat, but if anyone’s got a fighting chance, it’s our boy Jack.

Click here for Shit Slingers V.
Click here for Letter 3 from Polish Avenger.

Our friends inside appreciate your comments.

Shaun Attwood  

Review of Hard Time by Greg Barbrick at Blogcritics

"English Shaun" Attwood was a British expatriate living the high life as a stockbroker by day, and an Ecstasy-dealing raver by night. The combination of big money and lots of drugs is always a bad one, but it became a nearly fatal one for him. You see, Attwood's crimes took place in Phoenix, Arizona - home of the notorious Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The abuses, graft, violent conflicts of interest, and other crimes committed in Arpaio's jails have been documented before. But never by someone who spent two years inside.

Attwood's new book, Hard Time: Life with Sheriff Joe Arpaio in America's Toughest Jail describes the conditions of the (then) young man's stint in these "temporary" holding facilities. The author was being housed in these jails before being actually sentenced to prison. The reason he was unable to bail out was that his was set at $1.5 million, a figure much higher than Arizona's finest murderers routinely receive. The result of his ordeal is this sickening account of absolute sadism under the guise of law and order.

The jail environment is not supposed to be a pleasant one. But how bad should it be allowed to get? It seems Sheriff Arpaio's mission is to find out just how far he can push things. The inmate death toll under his watch is the highest in the nation. In these jails, an integral part of the food supply is baloney sandwiches, made from moldy bread and a green baloney that is delivered in boxes stamped "Not Fit for Human Consumption."

There is no system of air-conditioning at all (remember, this is Arizona - where temperatures often top 100 degrees), and the medical care is non-existent. Evidently the cockroaches feed off the pus generated by the MRSA-infected sores of spider bites.

While reading Hard Time, I often cringed at some of the situations Attwood described. Some of these instances seem to come straight out of the old HBO series OZ. While the author admits his guilt right up front, and expects to do prison time, we need to remember where all of these deaths and other atrocities are occurring. Sherriff Arpaio's jails are holding people accused of crimes. Nobody there has been convicted or sentenced yet. Have we reached the point where the mere filing of a charge is enough to send someone to this type of hell hole?

Shaun Attwood was eventually sentenced to nine years in prison for his drug activities. He has since been released, and now speaks to teens as an anti-drug crusader. He also says that the two years he spent waiting to be sentenced in Arpaio's jails were far worse than the nine he spent in prison.

What makes Hard Time so readable is Attwood's obvious talent as a first time writer. There is no "woe is me" tone present, or prevarication about his being non-violent crimes. He takes his lumps, but he also shows just how ridiculous the whole situation there is. For example, he claims that he had never seen as much crystal meth on the outside as he did on the inside. Meth is a particularly nasty drug to have floating around in an already extremely dangerous environment. He is very lucky to have survived for two years.

There are also a number of humanizing moments, that he and his various cell mates share over time. These little glimpses of humanity in the midst of such squalor open up this tale to the rest of us. I certainly could not help wondering what I would do if faced with such a situation. Yes, of course, jail is intended as a deterrent, but this is like being thrown into the lion's den.

Hard Time is a fascinating first-time book, and an eye-opening look at what is going on in the Phoenix jail system. This trampling of basic human rights needs to be addressed. Unfortunately, it seems Arpaio has so much power as to be immune. Just ask the former publisher of Arizona's New Times newspaper, who was arrested in 2007 while investigating the abuses of the jail system. The investigation ended immediately.

Hopefully Shaun Attwood's new book will cast more light on this intolerable situation. It is a harrowing, and at times oddly humorous account of life in hell. I only wish it was a fictional tale, because things like this should not be going on in America today. Hard Time is eye-opening, to say the least.

Link to the previous review

Link to the previous review by a prisoner

Sighting In-Careful

My fellow hunter and Club member Sandy sent me these photos. Sandy is a retired State Police Sniper and a Marine who saw significant active duty in Viet Nam. He was a door gunner on a chopper after recovering from taking bullets in the leg during a firefight on the ground. he spent many years with the N.J. State Police. The guy can drive nails with a .22 from 200 yards.
Sandy is a wizard with guns and ballistics and related topics...he is also a damn fine guy with whom to spend time in a duck blind or smoking a cigar with after dinner. These pictures show what happens if one is not methodical and careful. All of us hunters spend considerable time sighting in a deer rifle. This takes time, a good 100 yard firing range, a spotting scope and a steady hand. We also pattern our shotguns and practice as much as possible.
The poor schmuck who sat at the bench to sight in this rifle forgot to remove the bore sighting mechanism from the muzzle...and the result is quite horrible.

Sporting Cigarette Silks

Long before Don Draper was shagging every wench he saw and pimping Lucky Strikes to the masses, Tobacco Companies were employing tricks and premiums to encourage purchase of their smokes over those of the competition. Around the turn of the century...the last one....Cigarette companies offered "silks" featuring various themes. Each theme was usually a series...such as the college athletes from Cornell, Navy and Lehigh noted above. You can see the print add now: "Buy Acme Brand cigarettes and complete your athletic series before your friends!"
These items are becoming more and more rare and are quite sought after by collectors. I have found a few when scavenging around flea markets and antique shows. I was particularly excited to find the Lehigh Cricketeer...though I never saw any cricket going on up in Bethlehem when I was there mid 80's or even heard that it was played back when my Great Uncle was there early '30's.
These silks make a nice conversation piece when framed and displayed...essentially turn of the century baseball cards for grownups and University sports.