tsa-la-tsi-s-gi gv-do-di ka-ne
dance
- with - snake
DANCES
WITH SNAKES
"CONSUMER ACQUISITION SITE"
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tsa-la-tsi-s-gi gv-do-di ka-ne dance
- with - snake
DANCES
WITH SNAKES "CONSUMER ACQUISITION SITE"
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McRocks Get-together, June 2004 The Sarge's Version This was the third get-together of the McRocks members in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Western North Carolina, and the first that I had the pleasure of attending. Rather than create a dialog here, I'll let the pictures speak for themselves (with a caption where appropriate). Thanks to Mike & Chrissy Streeter for their gracious hospitality and their generous donation to the educational endeavors of the Richard Dodrill Museum of Rocks, Fossils, And Minerals in Cushing, Oklahoma where there will soon be a display of nearly fifty mineral specimens from Western North Carolina in conjunction with a few other specimens from the area acquired on this trip. Thanks to Wayne (#9) and Patty (#10) for all of their hard work and organization. Thanks to all the members who attended and shared their experience, their knowledge, their rocks, and some even their somewhat aromatic cheeses from the north country! I also enjoyed spending a day digging for garnets in the rain at Little Pine with Randy Mauritz, even if I did tender notions of whacking him in the head with my shovel for exclaiming "There's one!" every 30 seconds while I was struggling to keep the bank from sloughing off and burying my hole every few minutes!
Redmond Prospect just outside the adit and view of the inside.
Representative specimens collected from the Redmond Prospect : Malachite and Azurite, Cerrusite xls on matrix.
Mike and Opal at Walker Creek, about one and one half miles in on the trail, only one-hundred yards to go...yea right! Jay Loch working the tailings for Kyanite
Mike and Everett high-grading. Note the trench to the right was non-existent when we arrived... "Hey, What's that tune you're listening to?"
Mike struggles up the hill with eighty pounds of high grade matrix in his pack. Jay Loch - "Just one more good one, then I'll go"
Walker Creek Kyanite in matrix, un-cleaned. Mike and Opal at Walker Falls
Brandon inside the adit at Little Pine. A nice pair of Almandine Garnets
Some of the un-cleaned specimens of Almandine Garnet in matrix from Little Pine Garnet Mine.
Abernathy Mine: View inside the airshaft at track level, note the water vapor, this isn't seen with the naked eye, but you can certainly feel the cooling effect as the 62 degree air rushes out through the narrow adit, rustling leaves and offering a welcome respite from the heat. Talk about your king-sized water cooler! Everett Harrington and Ron Maddox
The hike back along the tracks from the Abernathy Mine. Pic #1 from left to right: Everett Harrington, Ron Maddox, Virgil (Sgt.) Richards, Gary Maddox, Winnie, and Mary Siniard. Pic #2, same except Brandon took my place in the picture between Ron and Gary. The rest of these pictures will speak for themselves. Needless to say we all enjoyed this third installment of the McRocks Get-Together at Spruce Pine, North Carolina, and I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to the next one. Here's hoping more folks can join the festivity and camaraderie, and that this will be an ongoing tradition filled with friendship and good will for all who are fortunate enough to attend. For those who can get together in other parts of the country, south, west, north, remember we are part of a family of rock-hounds and friends who share a passion for the hobby, the people, and natural wonders. Always remember to share this passion with others wherever you go. The future of our hobby rests in your hands. Great Food, Great People. and rocks to boot!
A few of Jay Loch's Fluorescent specimens under SWUV courtesy of his new Super-Bright
ARE THOSE COOL OR WHAT? KOR © 2004 VIRGIL G. RICHARDS Images may be used with prior consent.
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HAVE YOU BEEN THE TARGET OF A SCAM LATELY? DON'T LET YOUR GUARD DOWN! AUGUST 20TH, 2008 - BROKEN ARROW, OKLAHOMA
If you are not on your toes all of time, you could be the target of a scam or con. Last evening while filling up with gas at QT in Broken Arrow a blue PT Cruiser pulled across in front of my truck. A casually dressed black man stepped out and in a hushed voice asked if I was interested in buying a laptop computer. He proceeded to tell me he had three or four of these for sale for $250 each. Claiming they were brand new Sony Vaio laptops. My first question was "Are they hot?" and I informed him I wasn't interested. He pressed on asking if I would pay $200, then $150. "I don't buy merchandise from the trunk of a car" I informed him. He then asked how much I would be willing to pay, and went back to his car, retrieving a package from the back seat that appeared to be a box about the size of a laptop, wrapped in brown paper, taped up excessively with packaging tape, and a photocopied ad from Office Depot advertising a Sony Vaio for $2099. In the process of getting the package from his car, he covered it with a sheet before bringing it to show me.... A lot suspicious... He handed me the package and returned to his car to retrieve a laptop from the back seat, again covering it with the sheet so no one else could see what he was doing. The laptop was an older Compaq, that he claimed a lady had dropped, but the ones in the packages were Sony. He very quickly returned it to his car, not letting me see more than a glimpse of it under the sheet. Meanwhile, I was hefting the supposed "new" packaged laptop, the entire time suspecting a scam more so than stolen merchandise. I strung him along a little while, squeezing the package (it was too lightweight, and compressed easily) Now knowing I was actually holding a package with nothing substantial inside, I told him I might be interested if he showed me what was in the box. He very quickly retrieved it from me, still trying to get me to pay $150 for it, as he gradually put distance between us getting back to his car. That pretty much ended the conversation. I told him again, "show me what's in the box, I might be interested." No go, he got back in his car and quickly went looking for another mark.
I had meanwhile finished filling my tank, and drove to a strategic location in the parking lot to watch him and his accomplice as they drove about the lot, approaching literally everyone coming and going, I quickly dialed 911 and reported their activity, gave a description of the vehicle and what they were doing, stressing that I firmly believed they were scamming people with empty boxes. I waited for police to arrive, but before they did, the vehicle exited the QT, and drove down the street. I followed at a distance, again calling 911 dispatch to report they had moved to another location, near Chili's and Buffalo Wild Wings. Actually, they had gone to the Lowe's parking lot and by the time officers arrived, had already approached several patrons in the lot. As an unmarked Dodge Charger pulled into the BWW lot, I pointed them to the Lowes. Two other marked units quickly converged on the lot, and as the PT Cruiser approached another mark in front of the store, they hit the lights and surrounded the vehicle! Too cool! I watched from the lobby of Lowes as they talked to the "suspects", and got the passenger out to open the back of the vehicle. After some minutes, a couple came out of the store and saw that the police were questioning the pair, and hollered at them "What are they doin'? Tryin' to sell ya a laptop?" One officer motioned them over and asked if they had been approached, to which they answered yes. The officer asked if they would be willing to make a statement, and a citizens arrest on suspicion of fraud. When they said they would, one of the suspects started cursing at them, this just added resolve to the couple, and they immediately made the citizens arrest. (This was necessary because the officers had no evidence of a crime otherwise.) At this point the two were arrested on fraud charges.
As it turns out, the packages were Fed-X boxes filled with newspaper... They had empty boxes, brown paper bags, tape, scissors, and flyers in the back to make more fake packages. Officers also found bolt cutters and a few personal items in the vehicle, along with three or four bogus packages, and the old, useless Compaq laptop they were using as a prop for their con. They did not find any weapons or drugs fortunately, but the passenger had a felony warrant for his arrest in Florida (the officer said that unfortunately, Florida would not extradite). Officers said they also had a fair amount of cash on them, leading officers to believe they were semi-successful with their con game. Both suspects were from Alabama, and the PT Cruiser had Alabama plates. Both are now sitting in the Broken Arrow jail, the PT Cruiser is impounded, and at least for now, they are off of the street.
Do you think those who paid $150-$250 for a box of newspaper will report it to authorities? Probably not.... Wouldn't you feel a bit foolish for falling for the scam? How about the fact that anyone with common sense would know they were about to purchase stolen merchandise, had the package actually contained a new $2000 laptop...
If you buy merchandise, especially new or near new expensive merchandise off the street, or from the trunk of someone's car, for pennies on the dollar, you should know you are about to buy stolen merchandise, and will be supporting crime. So don't do it! Don't be a victim! Report this kind of activity and save some other fool from making a mistake. These are tough times and if we don't stand up as citizens and do our part, then we are part of the problem!
In all honesty, it felt good to help get these two apprehended! And yes, I gave a written statement, and if asked, would gladly testify against them in court!
Virgil
© 2006 - DANCES-WITH-SNAKES.COM VIRGIL G. RICHARDS
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