No Rocket Scientists Here.

I am constantly bemused by the number of drug busts Nebraska State Troopers make on I-80, which travels east and west through the center of the state. If you get on I-80 in Sacramento, CA, you can drive all the way to New York City without seeing a stop light. That makes the interstate attractive for dumb s#%$s delivering drugs cross country.

If a guy knows he's got 80 to 225 pounds of illegal substances in the trunk of his car, why in the world would he attract an officer's eye by tailgating, speeding, making unsafe lane changes, driving with expired tags, driving with no taillights, or (as happened once) driving a stolen car with no license plates?

At least twice a week the Omaha World Herald carries stories of these drug stops. Further, when the officer stops the suspect on a traffic violation and his instincts lead him to suspect something more is going on, he asks the driver for permission to search the car and the yo-yo says, "Sure. Go right ahead", apparently oblivious to the fact that after the officer looks in the trunk, the driver is going to become a "guest" of the State of Nebraska for the next several years. Of course, if the subject declines to allow the search, the officer only has to speak into the microphone clipped to his shoulder to summon a car with a drug sniffing dog.

In November, the troopers picked up a guy from California with over a hundred pounds of pot in the car, and at the booking process the authorities discovered he was awaiting trial for a similar drug running bust on I-80 in the month of March, 2008. You would think that at least he would have taken I-70 through Kansas and well south of Nebraska, but I have read statements from police investigators over the years to the effect that people who do these things "are not rocket scientists" and make some of the stupidest errors you can imagine. These ongoing drug busts have convinced me of the absolute truth of that observation and they provide me with ongoing amusement amid all the negative stories that surround them.



The young lady to the left is a cheerleader for the Houston Texans of the National Football League. Her name is Summer and the cheerleading is only a part time job/hobby. She is only of interest to me because of her full time job. Are you ready? She works for NASA and is (honestly) a rocket scientist. She holds a degree in Aerospace Engineering from Wichita State University and is a project manager for NASA. See, brains and beauty often co-exist in the same body, much to the distress of many new husbands who discover after the wedding that she's a lot smarter than he thought. Hmmm. There go his clever little scams to spend more time drinking and watching games with his buds. Right on, Summer, or as they say these days, "You go, girl".


I would think by now that all the geese would have migrated to the southern extremities and would be enjoying pina coladas adorned with little paper umbrellas, but for the past couple of days I have seen large flocks of geese flying and "honking" their way North. Why North? Do they know something we don't? Stay tuned for further information.