Saturday Meandering - UPDATED

Good morning! Okay, it's after noon in the four Lower 48 zones, but it's still morning here. So there.

I mentioned a few days ago that one of my wife's tires had a large bulge in the sidewall. I took it back to the dealer on Thursday, and they said whoever mounted it had torn the bead, which allowed air into the sidewall, forming a bubble between the outer rubber & sidewall plies. Not good. Also not their fault, so I had to buy a new tire (gripe, grumble, mutter). We can afford it, but that's not the point.

This morning I took the damaged tire, receipt for having it installed two weeks ago, and the receipt for the new tire, to the Sam's Club on Old Seward, where it was so recently mounted. I mention their name because of their response.

I showed them the steel bead wires, and told them what happened. The guy at the tire counter said, "Yeah, that happens sometimes. We apologize." He picked up the phone and called a manager.

He told the manager what happened; manager asked for my receipts, and brought me cash for the price of the new tire I bought, plus installation. They also offered to install the tire (if it hadn't already been taken care of) and to dispose of the damaged one without fee.

There were no questions asked, and the money was handed to me in only a few minutes' time. I wasn't sure what kind of reception I would receive with this complaint, and they made it painless. I appreciate that a great deal, and so I wanted local readers to know about it.

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I also picked up some more rifle ammo at Wal-Mart (gasp-shock, they had some). Traipsed over to Sportsman's Warehouse & got another magazine for my 1911 - can you have too many of those? - and some Hogue rubber stocks. My hands, being fairly large, appreciate the more secure feel of the fatter grip.

The right-side grip had a marked area to cut away, to accommodate the ambi safety. After trimming, it's still a tight fit, but that's okay. I'd been noticing that the safety was a little loose, and tended to ride up slightly while shooting. I was having to push it down about every other magazine, at the range.

Having the slide come back & break the safety would have ruined my whole day, so the safety being held in place by a rubber pad is alright by me.

UPDATE - My older daughter & I went back to Sportsman's Warehouse this afternoon. I picked up an S&W Model 442 in .38 Spl.+P for her to learn with, and for personal defense. It's a tiny gun (to me) but fits her small hands just fine. They didn't have much in the way of ammo for it, so that's the next task. In the meantime ... to the range!

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There's not a lot of local news worth repeating outside the immediate Anchorage area, but this one might be ...

A dead beluga whale washed up on the beach just below downtown, yesterday. It was pregnant, but there were no immediate indications of what killed it. Boaters had radioed the Coast Guard they'd seen a dead whale bobbing in the coastal waters, the day before, so that just adds to the minor mystery. The Fish & Wildlife folks are on the case.

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It's unusually warm this morning (57) because of a "pineapple express" from the south. We have cloudy skies, sprinkles, and winds of 15 mph gusting to 40. The sun was peeking through, in spots, when I went out at 9:00, but it's completely clouded over, now. Sounds like the rain is getting a little heavier, too.

I think that's all for now. Y'all have a great weekend! Thanks for stopping by; I appreciate your time.