Post by rramom on Mar 24, 2013 13:32:48 GMT -5
TK asked if I'd like to write up some wisdom to post on this forum. I'm not aware of any other forum that has a section like this, so it will be an experiment. Sort of a blog/column that I write, and then you all can respond if you wish. My Mom passed away a few years ago, but for most of my adult years, I called her on a daily basis and saw her on a weekly basis. She was my mentor in many ways, and I really miss that relationship as adult-to-adult. Whether you had someone in your life like that, or not, maybe this will be something you can enjoy.
First, a bit of a bio, so you know where I'm coming from.
I'm a native Kansan, 53, married for 28 years to TrailerDwarf, who I can blame for introducing me to guns. We have two sons in their 20's, which we homeschooled from the beginning until they started college. Both are still living at home, and going to a community college. The oldest, who will be referred to as WebGeek, is into computers. The youngest, who dubbed himself Bibliovore (or if you have difficulty with that - bookworm), is an avid reader. He has a voluminous vocabulary, and spells better than anyone else in this family.
I was raised in a Christian home, and have been following the Lord for 29 years. I've never liked pushy salespeople, that's not my style, so don't expect a "fire & brimstone" sermon from me. If you do the math, you can figure out that there is a gap of several years there, where I did as I pleased then, but am not proud of now. Those years taught me many things that have made me a wiser person. As I've heard it said, "Wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from making bad decisions." I've told my sons that they don't have to make the mistakes themselves in order to learn - they can watch other people make bad decisions and save themselves a lot of problems. Or as I've often said about a certain brother of mine, "Everyone is good for something, even if it is only as a bad example."
My family wasn't anti guns - we just didn't have any. Dad didn't care to hunt, he was a farmer who would rather eat beef & pork he raised. By the time I was interested enough to ask gun-related questions, my Dad had died, and due to a series of strokes, my Mom wasn't able to have deep conversations, so I've just had to guess at their reasons. When I was 8 or 9, I went to a 4-H camp at Rock Springs Ranch where I shot a rifle. I couldn't hit the paper! I found out years later that was because I'm right handed, and left eye dominant, and I remember the instructor telling me I had to use my right eye to sight with. Needless to say, without hitting the paper, I didn't get interested in guns.
When we were engaged, TrailerDwarf informed me that his antique 16 ga. shotgun was going to move in when he did. Being rather apprehensive about guns, I said I didn't want to have a gun in the house I didn't know how to use. (For fear I would make it go off accidentally when moving it for some reason.) We went to my parents' farm, and I hit every tin can I aimed at. I also hit a few things I wasn't aiming at (but had the gun pointed in a safe direction, so no catastrophes). That's because the "safety" was engaged by lowering the hammer partway, but I just couldn't get the hang of partway. Between that and the nasty recoil, I had no interest in ever shooting a gun again.
I also had negative interest in hunting - I have a very squeamish system, where I faint easily. I can't even stand to handle a raw chicken, so I didn't even consider cooking & eating game. Not a Bambi lover, just told TrailerDwarf that if he shot anything, he had to give it to someone else.
First, a bit of a bio, so you know where I'm coming from.
I'm a native Kansan, 53, married for 28 years to TrailerDwarf, who I can blame for introducing me to guns. We have two sons in their 20's, which we homeschooled from the beginning until they started college. Both are still living at home, and going to a community college. The oldest, who will be referred to as WebGeek, is into computers. The youngest, who dubbed himself Bibliovore (or if you have difficulty with that - bookworm), is an avid reader. He has a voluminous vocabulary, and spells better than anyone else in this family.
I was raised in a Christian home, and have been following the Lord for 29 years. I've never liked pushy salespeople, that's not my style, so don't expect a "fire & brimstone" sermon from me. If you do the math, you can figure out that there is a gap of several years there, where I did as I pleased then, but am not proud of now. Those years taught me many things that have made me a wiser person. As I've heard it said, "Wisdom comes from experience, and experience comes from making bad decisions." I've told my sons that they don't have to make the mistakes themselves in order to learn - they can watch other people make bad decisions and save themselves a lot of problems. Or as I've often said about a certain brother of mine, "Everyone is good for something, even if it is only as a bad example."
My family wasn't anti guns - we just didn't have any. Dad didn't care to hunt, he was a farmer who would rather eat beef & pork he raised. By the time I was interested enough to ask gun-related questions, my Dad had died, and due to a series of strokes, my Mom wasn't able to have deep conversations, so I've just had to guess at their reasons. When I was 8 or 9, I went to a 4-H camp at Rock Springs Ranch where I shot a rifle. I couldn't hit the paper! I found out years later that was because I'm right handed, and left eye dominant, and I remember the instructor telling me I had to use my right eye to sight with. Needless to say, without hitting the paper, I didn't get interested in guns.
When we were engaged, TrailerDwarf informed me that his antique 16 ga. shotgun was going to move in when he did. Being rather apprehensive about guns, I said I didn't want to have a gun in the house I didn't know how to use. (For fear I would make it go off accidentally when moving it for some reason.) We went to my parents' farm, and I hit every tin can I aimed at. I also hit a few things I wasn't aiming at (but had the gun pointed in a safe direction, so no catastrophes). That's because the "safety" was engaged by lowering the hammer partway, but I just couldn't get the hang of partway. Between that and the nasty recoil, I had no interest in ever shooting a gun again.
I also had negative interest in hunting - I have a very squeamish system, where I faint easily. I can't even stand to handle a raw chicken, so I didn't even consider cooking & eating game. Not a Bambi lover, just told TrailerDwarf that if he shot anything, he had to give it to someone else.