3

I debated whether to go ahead with this week's entry.  With the recent (as of this writing) devastating tragedy in Roseburg, Oregon, I wondered if it was in poor taste.  But after asking the opinions of several friends and acquaintances, I will carry on. I won't give the bad guy any further power, or concede to any degree that my experience could be at all related to someone else's complete lack of personal responsibility, possibly due to some deep psychological problems.  Whatever the facts of this incident are, I extend my deepest sympathies to the families and friends of those who perished at Umpqua Community College.  I hope the President is wrong, that we have not all become numb to events such as this...

 

3.

One might not have expected this from me.  Seriously?  Firing a gun?  "How pedestrian - isn't that on everyone's bucket list?"  After all, didn't I state very clearly in my blog intro that I would not include parachuting among my 50:50  experiences?  Wasn't that really because jumping out of an airplane is just too trite; "isn't that also on everyone's list", etc.?  No, that was not my reasoning.  My reasoning was much simpler – it's a good way not to make it to 51.

I suppose one could argue that hanging around a bunch of strangers using weapons loaded with live ammunition could also be a good way to get myself killed.  But at least the fall is a lot shorter.

I got up at stupid-o'clock on Saturday morning to drive an hour out of town to a gun club, where they offer an introductory course on firearms.  After a short classroom session, it was off to the range.  I had the opportunity to fire 7 different weapons – 4 pistols (including automatic, semi-automatic and a single-action Colt revolver), a semi-Uzi, a traditional levered rifle (yes, just like the ones you see in any old Western movie), and a bolt-action 12-gauge rifle.   Sensibly, we started with pistols loaded with .22's, working our way up to the most powerful weapon.   The most challenging for me, due to its weight, was the .357, mounted with a scope.  Holding that one straight out in front of me, my hands had difficulty supporting it; I was shaking a bit.  But by the end of the course, I had managed to hit my cardboard target several times, eventually blasting it right off the target stand, and bringing it home with me.

It is difficult to describe the physical feeling that occurs just after squeezing the trigger – the power.  It's like an explosion in your hands.  It forces the body slightly backward, but there's never so much recoil that you fall down.  (The instructor stands behind you for every shot, so no danger of that anyway.)

I never felt particularly scared, in the presence of so many guns going off.  I suppose because of the very strict rules that are followed, and enforced by the Range Officer.  Rules that were clearly respected by every single person there.  These were responsible gun owners, who come to their club to shoot only at targets, and then get together for some fellowship at the clubhouse. 

But the power of a gun is a serious thing, and I handled each weapon very carefully.  I met some friendly people, and enjoyed my time there immensely.  Would I do it again?  Well – if someone I knew wanted to try it, and asked me to go with them, I suppose so.  Other than that, I'm quite satisfied to have this be a one-time thing.  I just wanted to know what it feels like. 

 

 

One Thing That >50 Me Has Learned Along the Way...

Good advice from a late friend of mine: Give a new book 100 pages (whether it's actual paper, or electronic) to grab your interest.  If a book can't do that after 100 pages, don't force yourself to finish it, even if it's a 'classic.'  Life is too short to spend your time reading about people and places that you just don't care about.  I barely made it past page 75 of "Bonfire of the Vanities."  I was bored out of my mind (many apologies to the author).  No wonder the movie sucked.

This advice obviously doesn't apply if one is school-aged, and having a book forced upon you as part of the curriculum.  Binge-read if you have to, and get it over with.  We all had to read "Catcher in the Rye;" deal with it.