The Sounds of Silence & A Happy New Year!

I love being a parent, but sometimes the constant, unending noise makes me nuts. Screaming, yelling, giggling kids who all operate at volume 11. TV and radio blaring all hours (the baby sleeps best with audio input). Other machines too: the dishwasher, dryer, washing machine, exercise bike, blender, often running at the same time.

Deafening literally and mentally.

My son was the first to request my shooting ear protectors to wear during the times when his baby sister is screaming. Then he got to wearing them when he wanted to hear himself sing (go figure). Then I swiped them back when I blog so that I can hear myself think (wearing them now).

While I occasionally like the dead silence of the empty house, that silence is overwhelming and oppressively empty.

Instead, the muted noise of family insanity leaking through my $9 hearing protectors let me see and hear the action while letting me see what is going on:

Wife and one daughter baking strawberry pound cakes, son playing rocket ship police with a space ship made from duct tape and spare golf ball tubing, cats trying to decide if we are all insane, and me blogging with my cheap "ears" on.

The Sounds of Silence...

Happy New Year!

Saiga Problem Solved - A.K.A. New AK on the Way

I worked REALLY hard this month and really grew to hate the Saiga (see previous posts). So, I broke down and ordered a Yugoslavian Underfolding AK. Still will not be all that amazingly accurate, but will be much more fun on a geek level. Add to that a serious bonus in storage and magazine capacity. And I can get rails for it. And I can modify it without violating BATF rules. And, and, and... I cannot wait.

First of my second Gen guns..

(Picture pulled from Guns America and The Exchange, from whom I bought the AK).

My Brother's Stolen Sandwich

Another story from my Brother in the big city:

He had just put down his lunch combo on the table at the Subway restaurant and was filling his soda cup when he noticed a man just outside the window looking left and right and at his sandwich. Before he could do anything, he sees the guy run in the door, grab his sandwich and bolt out the door.

(I interrupted here and said, "He must have been hungry" did you get another sandwich?")

Nope, my brother throws down his drink and runs out the door in hot pursuit. Weaving through the grid locked traffic, he is running the sandwich thief to ground. In a few minutes he will have the guy.

(I interrupted again here and said, "Man, that was stupid!" Why not just let the guy go?)

He expains to me that he only had a budget for that one meal that day and he did not want to be hungry. Plus, IT WAS HIS SANDWICH!

So the guy looks back over his shoulder and sees my Brother catching up to him and what does he do?

He takes the sandwich out of the bag and, gulping down unchewed mouthfuls, he just keeps running.

(I interrupt with tears of laughter, "Just how hungry were you? Would you still eat it then?")

Nope. My brother let it go at that point. He really wanted a HIS sandwich, but not that bad!

Even Gun Safety can be Trouble

My kids know firearm safety, at least the safety basics for their age level. This is not because they learned it in a class, or at school. Nope, it is because the learned it from me. Could I teach others? Sure, but I wouldn't dare. Why? Because it would mean: A. telling people I own guns (dangerous in certain company) and B. convincing people that exposure to firearms, even just for safety training, will not harm their children mentally or physically.

I find it ironic that we liberals make fun of the "head in the sand" approach of the right wingers when it comes to sex education (i.e. abstinence only programs). We say, "The kids are doing it, there is a unignorable threat, and so we have to give them the tools to get through life safely. Teaching it will not make them do it."

And yet we no longer have basic, communal firearm safety instruction for our kids.

Given that 1 out of 4 homes has at least one firearm on average, and given this is much higher in rural areas, you would think that kids should get some very basic, sobering, and responsible safety instruction. Especially in a society that sadly confuses firearms with toys.

In every experience I have had, exposure leads to respect. Respect leads to responsibilty. Responsibilty lead so safety.

As a member of the NRA, there are options for me to become a certified safety instructor and I have considered them. But even if I went through the certification courses, I would still be in the same catch-22: to name my certification would be to invoke the dreaded NRA and that would possibly even make matters worse.

So, my kids are safe, and I trust them as much as kids can be trusted. My house is also safe (gun locks, safes, and more - oh my!). But sadly, there will be unsafe houses and there will be unprepared kids. And accidents will only add to the visceral rage that many people have towards all firearms and gun owners. And kids will be no safer for it.

When I was in the 6th grade one of my classmates was accidentally killed by her brother who was cleaning a loaded rifle. It was one of the pivotal points in my life and my first introduction to death. The sad reality is that the son was not safe, and as a result his rifle was unsafe. The fact that his sister did not know enough to leave the room when he was being unsafe, maybe not even realizing the danger they were both in, I think attributed to the accident.

He was a minor handling a weapon without the presence of his parents. AND he was cleaning a loaded weapon in violation every safety rule in the book. AND he was surprised by the family dog. AND he dropped a loaded weapon. AND he had a fluke accidental discharge. AND the round hit his sister in the head. AND she was dead.

I cannot help but to think that the situation could have been different. Maybe not. But training could not have hurt either.

Dog Owners

Why do so many dog owners think that dogs need to run free? Especially in residential areas?

"My dog would never hurt anyone."

"My dog is not a problem."

"My dog is special, just like me!"

Your dog is going to get run over, hurt someone, or get taken to the pound. Being "special" won't make a difference. Today the most recent addition to our neighborhood tried to climb in the family minivan today with my wife and kids.

I guess it thought it was special...

The Bear in the Yard

So today while visiting relatives I find out that one of my semi-distant relatives moved to a rural location at the edge of a national forest. He is not fond of guns at all, but had a change of heart when he met his new neighbor. Guess the real-estate agent failed to mention the Brown Bear that owned the apple tree in their yard.

Yep, owned. At least according to the bear that spends a great deal of time in their yard sleeping and lounging 20 feet from their front door. Now in addition to all the usual bear precautions (spraying trash with ammonia, ringing a bell, being very aware of the bear's presence or absence), he also has to carry a large hand cannon on his property to protect himself if the bear ever tried to evict him.

This is both a spiritual hassle and a logistic one, since guests also must wear the hand cannon when they visit if they plan to be outside. He was not specific, but I am guessing from the description that he referred to a .460 or .500 revolver of some sort (definitely a hand howitzer).

Personally, I would blame the real-estate agent and ask him or her to speak to the bear. Or maybe move the bear to the real-estate agent's home. Or even move the tree to another location.

But in the mean time, the howitzer is a no-brainer, even if it is a hassle.

Defending Pro-Gun Progressives @ DailyKos

I have planned to write a diary over at Daily Kos, but never got around to making a user until I planned to post. Turns out, there is a waiting period to post after account creation, so I will have to wait another week to send it up. I will post a copy when I send it to Kos...

Concealed Carry Experience: Overweight and Undergunned

I have been carrying concealed off and on for a couple of months now and after several holsters and clothing experiments, I am getting the hang of things. The only problem is that the gun I have centered on is the Kel-Tec P32. It is superbly small and light. Conceal-ability does not get better (especially for us "husky" folk), but the trade off is the .32 ACP round that it fires. It is better than nothing, but that is about all it has going for it.


The reality of this underpowered reality was driven home recently. I buy used electronics often and recently I had a very large woman try and sell me a very "hot" piece of merchandise. A couple of calls to the cops, and a quick investigation resulted in the police taking the merchandise and going over to her house to arrest her. At least that is what they said when they left my store.


In fact no arrest was made, and instead they let me know that they had "made contact" and were looking for a boyfriend who was the "actual" thief. They assured me that neither the woman nor the boyfriend would make contact with me, but if they did I should call 911. And that was that.


Needless to say, I had to decide wether to be armed or not the next day. Why? Frankly, this woman outweighed me easily by 150 lbs and who knows what her boyfriend was like. I figure, someone was going to jail and I was not sure if they wanted to upgrade from theft to aggravated assault before heading to lockup. I wanted all of my options available. At the same time, no one could know I was armed.


So, as I am getting prepped for work the next day, I had that drop in the gut feeling as I armed up. Looking at the puny .32 ACP rounds in the magazine and thinking of 400 lbs of charging woman, or 600+ lbs of charging woman and boyfriend, I had a very real crisis of confidence. Even with martial arts and minimal military training, there are limits to what I can do. The Kel-Tec was the only option realistically available to me, and off to work it went. But I resolved in that moment to try and find a more powerful carry piece for the future.


In all reality, the chances of trouble were miniscule. The thieves would have to be complete morons to come back to my shop, stand in front of my security cameras for a second time, and cause trouble. But I remember from my years as a Jail Chaplain just how stupid, and emotionally driven criminals can be. 


The good news is that they have not shown up. Instead, 48 hours later the cops were again at my store collecting more stolen merchandise and this time actually arresting the teens who sold it to me no more than 5 minutes before (I am out $5 in cash on that deal). The thieves had been followed by the victims who shadowed them into my store while the cops were in route. Luckily, the victims were very calm and the thieves did not know who they were and so there was no scene. 


I will say that I was much more calm in the situation knowing that all of my options, no matter how undergunned, were open to me. I was armed, and not with a stapler.


Now to decide between a Taurus and a Kahr...

Go! Go! Godzilla!

My son was obsessed with trains when he was younger. Obsessed is a light term for it. From the fantastical Diesel 10 of the Thomas the Tank Engine series to the very real bullet trains of Japan, he was a complete train freak. At one point I had concerns he would grow up to be the kind of guy that films cargo trains on the weekends to get his train fix. (My wife told me to just let him be, "He's a boy").

Then I began shooting competition and my son became obsessed with guns. This was a problem until we set strict rules of when he could and could not share his obsession (NEVER AT SCHOOL, etc.). But my wife found it VERY disturbing. She was a real trooper and I did everything I could to assure her that he was not on a track that would end with him dead in Baghdad. (I told her to just let him be, "He's a boy").

But then came Godzilla and saved my ass. I mean that. We were watching Lilo and Stitch when I realized that a reference to Godzilla in it meant nothing to the kids because they had never seen any of the movies. So I showed them Godzilla 1985 as well as Son of Godzilla (the silliest of them), and WHAMO! he has a new obsession! Problem solved...

I swear, watching him set up cities of blocks and cars, just to stomp them down, brings back so many memories. Does my heart good.

And it also really helped my marriage...

Joining the Ranks of CCW: Self-Reliance & Adulthood

CCW: Concealed Carry Firearm

So, when I got my permit to carry a handgun in the state of Indiana, I not only became elidgeable to transport a firearm but I also became legally able to carry one. At first I did not think that I would use this new legal right in any other way than to transport my Taurus to and from the range and shooting competitons. I did not consider myself as having an immediate need to carry and was not sure that I would feel comfortable "packing" a loaded firearm.

As time passed, I realized that there were times when I did feel at some small risk: late night ATM runs, being in my glass showroom/office at night, etc. And so I tested the waters with a small of the back holster and my Taurus. The results were ok and the weapon was unnoticed since I was careful in dress and body motion. I neither "printed" (let the pistol outline show through my clothes) or "flashed" (accidentally showed it to another person). But it was very uncomfortable and awkward, which is to be expected from a full sized pistol that was never intended for concealed carry.

So I did what any other gun owner would do: I bought another gun, a Kel-Tec P32 mousegun. While mouseguns are looked down on by many gun owners, the size of the pistol (tiny) and the weight (same as a wallet) made it a good choice. Since then it has become a regular carry piece when I go out at night for business or even when out on the rare date night with my wife.

In a quality holster the P32 is quite undetectable and is so light that it just feels like I am carrying two wallets. The only down side is that the firearm is weak (I will blog on this later). But I can carry this all day and not sacrifice clothes or comfort and that is what I need most right now.

I expect people would have many questions for me if anyone actually read this blog: How can you as a father own and carry deadly weapons when there are kids around? How could you as a liberal add more guns to a gun laden society? Aren't you no better than the criminals out there? Do you REALLY need a gun? Who are you to take the law into your own hand? Could you really shoot someone?

To make these questions more interesting, you need to know that I have taken a long journey to get to where I find myself driving around town armed with a .32 pistol in my back pocket. I have been a pacifist, I have been a militant, I have been a radical, and I have been a parent. But one thing that has always been core to me: I am a pragmatist.

What am I? I am a father, a husband, a citizen, and an adult. As a father & husband, I am responsible for myself, my wife and my children (just as my wife is responsible for herself, me, and our children). This means that I do not have the luxury of letting something happen to me. Even moreso, I cannot let something happen to my wife or kids. I was clear on that long before I bought my first firearm.

Do I really need a gun? Ask anyone who got stuck in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. While we want to believe that others will keep us safe (police, military, neighbors, etc.), the reality is that we are the only ones who can protect ourselves. That is true after a disaster, and it is true in the dark parking garage, and it is true in the home, and it is true in the gas station bathroom, and it is true..... And, frankly, the sad fact is that there are many people that I am no match for, not without a firearm. My 5'8" 250 pounds of blubber is no match for 6' 5" 300 pounds of muscle. Not to mention two attackers. I would be as outmatched as I was at 12 when I was mugged at knifepoint. If I am responsible to defend myself and my family, then a firearm is a necessity of last resort.

Does this make me like the criminals? Of course not, that is insipid. Does my breathing the same air make me the same? Does my wearing clothes make me the same? Does my driving a car make me the same? Or using money? Of course not. We are all overly evolved monkeys that use tools. A gun is simply another tool: nothing more, nothing less.

Aren't I making the world a worse place? The reality is that while passive resistance can make the world a better place, it cannot make every individual a better, law abiding, person. And in the moment of confrontation, when my family is at risk, I am not worried about changing the world. I am worried about me and mine. It is that simple. And as far as flooding the world with guns? That ship has sailed. Cancel the production of all new firearms and the country would still have plenty to go around.

And as far as being a liberal and being armed, I am finding that the numbers of both are increasing. Liberals believe in helping others, self-reliance, fairness, and the communal good. All of these are helped by my firearm ownership. As a responsible, careful, civic minded liberal, I am interested in being able to do something for the good if that time ever came rather than running away or cowering in fear. Additionally, since carrying a firearm puts me at legal risk if I do something stupid, I find that when I am armed, I am much more careful to obey the law fully. I do not speed, j-walk, or do other questionable things when I am carrying.

And as far as safety is concerned, my guns are very safe. And even more importantly, my kids are very safe around guns. Both are vital. Gun safes, trigger locks, ammo safes, unloaded storage all are vital points of gun safety, but none can protect your kids when they find a gun at someone else's house or on the street. At that time, only the kids with safety training and exposure can be expected to do what is right. My little ones are much better prepared than those of my friends who simply avoid firearms out of fear.

And you know what is most surprising in all of this? The number of people who were already in the ranks of the CCW. Legal, conscientious concealed carriers are already everywhere around us. From the guy at Kinko's to a mother from play group. From the super liberal off-the-grid ex-hippie, to the manager at the fast food joint. There are many more people who carry than I ever suspected. No-one needs to know, so they don't. And, sadly, no-one appreciates or realizes them.

These are people who take on the full self-responsibility of the adult-citizen, take on the fullest responsibility for others, take that responsibility seriously enough to not underestimate danger, and who spend a great deal of time, training, and effort to be ready if needed. And none ever expect to be thanked.

I am proud to join their number.