Sometime back about 15 years ago, Rob and I took a vacation to Utah. The intent of the trip was to visit as many national parks as possible in one week. Firmly entrenched in our goal-orientedness, we checked just about every one of ‘em off our list, including having to beg a park ranger to let us past a gate he was closing at sunset cuz otherwise it wouldn’t have counted. Anal + competitive = thank God we found each other.
Despite the rock formations and hoodoos and waterfalls and arches, one of the most indelible memories from that trip was a brief drive down a main street in Salt Lake City. As we were taking a very orderly, grid-y driving tour, I was appalled to see a couple of men walking on the sidewalk carrying rifles.
“What type of town is this?!?” I mostly screeched. “What, do they have a militia or something?! I can’t believe these people are walking around with guns right out in the open!! With children right over there!!! And nobody is doing anything about it!!! What are they teaching these kids??? Don't they know how horrible and dangerous guns are??! ”
Yes, I believe you could have seen my soap box from Arizona. As I took a breath to launch into yet more indignation, Rob seized the moment and pointed out a sign stuck in some grass. “Gun Show Today.” Turns out we were right next to the convention center. Once I patted down my feathers I laughed, too, but not quite as hard as Rob.
So we all change and evolve, right? We grow, we experience, we see new perspectives. Right?
I’m not quite sure how else to explain the following picture or my pride in showing it to you. All I can say is we’ve got some really fun friends here with some really fun hobbies and lots of generosity in sharing them with us.
And yes, I do seem to be a better shot than Rob.
Despite the rock formations and hoodoos and waterfalls and arches, one of the most indelible memories from that trip was a brief drive down a main street in Salt Lake City. As we were taking a very orderly, grid-y driving tour, I was appalled to see a couple of men walking on the sidewalk carrying rifles.
“What type of town is this?!?” I mostly screeched. “What, do they have a militia or something?! I can’t believe these people are walking around with guns right out in the open!! With children right over there!!! And nobody is doing anything about it!!! What are they teaching these kids??? Don't they know how horrible and dangerous guns are??! ”
Yes, I believe you could have seen my soap box from Arizona. As I took a breath to launch into yet more indignation, Rob seized the moment and pointed out a sign stuck in some grass. “Gun Show Today.” Turns out we were right next to the convention center. Once I patted down my feathers I laughed, too, but not quite as hard as Rob.
So we all change and evolve, right? We grow, we experience, we see new perspectives. Right?
I’m not quite sure how else to explain the following picture or my pride in showing it to you. All I can say is we’ve got some really fun friends here with some really fun hobbies and lots of generosity in sharing them with us.
And yes, I do seem to be a better shot than Rob.
UPDATED 6-6-08: As requested, here's Rob's target:
5 comments:
Will these skills be used in llama wrangling and/or in deer coaxing?
Need more details on the picture. Yardage, firearm of choice, indoor, outdoor. We also want a picture of Rob's attempt so we can all make fun of him, because he was outshot by a girl.
Hi Anonymous! OK, I was shooting a 22 rifle at 50 feet, inside, laying down (prone position).
I will admit that Rob did better overall on the second, smaller target we tried. My first two shots were great, but then my back started rebelling against the idea of me laying on my stomach holding a heavy weapon. We'll be going head-to-head again in a few weeks. :-)
OK, anonymous's comment has visions of you guys yelling "Dance...Bambi... Dance!!" during one of their mid-afternoon snacks on your grapes :o)
I think Pete's had me watch one too many Eastwood movies!
Eileen, I'm laughing hard here!!
Reminds me of the night we saw a deer munching on our grass. We went out to try to chase it away. Instead, it looked right at us, sneered, and proceeded to "do its business" just to make a point. Well, Rob managed to plant a BB from an air gun right on the deer's busy backside and I tell you, that deer did one impressive little boogie. "Dance, Bambi, Dance!" I love it!!
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