In a Better Place

Yesterday evening the Boss and I attended the funeral service celebrating the life of my son's mother-in-law and the Boss's good friend. She passed after 3 years of suffering through the effects of ALS. Thankfully her suffering is finally at an end.

I called the service a celebration because it was primarily a gathering of friends and family. There were definatley some times of great saddness because of our loss, but those were brief because most said their goodbyes a while back.

The best thing a parent can do is bring their children to these events. It's amazing how the spirits of all can be lifted by a child playing. My own grandson was very reserved and quiet at first. That's completely out of character for him, but when he reverted back to his normal self it brought a smile to the Boss. And that was a welcome relief.

Shooting Thoughts

Today at lunch I was dragged, screaming to the range. Since I was forced to be there, I decided to go ahead and practice my weak hand shooting some more with the 22 target pistol. Practice may not make perfect, but I am getting better. The total impact area dropped by about 40% and was more centered on the target.

I've always enjoyed teaching others about shooting, so I checked into getting certified by the NRA as an instructor. It's more pricy than I thought. It costs $225 to be trained as a certified basic rifle instructor and $150 for pistol. Since I'll be unemployed come January, I thought I could spend the time. At those prices I'm having second thoughts.

Ohio Liberty Council

Ever heard of the Ohio Liberty Council?
Until recently I had not, but it looks like they're worth keeping an eye on.

To Fix The Economy

Came to me by e-mail.

Dear Mr. President,

Please find below my suggestion for fixing America 's economy. Instead of giving billions of dollars to companies that will squander the money on lavish parties and unearned bonuses, use the following plan. You can call it the "Patriotic Retirement Plan":

There are about 40 million people over 50 in the work force. Pay them $1 million apiece severance for early retirement with the following
stipulations:

1) They MUST retire.. Forty million job openings - Unemployment fixed.

2) They MUST buy a new American CAR. Forty million cars ordered - Auto Industry fixed...

3) They MUST either buy a house or pay off their mortgage - Housing Crisis fixed.

It can't get any easier than that!!

P.S. If more money is needed, have all members in Congress pay their
taxes...

Mr. President, while you're at it, make Congress retire on Social Security and Medicare. I'll bet both programs would be fixed pronto!

If you think this would work, please forward to everyone you know.

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ADDED 11/17/09
If you multiply 40 million by 1 million that comes to something like $40 trillion. Yeah, that'll really help the country.

That Makes me Hurt

The Boss and I spent most of the day working in the church building where she attends. There are 4 large rooms in the basement where assorted stuff is stored, one of which is supposed to be for building/construction supplies. The oldest adopted grandson helped me for 5 hours transporting stuff from the other 3 rooms, and straightening up that one room. You'd think only teenagers were allowed in there instead of adults. My arthritic joints hurt like hell now.

I was sitting in the armory, after getting back home, watching the Ohio State vs Iowa game on the tube when the grandson's latest "father" arrived. He wanted to know about getting a license to hunt deer. After going through all that, I offered to let him use either my smooth bore slug gun or muzzle loader if he was serious. I won't him let borrow one of my revolvers for that purpose because I've seen him shoot.

Since he hasn't had a license before, he'll have to sit through a hunter safety course. There's one offered locally a week from today. If he gets his license I'll probably go also. I was invited, and I haven't been hunting in a couple of years. I could use some time spend in the woods. Time spent in the outdoors is a good thing, whether I see a shootable animal or not. I probably wouldn't even take a shot, that's when the work begins.

Just Wondering

A few days ago we had our yearly problem with the sewer backing up between the house and the septic tank. The guy came to open it up when I was at work so the Boss locked the door to my work room/armory. On the outside of the door, that the plumber walked by, is taped the 2 silouette targets full of 9mm and .45 holes from my last one handed pistol practice. I wonder what he thought, if anything, about seeing those targets hanging there.

Weak Hand Only

A few weeks ago I took a gent from work with me to the range so he could fire his grandfather's 8mm Mauser for the first time, as well as a few of my guns. Since that time he's been wanting to spend lunch at a range close by. This last week we spent our lunch hour at a local indoor range shooting .22 handguns.

He's owned a couple guns for some time, all inherited, but wasn't much interested in shooting. With a little help from me I believe he's becoming a convert. Unfortunately our upcoming unemployment will slow this down for a while.

This particular indoor range is one a club has resurrected from the past and is only 50 feet, but it is sufficient. I spent the whole time practicing using a handgun with my weak (left) hand only.

As you can see, I'm still shooting a bit to the right with the left hand. This doesn't happen with a 2 handed grip.

One thing I noticed this time. I was shooting with the gun canted slightly to the right. Apparently I was doing that before. I find it difficult to hold the pistol vertical with just my left hand.

The gun shoots just above the sights at this range, so I automatically held the front site centered and just below the aiming point. But since it shoots just above the site when vertical, it shoots the same place relative to the site when canted. That throws the shots slightly right. I need to keep that in mind next time.

The target is again 1/2 sized, so in a defensive situation I'm doing good enough. But at a target with lots of time and no pressure, I'm not satisfied.