Me and Guns

Ron the Skunk Hunter - I'm not really a hunter - I just play one on TV

BANG! 

The first gun I had was a Daisy air rifle, also known as a "bee bee" gun.  The year was about 1952, and like some of the cooler kids on my block of Washington Avenue in Downingtown, PA, I wanted a bee bee gun.

I don't remember the circumstances of if someone bought me a bee bee gun or loaned me one.  But this is what I do remember.  As soon as I got my greasy 12 year old paws on that bee bee gun I went outside of the apartment building that we lived in the white trash poor section of Downingtown and took aim at a solitary robin who was perched on a telephone line outside our apartment building.

I put one of these out of its misery when I was only 12 years old

"BANG!"  Actually, it was more like a "SWOOSH!"  Bee bee guns don't "BANG!"  

I looked up and saw the robin fall from the telephone line, where he/she wasn't bothering anybody until "keeping up with my peers" self ventured out into the street to end that bird's life.  Guess what happened?  I didn't feel good about what I just did.  Where was the fun?  Where was the excitement?  Wasn't there folks.  Just didn't happen for me.  For sure I was gay even then.  

But wait!  My cousin and my much loved uncle, (who never married, come to your own conclusions) were devoted and avid hunters.  And both were very nice men.  What's up with that?  

My beloved Uncle George with his kill

My father was a hunter.  I think all of my father's ten brothers were hunters.  Ironically, neither I nor my two younger brothers were hunters.  We just never expressed any interest in killing animals for the "sport of it."  Not that there is anything wrong with that (actually there is but that's a subject for another whole blog posting).  

I think my brothers had their Come to Jesus Moment with guns when my one brother accidentally shot my other brother in the back with a 22 rifle.  Yes, they were teenagers messing around. The rifle went off, ricocheted off of one off of our father's shack and the 22 caliber bullet lodged into the small of my brother John's back.  Nice move Isaac.  They were 14 and 15 when this happened.  John had the bullet removed and, as far as I know, they never got into our father's gun cabinet again.

My brothers John and Isaac Tipton - still here

In fact, when my father died in 2000, our Mother said we could have the guns.  Split them up, there were about six of them.  No assault weapons, just your regular deer hunting rifles which could kill a teenage boy playing around with it as easily.  We told a neighbor he could have the guns.  They're gone.

My father and my uncle with their kill

In the years since both me and my brothers, who are fiercely, till they die, conservative, have not owned any guns nor do we intend to own any guns.  For you see, we're of that ilk who depends on the local police for protection.  You won't see us at the front door, with a 30 clip assault weapon, defending the family from intruders, and the latest made up threat, those black helicopters. 

My friend Bob and Me in Provincetown with our best Village People impersonation - 1974

Gun Fails Competition

Here's something for all you Second Amendment folks.  Oh yeah, this is what we want.  No apologies to friends and relatives who are offended by this compilation of Idiots With Guns but this is what happens when just about every frigging person in this country has guns, the nuts have them too.  

Words fail me.

Gunfight at the OK Corral

Okay folks, are we actually seriously considering arming our school teachers?  Really?

Just this morning I was talking to my good friend Bill B. and former classmate about what he thought of his wife, who is a former school teacher, being armed in her classroom.  Now my friend Bill B. is very conservative. He actually voted for Mitt Romney but even he sees the ridiculousness of arming our school teachers.  

Below is a photo of our third grade class taken in 1951 when Bill and I were both ten years old.  Miss Ezrah was our teacher.  

My friend Bill B. is the fourth boy in the stripped pull over from the right in the first row.  I am in the third row on the right picking my nose (not really).  I just cannot imagine Miss Elizabeth Ezrah, our gentle third grade teacher, packing a Glock.  Where would she put it, in her desk drawer?  In a pocket in her dress?

I watched Ed Schultz on "The Ed Show" last night interview a woman school teacher in Utah who was bragging that she can now carry a concealed weapon in her classroom.  Are you kidding me? Are we even having a SERIOUS conversation about school teachers carrying concealed weapons in their classrooms?

Let's take this a step further.  Say a mad gunman busts into her classroom with an assault weapon and starts unloading his 30 bullet clip.  What is this teacher going to do?  Run for her desk drawer for her Glock and have a shootout with the mad gunman while her students duck for cover?  Are we really having this conversation?  

Look folks, here is the obvious and ONLY answer.  Ban assault weapons.  Simple as that.  No one needs an assault weapon to shoot a deer.  Assault weapons are made to kill people.  

Oh I know the "slippery slope" argument.  Ban assault weapons and then what's next?  Take my gun?  Well actually why not?  But that's not likely to ever happen in this country as long as we're a country of hunters and Second Amendment diehards.  

There are so many reasons I am glad I am not a young person today.  This is just one of them.  I literally cannot imagine going to Miss Ezrah's class and wondering if she was packing heat.  

After all, when I went to school in the Fifties all we had to worry about was the atom bomb.  We could handle that, if the Bomb was dropped, we could hide under our desk.

Pat Kelsey

Coach Pat Kelsey, who I never heard of, coach of Winthrop University Eagles basketball team, who I never heard of, gave an impromptu speech yesterday calling for change in our country towards assault weapons of mass murder.  

Coach Pat Kelsey said exactly what I would say if I had the microphone.  

Thank you Pat Kelsey, hopefully your impassioned plea will give backbone to our country's legislators who will enact a gun safety bill which will ban assault weapons of mass murder.  

Hopefully no more young lives will be sacrificed at the bloody hands of the gun lobby profiteers.  

How Many More Must Die?

Elementary School Corner Ketch, Pennsylvania 1902

There was a day when a seven year old could go to school and not have to worry about being killed by a crazed gunman with an assault rifle.

The photo above is of my grandfather George Lincoln Hadfield's elementary school class.  The class photo of his one room schoolhouse in Corner Ketch, Pennsylvania was taken about 1902. My grandfather was born in 1896 and was about seven years old. He is the serious dark haired boy seated on the left.  

Most of the children in this photo were allowed to grow up and have families of their own.  If my grandfather had died during a school shooting I, of course, would not be here today.  

Thank God assault rifles were not available during his day to adults who were intent on exercising their Second Amendment rights.  Even though our American culture has always worshiped violence, at least children who went to school were safe.

1st Grade Class East Ward Elementary School 1950

As late as 1950, my brother Isaac also attended grade school where he and his classmates did not have to fear that a gunman would take their lives in a random shooting.  My brother is the third child (first boy) from the left in the back row in front of the school door.

Most of the children in this photo of the Downingtown East Ward Elementary School class of 1950 also grew up to have children and grandchildren of their own.  

Unfortunately, twenty children died today.  Their lives snuffed out by a culture that glorifies violence and has a twisted sense of "rights" that the average citizen has the "right" to own an assault rifle.  These children, whose lives ended today, will never grow up, never have their own families, never.  

Children leaving Connecticut grade school today after latest tragedy - 2012

A senseless tragedy.  How many more must die before we come to our senses in this country and put into place sensible gun control laws?

Back to Normal?

Dame Maggie Smith as the Dowager Countess in "Downton Abbey."  

Can we get back to normal again?  Okay, we had another mass shooting and the subsequent wall to wall coverage.  Yet again another renewal of the gun control policy which will go nowhere because none of our politicians have the courage to outlaw automatic weapons.  This discussion is going nowhere folks except now that movie goers will probably have increased security for the midnight showings of violent movies like Batman.  That's our culture folks, learn to accept it.

For me, last night I watched the eight episodes of "Downton Abbey."  OMG!  Is that ever a great show!  No gratuitous violence or sex.  Yet still very interesting story lines that keep me glued to my 60 inch Sharp flat screen surround sound TV system in my personal theater bedroom.  And by the way, I don't have to worry about some nutcase bursting into my bedroom spraying me with automatic weapons just because he got rejected by his friends, school and/or lover.  Just this morning I was talking to my friend Bill P. and we can't figure out why someone would want to take out innocent people just because he has problems.  What is with that?

By the way, can we dispense with the following every time we have one of these shootings?

Saying "Our thought and prayers are with you."  That doesn't do any good, their loved one are still dead.  Just say you're very sorry.  Prayers aren't going to help now folks.

Stop with the self congratulations of the police department on the scene.  Everyone one of these scenes, almost the first thing out of the police spokesperson's mouth is "What a wonderful job our police department did."  This isn't the Academy Awards folks.  This is a tragedy.  Stop with the self congratulations.  If the police department did a good job (which many times they do and sometimes they don't) THAT IS THEIR JOB!  That's like me congratulating myself on what a wonderful front desk clerk I am because I check in guest to their right room and get them that extra towel when they ask for it.  IT'S MY JOB FOLKS!  I turn of the sound every time one of these police chiefs of spokesmen begins a press conference thanking his fellow policemen for an "outstanding job."  Enough already.

Forget about even discussing gun control.  It's a waste of time and going nowhere because gun control isn't going to happen because the NRA OWNS our legislators.  Most of them anyway, there are a few exceptions.

And again, stop with the PRAYERS.  Too late.  So empty.

And oh, one more thing,  this to the TV people, when you interview any of the on the scene witnesses try to avoid the ones who can't complete a sentence (every second or third word punctuated by an "um" or an "ah" or and this is the worst - "like").  Our education system today is a failure because so many young people CANNOT TALK.

Now I'm not being totally heartless.  Here is what I say when someone loses a loved one.  "I am sorry for your loss.  If I can do anything to help you, let me know."  There, I've said it.  Sure, if someone gets comfort from praying, let them make that decision.  Why are you going to pray for them?  Pray that it didn't happen?  Pray that they handle their loss?  Tell them that you care and offer your help.

So now we'll get back to normal or what passes for normal anyway.  Life goes on.  The Human Drama continues.  We'll have another tragedy like this in the future.  It is a shame but it will happen.  Evil exists in the world.

Be careful and don't be hating.  Hate is what caused this tragedy.  Enjoy life.  Make every day count.

Watch "Downton Abbey."

Yet Another Shooting

Yet another senseless tragedy committed last night in a movie theater in Aurora Colorado by a crazy assed loner who possessed a gun.

I agree with New York City mayor Mike Bloomberg, stronger gun laws will result in less deaths.  However, not in the opinion of Representative Louis Gomert who wondered why someone in the audience in that movie theater last night who could have shot the shooter.

We have a problem in this country folks.  The problem isn't going away and members of both political parties have got to get some balls and push for stronger gun laws.

My heart goes out to those families of the injured and dead in Aurora, Colorado.

Man Period?

Major Asshat - Willard "Mitt" Romney

Anne Marie (the dear) hit the nail right on the head this morning when she said (in response to my bitchy blog reviewing the Oscar cast last night on TV):

"uh oh, is someone having his man period this AM? :)"

Actually she was right. You see I had just completed and filed my federal and state taxes prior to composing and posting my Oscar blog.  I am always angry after doing my taxes.  This year was no exception.  

Even with taking all my deduction and having extra money taken out of my pay for my part-time job, I still owed almost $400!  Yes folks, I still owe.  My effective percentage rate was only two points below Willard "Mitt" Romney's tax rate that he paid last year.  You all know our Erstwhile Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney don't you?  He reported income of over 22 million dollars last year and didn't work a day.  He of the wife who has a "couple of Cadillacs."  Yes, THAT Mitt Romney.  The one who will say anything and flip positions just to win.  The one who thinks $374,000 for speaking fees isn't "that much."  Yep folks, that jerk-off.  

So here I am, collecting Social Security, collecting three small pensions and working part-time at a hotel, and I had extra money taken out of my modest hotel front desk job which I haven't gotten a raise in FIVE YEARS, paying over a 12% rate and Mittsy is paying a 14% rate.  I seem to remember President Obama making a campaign promise that Old Retired Guys like me who work part-time should have to pay ANY taxes.  I'm not even counting the full rate of FICA taxes I pay.  

Yep, every year I do my taxes and see how much I still have to pay I'm mad.  Usually I take my anger out on Bill or other friends or just complain to no one in particular but this year I let loose all my vent up frustration on the Hollywood Phonies at the Oscars last night.  Man it felt good.  I hate all those phony acceptance speeches.  I usually use the Mute button on my remote control to silence out their "I want to thank my Lovely Wife and my Darling little daughter/son" , et al, ad nauseam.  For Christ's sake, you would think one of these self absorbed ego maniacs discovered the cure for cancer.  

While we're on Academy Award Acceptance Speeches, what is it with local police departments that every time they are on national TV giving a press conference the FIRST thing they do is start thanking each other like THEY won an Academy Award?  I was watching the awful news this afternoon about yet another school shooting (oh when oh when are we going to change the mindset in this country about gun control?) and the FIRST words out of the trap of the local police chief is "I want to thank the extra-ordinary effort of all the local law enforcement officers in making this school a SAFE place....""'Uh...NO!  Didn't someone just die?  IT IS NOT SAFE DUMB ASS AND DON'T SAY IT IS SAFE UNTIL YOU MAKE IT SAFE AND YOU WILL 

DO THAT WHEN THERE IS GUN CONTROL.  


Man oh man, this is one habit the local police have that really makes me mad, thank each other for the "wonderful" job they done did.  This makes me even madder than I am at asshats like Willard "Mitt" Romney.

Next up:

The other ASSHAT:  (I've been holding off on this one. I'm about to unleash.)