Neanderpundit

Not today, but yesterday, I spent time at the range. I blew some stuff up real good. I knew I wasn’t going to eat anything, so the onl7y way for me to keep my mind off food was to be shooting, because while I’m shooting I forget about everything else.

So I’m blasting away, the first (outdoor) range day of 06, and I come to an interesting realization:

I suck.

No, I mean I suck, and I suck bad. At the 100yard range, where I can usually keep a three shot group in a 2″ circle, I was throwing out flyers to 10″. I tried swapping to handloads from the factory stuff, to no avail. I tried using a different rifle; same same.

I switched to 25 yards, just to get some closer holes on the paper- and to my credit, I found that I could put reliably located holes in the paper with my Uberti 45.
I used to be able to hit what I was aiming at, I swear. I have no idea what happened. I can’t blame it on ammo, because I used great ammo. I can’t blame it on trigger pull, (though the pull is harsh on Ma Bell, my good rifle) because I USED to be able to hit what i was aiming at with her. No, I started to suck over the winter, and I suck now. I’m going to retighten the scope, get some big shoot&see dots, and go back, and see if I can get my skill back to a reasonable level.

Glad I didn’t go to the 275 yard range and make a total ass of myself.

Ah, well. More range time. Too bad so sad.

over here, Mr. Porretto discusses the need to drain the ditch.

There is huge truth in what Mr P says, as usual. The only way our children are likely to survive socialist indoctrination camp school is to be properly taught the truth, in addition to socialist propaganda what their teachers bring them.

I remember watching PBS at around seven, and there was a program which included some woman talking about how dogs carry parasites and no dog should ever be around a child, and how cats were ok, but if you absolutely had to have a dog it should be kept out of the house.

Now, I’ve had a bed dog almost all my life. Few things on earth are more enjoyable than a cool winter’s evening with the family dog snuggled up next to my feet as I nod off to sleep. I sat in front of the TV and was aghast. Certainly, mom and dad would never do anything to harm me, and nobody I knew didn’t have a dog, and most of them had inside dogs, and most of the inside dogs were bed dogs. ANd now here was a grownup telling me that dogs inside were bad. I certainly had never had any ill effect, and in my 46 years that hasn’t changed. I loves me some dogs. My trust in adults was irretrievably shattered.

From that moment I didn’t, couldn’t trust what my teachers said. How did i know if they were the type that didn’t like dogs? How could I trust that the stuff they were teaching me was correct? How could I trust them at all?

Guess what. I did MISERABLE in school. By bucking a system I found out that the system bucked right back. I didn’t want to believe the things I was told, and subseqently got my academic ass handed to me.

My daughter has had similar moments of revelation, as all children do, but we’re trying to teach her the only truly valuable lesson that exists in all academia: Do the proscribed coursework in a way that pleases the instructor, and keep your mouth shut about it, but let the real truth and your own convictions stand firm.

This is a difficult lesson, but one that I had to learn very hard, at the expense of my education. I carry that mistrust of people and will all my life. I hope to teach my child to have the mistrust but also the ability to work within the system to get what she wants, what she deserves. And someday, maybe, we can get that swamp drained.

I don’t have any intention of taking it on the road, but I also didn’t want to wait till june to move the bike around a little, so I took it for a couple laps around the yard today. Felt good. Didn’t drop it on myself. Actually got my feet up off the ground and onto the pedals for a little while. Certainly plenty of throttle response, for a little two-cylinder.

Damn. I’m ready.