Neanderpundit

I have always been a big fan of the Savage 99. I consider it to be the pinnacle of sporting levergun design, and  one of the loveliest, to my eye. And it came in such a variety of calibers, though sadly, none of them are currently deer legal in Indiana.

It is my opinion that the 99 represents the Savage high water mark, a very nice rifle that showed the world the capabilities of Savage. Since then they have sort of become the company of beechwood and plastic stocked Walmart rifles. Sure, they’re great shooters and any rifle is better than no rifle, but never since have they made better engineered nor prettier guns.

 

 

 

So it gives me some pause to find a very nice rifle in great condition that has been treated in this way.

I have to presume that the individual who did this may have taken his cue from the old Daisy Buck Jones rifle made famous by Jean Shepherd, but the Daisy rifle was made out of stamped sheet metal and brass, and the Savage is casehardened tool steel- a LOT of it. I assume the guy set the compass down on the stock to decide where he wanted it. He had to mark the place where he would drill the hole.  

 

You would have thought, that one time in that whole process, he would notice that the compass always points to the receiver.

I’m standing outside of McCarran, texting my contact on the ground.

What you driving?

Silver minivan

Sweet. Will see you in a bit

Airport only a few miles away.

Thanks!

 Silver minivan pulls up and I grab the door handle, open the door, and

BLOODCURDLING SCREAM!!!!!!

 

Asian woman, who is not my contact on the ground, utterly terrified by the large cracker who has attempted to enter her van.

 

Cabbie get lost?

Nope, had to attend to some business first. Seeya soon.

Walk to the OTHER side of McCarran, trundle off to the end of the hackstand, and give the cabbie the address.

 

I wonder if the Asian lady had to go change her drawers. I nearly did.

Pascal commmented to me privately that he liked the crustacean aphorism, and I am impressed that Joan likes it, and I want to expand on it.

 As I stated earlier, it is children that are most in need of the “Exoskeleton” of rules, a framework in which you keep them until such time as they have developed adequate maturity to venture on their own. Based on the child, you can allow more or les freedom as the situation requires, but something very powerful is missing from our society that has, I feel, been to our detriment.

 The rite of passage.

Many religions have rites of passage associated with them, and many of those rites are focused on coming of age; the spiritual change from the child to an adult, the final molting of the exoskeleton and transferring support from the exoskeleton to the endoskeleton the inductees parents hope he/she has grown well enough!!

 In the Bar Mitzvah the celebrant begins “Today I am a man” and his father praises the Lord that he is no longer responsible for his son who is now old enough to accept responsibility for himself. In Christian Confirmation the celebrant is tapped on the face by the Bishop, and given a new “Adult” name. In some cultures it is circumcision, or bungee jumping. (I’m not making that up) .

Some individuals experience that rite of passage for themselves, in other ways. Ask anyone who has entered the military if that isn’t a dramatic rite of passage. And some people find their own moment- the day you opened your eyes on a world much different from the day before, for whatever reason that happened to you.

 Our world is bereft of those rites of passage, these days. We don’t celebrate adulthood, we teach our children to remain perpetual brats. And lord, do they ever. Instead of stripping off the chitinous covering of Law and relishing freedom, they pull it further about themselves and intend to force you to do so too; secure in the knowledge that the best of all possible worlds is to be protected by Nanny Government from all harm.

 

it will be a hard comeuppance. I almost feel sorry for them. Almost.