This is My World

For the record, I would like to have this sign in my front yard.

Occasionally in life you run into people who are adamant about wanting to ban all guns.  In my lifetime I have ran into quite a few who wish to ban all guns on the basis that too many children hurt themselves when they find a firearm in the house.  I’ve always felt that this issue falls back on responsible parenting.  Personally, I managed to survive childhood with an arsenal of loaded guns in my house.  Additionally, I had my own firearms by age 12 along with a large collection of knives.  Nevertheless, responsible parenting and my childhood are not good enough arguments for people who want to ban all guns.  So, today I ran across a statistic that may be a decent argument.

Did you know that swimming pools are responsible for more at-home childhood deaths than simply having loaded guns in the house?  The truth is that 1 in 11,000 children with a swimming pool at home will drown in it.  Only 1 in 1,000,000 children die as a result of having a firearm in the home.  That being said, am I the only one that has noticed that a lot of people who are anti-gun have swimming pools at home?  Seems to me that their children are more in danger than children growing up with firearms in the home.

Since I was a teenager I have been saying that video games have been ruining generations of kids.  Parents want to use the video games as a babysitter instead of spending time with their kids.  This not only causes childhood obesity, but gives the kids a warped sense of reality.

Well, finally I have found a news article to back up my opinion.  The Associated Press released the story out of Jackson, Mississippi.  Two boys, ages 9 and 11, were playing a video game.  The 9-yr-old was mad because he lost the game.  So, he went for the shotgun.  He threatened his 11 year old brother with it.  Then, the gun went off while the two were wrestling over it.  The 9 year old was killed instantly.

This is a very sad story and I couldn’t imagine how the parents feel right now.  But I’m probably about to offend some people by the rest of my comments.  So please keep reading.

First, their parents should have taught them better.  They should have been taught that guns were for hunting.  Then the parents should have limited their access to video games to begin with.  They should have taught the kids that it’s just a game and not worth arguing over. 

I wasn’t there but I’m going to guess that a large part of their video games aren’t age appropriate for those kids.  Most of them were probably very violent or rated T (teen) or M (mature).  Those types of games are not intended for a nine and an eleven year old.  At the very least, the parents needed to teach them that video games are not real.  In real life you can’t press the reset button and start over where you last saved your game on your memory card. 

Parents in this world need to pay attention to what’s in their kids’ video game collection. If they still choose to let their kids play video games, they need to teach the kids that it is just a game.  It’s not real and not worth arguing over.  Kids should also be taught not to mimic what’s in the video game.

In this case, it’s the parent’s fault.  They should have been more attentive to begin with.  I’m sorry they could have taught their kids this sooner, and I wish this family didn’t have to go through this.  I’m also sorry the eleven year old had to learn the hard way.  That’s what happens when parents don’t step up and teach their children properly. 

Whether it be a Play Station, a Wii, an Xbox, or any other Nintendo or Sony product, parents need to pay attention to what and how much their kids are playing.  They also need to watch how their kids are interacting while playing and when one of them loses.  Winning isn’t everything, especially when it comes to video games.

Today is Monday.  After another safe and peaceful weekend in rural Perry County, I commence to reading the Evansville Courier.  Another attempted break-in is in the headlines.  This time a man woke up to find another Evansville man pointing a gun at his two kids after after they answered the door.  The man jumped up and tackled the would be robber.  Somehow the robber shot himself in the hand during the scuffle.  Then, when he tried to run away a neighbor pinned him until police arrived. 

Wow! That’s a good neighbor. 

Anyway, I was reading the comment section and discovered this comment by maclee4427:

“Boy I tell ya. This thing with all of the home robberies are becoming way too common, it’s to the point you have to have a gun in hand just to answer ringing or knocking at your door. That’s why I keep my handgun loaded and close by at all times. The world is getting crazier than ever, crime is running rampant in our community. They need to release some of the potheads so they have room for all of these violent offenders. I am very glad this man and his two children are alive, and hopefully the kids will not be scarred with fear from all of this. It could have and probably would have turned out very different if dad had not fought back, and praise to the neighbor who answered the call of the children crying for help.”

This commenter brought up a good point when he said,  “They need to release some of the potheads so they have room for all of these violent offenders.”

The would-be robber will probably only get probation, maybe a slap on the hand.  However, most marijuana dealers get jail time when they are caught.  Please refer to my story Marijuana: Curing Cancer since 1975 for my opinion on marijuana.  Jails wouldn’t be so over crowded if the government would just legalize marijuana.

Well, my dad got married yesterday (Saturday). 

First thing Saturday morning some of the neighbors were helping to set up the picnic tables and food tents.  There was a bird causing problems.  So, the bride-to-be went into the house and grabbed a shotgun.  Plow! The bird problem was fixed.  Of course, a couple of the men helping set up had to change their pants.  But it’s better than having bird poop on a table that people will be sitting at to eat. 

The ceremony went quite well. No one fell getting up the ramp to the place where the ceremony took place.  The wedding rings were tied to a horse shoe.  Somehow the best man managed to get the rings off of it without dropping them.  They had karaoke music at the reception.  Both the garter and the bouquet were caught by children under 10.  So, no one else that was there is getting married for quite a while.  The wedding party toasted with Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill flavored wine.

Congratulations to Larry and Cheryl Morton!

I’m a bridesmaid in my dad’s wedding today.  So I will be away from my computer until Sunday morning.  I increased my blog traffic, however, by simply putting some of my better pieces on StumbleUpon.  In the past 25 minutes I’ve had over 100 readers.  I’m hoping that trend continues.  But I digress.

My dad’s new wife is a nice person.  She is bringing out the better qualities in my dad that I haven’t seen in years.  While I’m not yet ready for a new step-mom, I am ready for her to be my dad’s new wife.

The wedding should be entertaining to say the least.  It’ll have two preachers and multiple fire arms.  The bride will also have a small pistol attached to her garter.  Dinner will be served in the barn following the ceremony. 

While I would love to sit here and find interesting topics to write about and increase my blog traffic, I must go to sleep because I have a hair appointment at 9 am.  After the wedding I’m sure there will be plenty of alcohol available to those of us that are of age. So, after waking up in a tent on Sunday morning, I will be returning to my computer and hopefully I will be somewhat functional.  Thank you for reading and enjoy your Saturday.

I’ve had an exhausting day today, but I found time to read the Evansville Courier this evening.  The first story I read was about a burglary suspect that got shot.  Apparently, two men in ski masks broke into a home in Evansville to try to rob it.  The first home owner stood up to them, and a scuffle broke out.  The second home owner grabbed a .22 revolver and shot one of the robbers.  Both robbers then fled the scene.  The one with gun shot wounds was caught and will be taken to jail as soon as he is out of the hospital.  The home owners say they will continue to “keep a gun handy” in case of another break in.

This is a good example of why Americans have the right to bear arms.  Had the home owners not had a firearm, the robbers probably would not have left.  Personally, if someone tries to break into my house, they had better hope I find my baseball bat first.  To understand how good of a shot I am please refer to my latest hunting story at http://welcometomyworld.today.com/2009/04/26/deer-meat-one-shot-one-kill/.

I thought I was done tonight, but I took one more look at the Indianapolis Star.  

A police officer in Indianapolis, Indiana responded to a complaint about a man ”acting erratically.”  When the officer arrived, the man was waving a machete (large knife).  So, the officer shot the man in the head.

That’s what happened, here’s my thoughts on it:

It’s obvious the man was having some form of mental breakdown.  That seems to be happening a lot these days.  It’s also obvious the officer was a good shot to be able to hit the man in the head.  Police officers are trained to be able to shoot that well.  They are also trained to make rational decisions in difficult situations and to use the least amount of force necessary. 

That being said, the officer had other options.  He could have shot the hand holding the machete causing the machete to fall to the ground.  If the officer wasn’t confident enough to actually hit the man’s hand, he could have shot him in the shoulder.  The man’s arm would have no longer been able to move.  A bullet to the knee would have prevented the man from coming toward anyone.  That’s three other options to eliminate the threat without killing the man.

There was a man in Evansville not too long ago that tried to rob a gas station with a machete.  The clerk fought him off with a step stool and managed to get the machete out of the assailant’s hands sustaining only minor cuts.  Maybe this officer should take lessons from that guy.

Honestly, I hope the dead man’s family files a wrongful death suit against the officer and the Indianapolis Police Department.  Maybe that would be a wake up call to all the cowboy cops out there.  This man’s death was not necessary.

 I was reading the Indianapolis Star online and came across an article about a 2-yr-old that shot himself while under the care of his 12 year old sister. 

 “Sgt. Matthew Mount, spokesman for the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, said the boy was alone with his 12-year-old and 9-year-old sisters at the time of the shooting. According to initial reports, the boy got hold of a 9 mm handgun and shot himself, Mount said.”

The boy is listed in serious condition in an Indianapolis Hospital.  This is a tragedy no matter who you try to blame.  The hand gun should have been put up where none of the kids could have got to them.  This is why they manufacture lock boxes and gun safes and gun cabinets. 

Nonetheless, this little story got me to thinking.  There is an 11-yr-old that stays with us most of the time.  Occasionally, there is also a 2-yr-old that comes to visit.  If I need to go outside for a minute or to the neighbor’s house for about 20 minutes, the 11-yr-old is responsible enough to keep an eye on the 2-yr-old.  Of course, I don’t leave my firearms somewhere accessible to either of them. 

Moral of the story, keep firearms out of reach of children.

In Brownstown, Indiana in 2006 a young man plead guilty to  attacking his father with a razor.  This of course was a felony so he was no longer allowed to possess a fire arm. The young man had also killed the family dog by slitting its throat.  He served a recent sentence for unlawful possession of a fire arm.  When he was released from jail on March 19, his parents allowed him to live with them despite the razor attack and killing the dog.

This same young man found himself in court again Wednesday.  This time according to investigator reports, he shot his father 3 times and killed him after an argument about the new family dog’s legs having duct tape wrapped around them.

This is a very sad story.  If I was his parent I don’t think I would have let him back in the house after the first attack.  However, these parents obviously had unconditional love for their son.  My thoughts and prayers go out to his family.

I do wonder why he didn’t get psychological help.  To late now.  Unless his lawyer can pull an insanity plea out of his hat he is off to prison.

This story is on www.courierpress.com.

Well, my small town is still quiet.  There’s something going on at Saddle Lake with a search party, but no one really knows what’s going on.  So, in an effort to gain more readers I’ve decided to tell ya’ll about the deer I shot back in November. 

See my cousin and my step-dad had been out deer hunting multiple times with no results.  Finally, one day I get a wake up call.  They’re so excited it took two of them to kill this tiny little buck.  Between the two of them they fired about 7 shots and they weren’t really sure whose slug actually hit the deer.  I inadvertently started shaking my head.  See my dad taught me how to hunt.  So, every time my step-dad and whoever he’s hunting with come back from the woods with some wild story, I laugh so hard.  Especially, if someone’s shooting at a deer while taking a dump.  Basically, I already knew I could do better.

You see, one thing I know for sure is squirrel season is for finding where the deer are moving so you can get a deer when deer season starts.  So, I had been squirrel hunting behind my house almost everyday since the start of squirrel season.  It took me five shots from my .22 rifle to bring in five squirrels.  I got four one day and one another day.  They tasted really good in squirrel dumplings.

Anyway, I let my step-dad and my cousin be so proud of this deer that took 7 shots and 2 people.  But I asked my step-dad if he would clean a deer if I shot one.  He said he would.  I don’t think he thought I would actually get one. 

At that time I was working third shift at Jasper Rubber.  I managed to get home before the sun came up one day.  The temperature was like 12 or 13 degrees, so I put on my camouflage cover-alls with a pair of sneakers and an orange sock cap.  I headed down to my tree stand behind the pond, just inside the wood-line.  It was still dark so I waited.  The wind was blowing so I was rocking a little bit.  Directly, the sun started peeking over the trees.  I knew there had been a deer walking along the treeline for a while but he hadn’t shown up yet that morning. 

I sat there a while longer and was getting a little tired.  So, I decide to try and sneak down the tree stand find another place to sit.  I got turned around so I could head down the ladder and I heard it.  There was a big ole spike buck eating foliage as he walked along.  He didn’t hear me yet and I didn’t have a clear shot so I waited. 

My tree stand sits right where that deer trail turns and goes into the woods, so I knew he was going to turn and come closer.  I did a little studying to see where the best possible place would be for me to get a shot.  Soon after he turned, he stopped in that spot to take another bite.  I remembered my dad telling me to line up my sights.  So, I did.  Then, I took a breath a squeezed the trigger.  He dropped right where he was, one shot one kill.  The slug entered near his right shoulder, went through the heart, and lodged in the other side of his ribs. 

This particular deer made a lot of breakfast sausage and summer sausage.  We also kept a lot of chops and steaks.  That’s good eating.  I reckon the meat from this deer would fill my little freezer up about 5 times for the cost of one slug and one deer tag.  To buy that much meat in the store would cost approximately $400 if you purchased discounted meat.

Okay so I was reading stories at www.courierpress.com .  My local paper was all gossip again.  Anyway, the Evansville paper reported that someone tried to rob the Kangaroo Express on Kentucky Ave in Evansville, Indiana.  The suspect’s weapon of choice was a machete.  Which is understandable.  The price of guns went up with the demand; now, it’s cheaper to buy a machete.  In case you don’t know, a machete is a 20-24 inch knife used to cut sugarcane. 

Anyway, the online paper had the security video available to view.  Apparently, the suspect chose the wrong clerk to pick on that day.  With resourceful skill the clerk managed to fight the suspect off with a chair.  At some point the clerk also got the machete from the suspect.  The suspect later told police that he just snapped and the crack made him do it. 

Congratulations to the clerk for being able to fight this guy off.  If anyone is thinking about copying this guy, think again.  The suspect is being charged with aggravated battery using a weapon and attempted robbery.  Both of these are class B felonies in Indiana. 

One more comment to anyone thinking about stricter gun control: If you take away the guns they’ll find something else.

Well, I just read a story about a 2-yr-old that shot herself accidentally.   While gun safety and control is a touchy subject, I do feel the need to post my feelings on it.  I can’t imagine how this little girl’s parents feel right now.  And I pray for them.  This does bring up a lot of issues.

First, if you have small children in the home, you really need to put your firearms where they cannot get to them.  This should be common sense.  Second, I’m sure somehow anti-gun fanatics will use this to try to implement more gun control.  This is not needed.  Gun owners simply need to be more responsible.

When I was a child, my parents always had guns in the house.  At least one of them was loaded at all times.  They were responsible enough to keep them out of my reach until I was old enough to understand not to play with them.  Even with the toy guns I had as a child, my parents told me to never point them at anyone.  Now I own my own firearms.  When there are small children in my house they don’t even see them.

The answer to accidental shootings is not more gun control, rather more responsibility.  Don’t point it at anything you don’t want to shoot, and keep them out of reach of children. It’s that simple.