Gunfighter: A Modern Warrior's Life

Another Interview with Gunfighter (What is this the third or fourth?)

YC:  So, GF.... I got your message that said you wanted to talk to me again... what's up?

GF:  Oh, I had a few things to share with the readership so I thought that you might be able to, um, facilitate, ya know?

YC:  Oh, gotcha

GF:  ... because all of the stuff that I have been up to since I posted last Friday... have been kind of scatter shot.

YC:  OK, well why don't you tell everyone what you've been doing.

GF:  Well, it's like this:  I was in a rifle instructor class last week, which was rather irritating...

YC:  Why was it irritating?

GF:  Because I had some guys trying to "teach" me how to use an M-4 rifle... see, an M-4 is a slightly smaller version of the M-16... which has been a part of my daily life since I was 17... and if you do that math, it's been nearly thirty years, OK?

Well, there had to be a reason that you were in the class, though, right?

GF:  Yes, because bean counters are stupid, and figure that people with nearly thirty years of experience need the same class that people with ZERO years of experience should have.

YC:  Well, that doesn't sound like it makes a lot of sense.

GF:  It didn't... it was worse since I had lots of other work to do in the office, especially with big doings about to happen in my section that may have long range happy consequences for me. 

YC:  Really?  Big doings, eh?  Can you give us details?

GF:  Not yet, but I should be able to talk about it in the next month, I think.

YC:  OK, we'll wait... so is there more about the class?

GF:  Only that it was time consuming, and really wrecked my family's schedule for the entire week.

YC:  Right.  So that was last week.  What has been happening since the course ended on Friday evening?

GF:  Well, Saturday was Soccer... but before the game, poor Soccer Girl's allergies were bothering her so bad, she had to miss the team pictures in the morning and go to the pediatrician who recommended that she not play that afternoon.  That was kind of a bad thing for me to hear, from a coaches perspective.  You see, Soccer Girl is one of my best players, and I'm not just saying that because I'm her dad, either.

YC:  So she missed the game?

GF:  Yeah.

YC:  How'd that go?

GF:  Well, our opponents came out of the gate rather hard, and since I habitually start the first six girls who show up, on-time, to the game field, I had my smallest, most inexperienced players on the field first.  The first opposition goal came at about sixty seconds into the game.  I feared disaster.

YC:  So, what happened?

GF:  My troops rallied and although they were down 2-0 at half-time, they battled back for a 5-5 tie when full-time was called.  I was very proud of them.

YC:  Cool!  What was the rest of your weekend like?

GF:  A blur, actually.  Saturday evening, Soccer Girl's elementary school chorus was singing with a local adult chorus at a nearby high school... so after dinner, off we went to the show... which was quite cool, and gave me my first personal experience with the concept of "Jazz Hands"... those parents who have kids that have ever been in some sort of music show know exactly what I am talking about... don't you?

YC:  Sounds like fun.

GF:  It was, it was. One of my soccer player's mom sings in this chorus, and is trying to recruit me... I might actually do it... I'm geeky enough.

YC:  So then?

GF:  Oh, the next day was Sunday, so we did the Sunday School, Church, Lunch thing... and then went back to the high school for the second chorus show....  there's my weekend.  I had to stay up until nearly two A.M. just to do PART of the laundry.  Monday was NO fun.  I had meetings all day, and then had to spend some time cleaning my rifle, he was way dirty.

YC:  Wow.  you HAVE been busy, haven't you?

GF:  Indeed I have.

YC:  OK, GF, I have something to ask you about... something personal.

GF:  So ask... I write a personal blog, so it's all about the personal with me.

YC:  Well, you know that the Internet is a small place, don't you?  I mean, metaphorically speaking.

GF:  Yes, I get that,  get on with it!

YC:  Well, I mean, you have a specific group of friends...

GF:  Yes.  GET ON WITH IT!

YC:  OK, well, there is a bit of a buzz that you are dealing with some personal, family turmoil.  Do you want to talk about that?

GF:  Not really, other than to say that Mrs GF, Soccer Girl, and Fast Pitch, are all fine.  My mother is ill and there will be more to talk about as things clarify.  I would like to add a huge thank you to all of the people who were so good as to offer me words of prayer, support, and encouragement.  It means more to me than I can tell you that you would allow me to share a burden with you.

YC:  Anything else, GF?

GF:  No... that should cover it... I'll talk to you all soon.

GF

A Question For The Men

OK, Men... listen up.

I have a scenario for you:

You are driving down a major secondary road (in this instance, U.S. 1, in Virginia) and enountered much heavier that usual traffic, and finally got close enough to see that the problem is that a minivan, with it's emergency flashers on, has broken down in the left lane, completely blocking it.  The female driver is sitting behind the wheel, looking quite upset.

What do you do?  Do you:

A)  Continue to honk your car's horn and try to get around the van?

B)  Drive past the van while swearing at the driver?

C)  Gawk as you drive by?

D)  Roll the window down and ask if she needs help?

E)  Stop your car, block the traffic, and push her car out of the road?

***HINT*** If you are a reasonable healthy man, and you didn't answer E, turn in your man card.

This Is One of The Reasons Why I Believe In Obama

Soccer Girl and I saw this sticker on a car in Prince William County, Virginia just a couple of nights ago.

In a nutshell, I believe that this is significant because I believe that Barack Obama has the leadership skills and the personality to actually collect Democrat, Independent AND Republican voters... and I am not alone in that.  That has to be a good thing for this country.

I believe that seeing stickers like this one (and, by the way... I'm not seeing a lot of "Republicans 4 Hillary stickers" running about), in Virginia, no less, is an indicator that Barack Obama is strong enough to kick John McCain's ass in November.

Sorry to be so brief, but I gotta go to SG's soccer practice.

GF

New Ink!

Yesterday was a good day for me.  I got a new tattoo, my third.

I knew what sort of design I wanted for a while, and with some inspiration from Mrs Gunfighter, I was ready to take the plunge.  I contacted Mr. Paul Roe, who is the same great custom tattoo artist who did my last tattoo, which I really love.

I met with Paul a couple of weeks ago and brought him a picture of what I wanted him to do for me, and to see if it was feasible (always talk to your tattooist BEFORE you get your heart set on something that s/he might not be able to do.  We scheduled an appointment, and the day was on the horizon!

I was looking forward to getting this work done, and although I was a bit late (I hate being late) Paul, ever the gentleman, greeted me warmly.  We talked for a bit, and then it was time to look at the drawing that he had done for me.  This tattoo was to be a cross... but not just any cross.  It was a Jerusalem cross, and this one in particular is like the ones that I have purchased at the National Cathedral, which I have used to make rosaries in the past (aww yeah!  Feel the synergy, baby!).

Anyway, Paul showed me the drawing, which was great, and we got right to work... or should I say HE got to work, since all I did was sit there and yap.  We had a nice conversation on many subjects, which lasted the entire length of the tattoo process , which was just under an hour.

The result?, well see for yourself:

These were taken just after the piece was finished.  The first picture will give you a bit of perspective on the size.  It isn't small... but no worries, as I have a wide back.

The second is a bit larger, and is a close-up to show some of the detail of the work.

I have to say that it turned out just like I wanted it to, even better.

Mrs Gunfighter knew that a new tattoo was in the works, but didn't know that it was scheduled for yesterday... so guess who got a surprise when she got home for work?

Good thing she liked it, eh? (at least, she told me she likes it).

OK, now that I am done talking about the ink... at least for now... I have some more business to attend to:

If you are in the Washington, DC area, and are considering getting a tattoo, do yourself a favor before you decide on an artist:  Go and see Paul Roe, proprietor of British Ink.  Paul only does high quality, custom artwork.  If you get a Paul Roe tattoo, you'll never see another one just like it. 

Paul's work is done in a clean, well-lit aesthetically pleasing atmosphere .  He is a patient artist who takes pride in giving the customer what they want.  Trust me, you won't be disappointed.

ADDENDUM: The text is from Phillipians 4:13  "I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me"

Kick Ass Soccer!

On Saturday, my girls, The Tsunami, went up against the Cheetahs and kicked a little ass.  Well, not really, what they did was put on a real athletic display, and squeaked out a 7-5 win over their opponents in a close match that could have gone either way up until the last moment in the game.

It was great sportsmanship, and great effort on the parts of both teams... and the stuff that heart attacks are made of for the coaches.  I kid you not... we had a three point lead when all of a sudden, we started making some key mistakes... but I don't need to go into all of that.

If I can say something nice about my own kid for a moment, I'll tell you that she worked so hard, and was so strong... she played offense and defense with equal ferocity.  She supported her teammates, and is really, along with many of the others, learning how to read the field.  It is a joy to watch.  Even more exciting was watching her score two of our goals.  You see, I can't brag about her at the games, and I can only clap and do the "GREAT JOB, BABE!" at the games, because as coach, I don't want to overpraise my own child for fear of the dreaded accusation of preferential treatment.

In this particular picture, SG (in red) is challenging her opponent (who is also a classmate) for possession of the ball.  She won the possession, breaking up her opponent's scoring attempt.

Anyway, suffice it to say, that all of the girls ball-handling skills are improving, their fitness levels are coming up and their heads are in the right place, God bless 'em!  As long as they stayed switched on, they will give a good account of themselves for the season.

All Geeked Up Over Iron Man!

I can't be the only man on the planet that is impatiently awaiting the release of the new Iron Man movie, can I ?

I can hear the chirping of the crickets, already.

Well, crickets or no, I am excited about it.  I was a real comic book geek when I was a teenager, and I am looking forward to this movie in a way that I couldn't come close to matching with those Superhero movie train wrecks like X-Men (1-3), The Hulk, Daredevil, & the truly horrible Fantastic Four. 

For me, the best Superhero movies ever were Superman (the first one), and Superman Returns... because when you get right down to it, folks, Superman is not only a badass (like me), he is a really good, GOOD guy (also like me), so what's not to love about him, right?

Well, this doesn't have much to do with the Iron Man movie, because our hero is... well, I won't tell you about it now, I'll wait until the movie premieres (which I will be seeing on opening night, you can bet your ass on that).

Suffice it to say that I think that this new Iron Man film may outsell all of the previous Superhero movies for an important reason:

Cool Gadgets.

Oh, yeah... men with gadget envy will go to see this movie because Iron Man has a suit that will not only allow him to fly, and smash things, and all sorts of cool stuff... he has a suit that can blow s--- up!  Now, be honest, in man world you don't get any better than that... unless there is a sex scene with an unreasonably hot chick... and you still get to blow s--- up.

Sure, I'm being juvenile, but you'll have to forgive me... It's Iron Man. 

Papal Haiku (12)

Holy Father speaks
Welcome human rights message
Talk to George, willya?

Haiku (11)

Barack says "Bitter"
Hill'ry calls him elitist
Pot calls kettle "black"

My Wish For a Stranger

Dear Stranger,

Do you know that I notice you?  Do you know that I know your workout schedule?  Do you know that I think about you at least three times a week?  Are you paying attention?

Probably not.

There is no reason you should know these things... or care, for that matter.  You see, I'm not a stalker or threat to your safety, it's just that I see you a few times a week as you take your afternoon power-walks.  I'm the guy in the non-descript Ford that drives past you as you lean into the hill, going past the park.

When I think of you, it's more in the vein of envy than anything else... I see you swinging your arms and striding with speed and purpose, and I wish like hell I could do that, too.

I hate being inactive, and I really wish I could take my daily power-walks again... but I am seven months past my knee surgery, and I am fairly certain that I'll never be able to walk like that again. 

Fuck.

I wish my knees weren't so fucked up, but they are. the price of wasting spending all of my youth in the service of my country.  Hey Uncle Sam, can I get my youth back, please?

I guess you could say, at least today, that the word that so many people seem to be feaux-bothered about these days, applies to me.

Color me bitter.

Well, stranger.  My wish for you is that you have healthy knees throughout your life.  I wish for you, a life without back pain.  I hope you can walk like that for the rest of your life.

Be well.

Lots Happening Today

Pope Benedict will be giving (or is it saying) Mass at Nationals Stadium in a few hours, and my comrades in the city are going nuts already (the police radio is just buzzing, believe me).  You couldn't pay me to go downtown today.

Now, you would think that since my agency's HQ is only three blocks from the stadium, my boss would have cacelled the senior staff meeting scheduled for 9:30 this morning (just 30 minutes before the Mass) wouldn't you? 

Well, you'd be wrong.

Guess who is supposed to go to this meeting... but isn't?