Fun Things for Me Sometimes Go Bang

Let's take a moment to talk about my guns. I like guns. No, I take that back. I love guns.

First, what I am not. I am not a hunter (I prefer my meat to come in prepackaged, non-mobile, cellophane-wrapped packages, ready to cook). I am not a doomsday prepper (although I insist to my friends that the day the Zombie Apocalypse comes, I will welcome them to come over, stock with my guns and swords, and help me defend my town from the Undead. Sadly, no one seems to take me seriously.). I am not a home defender (while I have a gun in our bed stand, I have two large dogs that are more than ready to do that task for me). Nor am I what some would call a “Bible-thumping redneck” (I live in the Pacific Northwest, where the closest thing to a redneck is a lumberjack, and I've touched a Bible once - it set my hand on fire. Lesson learned). Guns are not what drive my vote, guns are not an obsession. For me, guns are not what define me. I am the kind of gun owner that flummoxes those who generalize anyone owning a firearm as a militaristic nut job...

I am a target shooter and firearms collector. It's a hobby. Granted, an expensive hobby, but a hobby nonetheless. For me, it's like being a model train enthusiast. As soon as you finish your first G-scale train, you want to add to your collection by purchasing HO, O, N, ON30, and American Flyer S trains, stocking up on props for the landscapes to run your trains in a circle around, endlessly watching your trains run around your ever-expanding “train room” until your wife cannot help but shake her head in disbelief when she walks in on your playing like a 9-year-old on Christmas Day. Yeah, that kind of expensive hobby. I go to the range about once a month (would love to go more often), I'm focused on safety, and I do months of research before even considering a gun purchase.

My collection is small (by enthusiast standards), but is growing. Many fellow enthusiasts, I have discovered, will find a firearm or brand of firearm they like and purchase a large number of those guns, becoming an expert and, at the same time, an annoying snob, about that gun. Glock junkies, 1911 fanboys, AR-15 fanatics, and some “experts” on military surplus firearms. They are a great resource for information if you are interested in one of their preferred firearms, but they tend not to know when to say, “my favorite gun may not be the right one for you.”

My first firearm was one of the most maligned semi-auto pistols – the Hi-Point C9.

A 9mm handgun that looks like it was beaten with the Ugly Stick, repeatedly, with hatred, at night, in a darkened room. Polymer grip, a slide that weight one pound less than a Sherman tank. Years after my wife bought it for me for my birthday, even she calls it “The Brick”. Because, once you run out of ammo, you can throw it at someone and due enough damage as a brick. Despite its aesthetic shortcomings, I've found it to be one of the most reliable guns I've ever owned. Every time you pull the trigger, it goes “bang”, it rarely ever jams, it's easy to operate, and (as a bonus), it weighs so much that - if I find myself in a self-defense - I can actually throw it at someone when I run out of ammo.

Just like completing that first train set, ownership of The Brick spurred something in me. I wanted to own more. But unlike the fanboys in the gun world, I chose a different path. I wanted my future purchases to have some sort of meaning. Discussion pieces, ones that had stories to tell. Items that had interesting history.

It was then that I began creating a wish list. As I was trained with a bolt action rifle, I felt it was in my best interest, as a target shooter, to get one of those. I also wanted to gain skill shooting a pistol. Two pistols, each with history behind them, caught my eye – the Walther PPK/S and the Bisley Revolver (I'll get into those in a bit). A small wish list, by any firearms enthusiast standard. As any collector knows, the list always starts out small.

The Walther PPK/S is the 7-shot version of the well-known PPK.

For those unfamiliar with this pistol, it is a German police-issue gun that killed a lot of bad guys – specifically all those villains in James Bond movies, and Adolf Hitler, who used his personal PPK to shoot himself in the head in a bunker at the end of WWII.

My bolt-action rifle purchase was a Mosin Nagant.

(From Wikipedia) Mosins were developed by the Imperial Russian Army from 1882 to 1891, and used by the armed forces of the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and various other nations. It is one of the most mass-produced military bolt-action rifles in history with over 37 million units having been made since its inception in 1891, and, in spite of its age, it has been used in various conflicts around the world even up to the modern day, being plentiful, cheap, rugged, simple to use, and effective, much like the AK-47 and its variants. My Mosin was built in 1939, and was used during the Winter War between Russia and Finland. Through the markings on the rifle, I learned that my Mosin was captured by the Finns, modified to fire their preferred cartridge – the D166 – and put into use by the Finnish Army against the Russians.

During this period of collecting, I bought a replica of an 1851 Confederate Navy black powder revolver.

I purchased it at a time when the Confederate flag became so unpopular in the US that popular opinion was to remove anything associated with the Confederacy from history. While I do not sympathize with the Confederacy, I felt it important to own a piece of history before that history was revised by the PC culture. Here's the history – Colt manufactured these pistols for both the Union and the Confederacy, the difference between them being the gun's frame – the Confederacy used Navys with brass frames, while the Union's Navys were identical, but with steel frames. Samuel Colt provided, essentially, the same gun to each side in the Civil War. Once it came to light that he was profiting from each side in the war, he stopped providing arms to the Confederacy.

Now, my latest acquisition, the Bisley Revolver.

I have been chasing after one of these for about 20 years. From the Uberti Company, the manufacturer of my Bisley - “In 1894, the Colt company introduced a new variation of its popular 1873 Single Action Army. The new pistol sported a longer grip frame, and target pistol-style grip, along with a lower profile, along with wider, target-style hammer. The new pistol was produced as a target pistol, and was unveiled at the British Commonwealth Championship match, held in Bisley, England. Thereafter, called the Colt Bisley, this new target pistol proved to be very popular.” Aside from Colt, a few companies have manufactured Bisley-style revolvers over the years (most notably Ruger). The Uberti Bisley, though, captured my eye with its aesthetics. To me, it is the most beautiful of the Bisley's currently manufactured. My Bisley is in .45 Long Colt, which (for the layman) is an old cowboy round – very uncommon, and very expensive to shoot.

I own - and have owned - a number of other firearms. But first and foremost, it's the history behind a firearm that catches my eye, gravitates me toward it, and encourages me to own it. To own a part of history speaks volumes to me more than the latest and greatest guns on the market, regardless of the fanboy following many of those guns receive.

My wish list, albeit a short one, is complete. Perhaps it may grow. At this point, anything else I buy will be a want, not a wish.

I Am So Tired Of Politics on Social Media

I don't know about you, but this political season has been brutal for me. I cannot recall any time in my lifetime that political opinions have so polarizing, so divisive, and so destructive to friendships.
Over the past few months, I have preached tolerance between political parties, because if a deep-rooted belief that elections – shifts in power at the White House – are transitory, and change every 4 to 8 years. We, the citizenry, are not the President, and must deal with each other when all is said and done, regardless of whom is elected. Understanding, acceptance, and all.
Well, I have learned, first hand, that there are a lot of people who do not share my idea of acceptance. I've had friends online unfollow me, unfriend me, and accuse me of all sorts of things, based upon whom I voted for.

Just last week, I posted a picture about our new President (one that could have been taken a number of ways), and was immediately de-friended by someone I considered one of my best friends since high school. A mere picture was enough to trigger that response. It hurt a lot to find that long-time friendship, during which politics never entered conversation, boiled down to whom I voted for, and was grounds for ending that friendship.

Regardless of whom you voted for (frankly I don't care), I implore you to do three things, before it's too late. First - recognize that not everyone in your circle of friends adheres to your political ideology. If you have any respect for that friendship, respect that your friend is different than you. Second – differing opinions are the gateway to productive conversation. It's far too easy to label those who did not vote “your way” as (insert epithet here). Third – if you have any friends left who voted for differently than you, make time to thank them for being part of the democratic process. It happens every four years. Make time to understand why they voted the way they did, and – if you still disagree – and here's the most important part – agree to disagree. Painting others with the broad brush of what you don't like with a political ideology is very easy. That paint is hard to wash away, once you have insulted your friends for the sake of letting your voting preference known.

I've got few followers on social media these days, and will likely have fewer and fewer as time goes on. On the rare times I actually express my political preference, it's usually met with anger. I've come to grips with that. But I have been consistent in my belief that understanding between ideologies is the key to improving the lives of everyone. I don't see any logical reason to wrap one's self so tightly in a political cocoon that differing ideologies are grounds for hurtful behavior, or ending friendships. I hope that, among you few friends I have left, you appreciate that, too.

Glitches in The Matrix

Have you ever seen things that you can't explain? I'm not talking about a pork roast coming out of the oven looking like a used Yule Log, despite following the cooking directions precisely. I'm talking about things that defy logical explanation. Over the past few years, I've had a few glitches in The Matrix.

A few years ago, while walking across a smoothly-paved parking lot, I looked at my feet to see a small rock lift up, rotate 360 degrees, and come to a rest on the pavement.

A couple of years ago, I saw a bright orb in the sky I couldn't explain. It came from the east, slowed down for a passing airplane, then sharply ascended into the sky, at a sharp angle, toward the moon. My wife also witnessed the event. I called local airports and our local Navy base, with no response. I filed a report with MUFON, who called me back a few weeks later to investigate (as they received similar reports). I know my way around planetary, stellar, aviation, and meteorological phenomenon, and the light in the sky was none of those.

Of and on (over the past few years) I would get a tingling sensation, like touching an electric fence. Immediately afterward, and for many minutes to follow, my fingers would give off a static electric discharge. In each case, the weather is warm (read: not wintertime), I am well grounded (rubber-soled shoes), and I am not walking across anything that would build up a static charge (in these cases, asphalt and cement).

While driving to work in the early morning hours, I will occasionally see an object on the side of the road get "highlighted" - as if the object (say, a shrub) is suddenly lit up from the inside. Every time, it's not an object I am previously aware of.

At my office, I occasionally see things securely pinned to the wall suddenly come off and fall to the floor. I would reattach those things to the wall, in a different place, only to have them fly off after a few minutes.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I saw a small, dark, cloud speed across the sky at a low altitude - on a day with few clouds in the sky, and no measurable wind.

Are these glitches in The Matrix? I don't know. The way things are going, I will likely experience a few more of these as time goes on.

The Rebirth of Civil Discussion on Social Media

Now that I have painted anyone wrapped up in politics on social media as either a boastful ass-hat or whiny crybaby (depending on who you voted for), I will explain in how you can get the most out of social media, without all those triggers. It's working for me, and it can work for you!

OK, you see something on a social media site that you don't agree with, politically. Here are a few steps to keep you from being either an ass-hat or a crybaby...

• Step One: Remind yourself that about half of the country did not vote the way you did.
• Step Two: Remind yourself that elections happen every four years, and power shifts from party to party every four to eight years, depending on the will of the voters.
• Step Three A (for liberal voters in 2016): Remind yourself that it is the Electoral College that elects a President. The Electoral College was established by our Founding Fathers to prevent any state with a larger population from swaying the results of an election. The EC is to give smaller states more of an equal footing with states like New York and California. Elections via the Electoral College have gone to Democrats as well as Republicans, so this time around is not a reason to abolish a system you think is unfair, just because your candidate didn't win.
• Step Three B (for conservative voters in 2016): Your candidate won. Don't be smug about it. Unless you don't care about the vast numbers of Americans who voted against our new Commander In Chief, you should be more magnanimous. Power shifts in Washington, D.C., on a regular basis, you should not broadcast your self-satisfaction to those who do not feel as confident about the election as you do.
• Step Four: Don't go about unfriending people because of their political leanings. You have built many of these friendships on things other than politics. Take the effort and make it work again. If you have a friend on social media who has been rubbing you the wrong way, you can (in the case of Facebook) unfollow them, but still remain friends. Once the new President's term begins, and things start to calm down, you two can focus once again on the things that created your friendship.
• Step Five: Find new things to occupy your social media time. If your on-line friends (who, by this point have become “annoying, stop showing up on my news feed, shut the hell up”) can't seem to let it go, try this (it's worked for me!)... Join social media groups that reflect your interest (NOT politics!). I've joined a few groups that reflect my interests – science fiction, literature, astronomy, etc. I've even joined a group dedicated to discussion of Mosin Nagant rifles, one of which I own. At no point does politics come into play. I cannot tell you how freeing it is to have meaningful discussions with peers of all persuasions without seeing anything of a political nature cropping up.

Keep in mind that, among the social media outlets I have participated in, Facebook is the most politically-charged. Twitter involves following specific users, Instagram is more like Twitter with pictures, Snapchat is Instagram with more short video clips. Tumblr, on the other hand, is for boobs, cosplay girls, and cosplay girls with boobs (at least by my extensive research in a darkened room when my wife is not home).

If you are tired of the politics on-line, or are easily triggered by what you cannot accept, please try to disconnect with what upsets you. It will all be okay!

Politics Ends Friendships (Only If You Choose To)

Today is January 20, 2017 - Election Day. Today is also a day a longtime friendship of mine ended abruptly over whom I voted for.

The friend, who will remain nameless, was one of my closest in high school. We shared the same interests, the same summer jobs. We would go for regular walks during the evening hours, to talk about our days, confide in each other, and help each other with any problems we may have been going through.

After high school, we remained close buddies. I was even the best man for his first wedding.

Well, it's been almost 30 years since high school, and each of us have differed more and more apart, politically - I drifted to the right after college, he sped to the far-left. At no point in our friendship, though, did we bring politics into play. But here's the thing - as I got older, I became more accepting of everyone's political ideologies, while he became more angry with people that didn't see the world his way.

Fast forward to today. Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. Now, I have been backing the losing candidate for years. I took each election loss with humility, and freely congratulated folks who backed the winning horse. Now, for the first time in years, the candidate I voted for has become President. Today was MY turn to celebrate. So, I hopped on Facebook and posted a celebratory picture, as Democrats have done each time a Democrat got sworn in.

Almost immediately, this long-time friend posted a comment: "Bye, Glen. Enjoy your guns and your sense of entitlement. Thanks for being part of the problem."

This long-time friend knows the content of my character, knows I am kind to everyone, treats everyone equally, respects the views of others, and that I have been gracious to him as he became more and more angry at the world over the years. But, apparently his evaluating others' worth through a political lens has turned me into a backwards, ignorant, shoot-at-anything redneck maniac. All because I didn't vote like he did. And me being happy about an election for the first time in years was just the trigger to set him off. I still don't understand the "sense of entitlement" part of his comment. All I'm entitled to are the rights provided to me under the Constitution, and those that I have earned through hard work and earning the respect of others (aren't we all entitled to those things?)...

My first thought was to respond to his comment with something equally-pointed, but I immediately stopped myself, for that's not how to be sensitive to and accepting of others' views.

My response became: "I appreciate your input. Surprised to see our friendship is viewed through a political lens. Oh well. I wish you the best, though."

I fear my response fell on deaf ears, as that friendship - online and in real life - was apparently ended the moment after he finished typing.

I know he is angry about the election, as many people are. That's fine. But to make politics the measuring stick by which you place another human being's worth, then to cut and run with an online jab? I've never done it, will never do it, and hope others don't end up losing friends because of it.

While he is, apparently, done with me, I still value the friendship we have had, and I hope he finds happiness.

New Year's Resolution - Be Healthy

Following my annual check-up at the doctor's office, I resigned to get in better shape. More exercise, better diet, blah, blah, blah.

Fortunately, I was already doing many things right. Low sodium, high protein, and (roughly) low-carb diet, and I haven't drank coffee or caffeine sodas in years.

My physical activity, however, slacked off from my last physical, and over the past few months, I got lazy and started eating fast food more than I had previously allowed myself.

Well, since my recent physical, I've been walking 5 times a week, eating right, and losing some weight. My wife has been very supportive, and I've had some compliments from my co-workers for my dedication to this new health regimen.

I have an appointment with my doctor at the end of March. I am doing the best I can to get some good news from him then.

Politics Tends To Ruin Freindships

I formed my first friendships when I was in elementary school. Those ties usually were based on something like “we're in the same class”, or “we're both five years old”, or the Revolution Against mandatory Nap Time (RANT - a national movement - has seen an increase in child enrollment over the years, due to the increasing use of video games replacing adult supervision).

As I got older (read: after elementary school through college), I founded friendships with others on more specific criteria: shared hobbies, shared school subjects and the like. The more discerning I became with whom I chose to count among my friends, the fewer new friendships I made. This was likely due to the fact that I was a shy kid, a bit nerdy, abhorred sports as if they were a particularly virulent strain of anthrax, and preferred reading a book to engaging in small talk in a group. Despite my best efforts to become a recluse, I became part of a very close-knit group of friends who played Dungeons & Dragons (one group member became my best friend to this day). In high school, it was marching band (I was a string bass player from the age of five, but joined the drum line so I could get a Letterman's jacket). In college, it was orchestra, jazz band, and wind ensemble (who knew they needed a string bass player?)...

When I was in college, there were political activist groups (as there have been since the days of straw hats and spontaneous barbershop quartets), but – as a music major – I didn't have time to follow politics. I was too busy studying for exams, rehearsing for concerts, and indiscriminately mooching off of my parents and the more gullible members of the Music Department. As a result, my college friendships weren't based on political ideology, but things that were fun and focused on my burgeoning career as a professional musician.

And, as everyone knows come election time, discussing politics in college is not fun. Especially if it involves differing viewpoints. In fact, I can think of a few things that would be more enjoyable:

• An Icy-Hot enema.
• Listening to Jim Carey's “Most Annoying Sound In The World”, while power-squatting on a barbed-wire fence post.
• A hot date with Vlad, the Impaler.
• Finding out your gastroenterologist chose to handle habanero peppers before your colon exam, sans rubber gloves.

Basically, anything involving non-consensual rectal discomfort.

After college, my lifelong dream to become a studio musician came to an abrupt close, thanks to copious amounts of what doctors call “nerve and muscle damage” (or what some of my colleagues preferred to call “I guess you just don't like to play”. By that time, I was working in radio to pay the bills, or as I liked to call it, “beer money”. Well, new friendships usually formed over work, or connections through my job in radio. Being “in radio” naturally opens one up to politics, politicians, and political spin for conversational gain, and I received an education on politics that one friend of mine - a Democratic state representative and college professor I interviewed every week for years – called, “more thorough than college civics”. I became friends with Democrats, Republicans, Independents, and every other capital letter in the alphabet, and those friendships were mutually appreciative because – regardless of political ideology – we listened to each other (though I am pretty certain that, as the report, I listened more and they talked more). I listened intently, asked questions without pandering for a friendly response, thanked them for their answers, and published the contents of our conversations on the air, without bias or creative editing. Not to toot my own horn (if I did, it would be in the key of B-flat, with a sharp 11^th in the bass, sometimes called the “Brown Note”), but during that heyday of being a political “insider”, I was mentioned by name on the floor of the Washington State House as an example of a “fair and balanced” reporter. Had I the foresight, I would have copyrighted that moniker before a major news network made it theirs.

With the advent of social media, some people I spent years forming close-knit relationships seem ready (and eager) to let political ideology become the lens through which they see me and others. For these folks, what I shared with them in the past (read: what made us friends in the first place) is no longer of relevance. They aren't interested in the time we both spelled the same word wrong in the spelling bee. Growing up in the same neighborhood, sharing childhood together, supporting each other through thick and thin, now means nothing. Personally, I couldn't care less who you voted for. However, for many people I know, how I voted is a not only a concern of theirs, but something I need to be put in my place for. Why does it make such a difference who I voted for? Why has the check you made at the ballot box now a measure of your worth as a human being? Thanks to the political climate in America, by virtue alone of having a mind of my own and voting for the candidate different from from the vast majority of the folks I became friends with over decades, I (and others who voted along with me) are now labelled a racist, bigot, homophobe, sexist, Islamophobe, or any other disparaging label that fits the political narrative. Anyone who truly knows me knows in their heart that I am none of the above, but that political lens prevents them from allowing them to acknowledge what they already know - I'm not a bad buy. 

It's not just through social media. On more than a few occasions, I'll be at a “mixed company social event”, and someone who thinks they have a bead on my political views will approach me, looking to engage in a heated discussion (read: a one-sided debate). I'm not sure why these wise-acres think this is useful, for they never seem to want to engage in actual dialogue. Rather, they seem motivated to let me know that my opinions make me worse than Hitler, simply for not thinking like them. When approached by those people, I tend to give them a beer and homemade coupons for free hugs. I need more need to give out more hugs. And, perhaps I should switch out the beer for bourbon. That, however may be construed as "too Republican". Vodka? No, too "hacking conspiracy". How about a warm Zima?

Why do some folks seek confrontation over politics? Is it to make themselves feel better about their own political beliefs? Is it a cry for help? Is the confidence in their own world view so low that they have to seek confrontation for justify themselves? It's like trying to watch a movie with someone yelling to you how much they think the movie sucks, no matter how much popcorn you try shoving down their throat (which - by the way - will anger them even more, no matter how much soda you try to get them to wash it down with). Those perpetually unhappy folks seek to change the dynamic of the friendship I have with them, for the purpose (I can only guess) of either turning me into a copy of them, or as some sort of polite way of saying they don't value the founding reason for that friendship.

During my time as a reporter, I met a number of politicians who were passionate in their ideologies, but were not close-minded in their thinking. They knew that not everyone held the same ideology as they did, and were sensitive to all of their constituents. Those politicians earned my respect, and they returned that respect in spades. I don't find it surprising that they treated the "big picture" of politics more maturely than those that use the "us versus them" mentality as means to judge the worth of others. If there is one thing I have gleaned from this political season, it is that too many people put a political party ahead of anything else.

With all that said, I have some wonderful friends who disagree with my voting choices. We choose to agree to disagree, and that's that. I also have many friends with whom there is no inkling of political persuasion. We don't ask, we don't tell, because it doesn't matter. For me, these are the friends I value most, as I never know when I will need a couch to crash on, or a bass to borrow for a gig. The rest – however - behave worse than the worst politicians, and that's what has ruined wonderful friendships.

People don't suck. Becoming wrapped up in politics - making it more important than friendships - makes people suck.

Radio Song Requests

Sometimes, the little things you do for others have a huge impact on their lives. A few months back, I learned that lesson in spades at my radio station.

Early that week, I was in the middle of my morning air shift, taking song requests. A woman called and made her request. I thanked her for the request, loaded her song in the playlist, and went on with my show.

About an hour later, she called back to thank me for playing the song she wanted to hear. Keep in mind, the song she requested was not one that fell outside my station's format, and it was one I have played before. I thanked her once again for requesting the song, adding that I'm happy to take requests any time I'm on the air. “That's what I do”, I said. Finishing the call, I went on with my show.

After another hour or so – shortly after my air shift - she called back, her thanks more emphatic. She said the song I played for her was exactly what she needed to turn her crummy day around, and said she wanted to buy me lunch. I always feel uncomfortable about accepting gifts of any sort, and told her that buying me lunch wasn't necessary – I was just doing my job, after all, taking song requests for the folks who have kindly chosen to make my little morning show a part of their day. She wouldn't take “no” for an answer. I thanked her, repeating to her that it wasn't necessary, and wrapped up the phone call.

Right around noon, my caller came to the station, bearing a full lunch from a local drive-in restaurant (one of my favorite burger joints, BTW). I met her in the station lobby, where she gave me a very long bear hug, thanking me over and over. She began to get teary-eyed, telling me that she had been going through a rough patch in her life, and what I did - what I played for her and just being a nice person on the other end of the phone line – changed her life around! I was humbled. Before we parted ways, I told her to call my show anytime she needed a musical pick-me-up, because that's part of my job. A job I love to do.

To this day, I have no idea how bad things could have been for this caller for something as simple and innocuous as doing my job, and being a nice guy on the phone, could possibly be life changing. I have some great listeners, but - usually - song requests don't take on a life of their own.

What I took away from the experience is that, as a radio personality, you can easily take your show for granted. Something you think is part of the daily routine may, actually, have a huge impact on a listener. Most times, you'll never know. Sometimes, though, the reality of it comes back to you. And that reality can be surprising.

New Beginnings (Again)

This is the obligatory post to tell you what I intend to do with this blog. I apologize in advance for not having a clear-cut game plan here, but I have yet to obtain focus for what I want to write about. My health? My hobbies? Things I see, read, or hear that make me go, "hmmm"? I will likely include all of those things, and more, in the posts to come.

I used to write regularly in a blog years ago, but was sidetracked with the ease of short posts on social media. I had lost my will to write in long form, something I regret to this day.

A dear friend of mine from high school, who has been writing wonderful prose on Facebook, began writing longer articles on her own blog. Her contributions to the blogger-sphere have inspired me to "pick up the pen", so-to-speak, and begin writing once again.

I hope you will bear with me, and come back for updates on the road I am on.