How things change out from under us

[Blueridge Believer]

How Things Change Out From Under Us : Chronicles: A Magazine of American Culture

When I was a kid there were no age limits to the Second Amendment. We all had firearms before we reached puberty. Anyone with the money could purchase a .22 caliber rifle at the local hardware store. If you were too young to see over the counter, the proprietor might call your parents to get an OK. You could purchase .22 caliber ammunition and shotgun shells at most any gas station.

None of us ever shot anyone or any farmer’s cow or mule. There were no gun accidents among my armed companions.

 

[LawrenceU]

Not to mention that by the time we were in ninth grade we almost all had loaded weapons in our vehicles outside (maybe more than one), knives in our pockets, and had regular 'settling matches' out behind the field house.

 

[VictorBravo]

Not to mention that by the time we were in ninth grade we almost all had loaded weapons in our vehicles outside (maybe more than one), knives in our pockets, and had regular 'settling matches' out behind the field house.

So true. An innocent, rough, and pleasant era. I remember elementary school-aged kids in Spring riding their bikes out of town on the newly paved road going north. They had 22 caliber rifles cradled over their handlebars. Farmers wanted them to shoot gophers before they ate too much fresh grass. Every kid knew that if he didn't use his gun properly, he'd be the subject of ridicule and derision for the rest of his life. It kept one sober.

I remember an older kid in school grabbing my arm and shoving me into a wall because I was skipping like a girl. He said through clenched teeth, "Don't be a fairy." It never occurred to me that it was an assault. It just was a reminder of who I was supposed to be. Nothing hateful about maintaining proper identities.

Little things like that shape a boy, I think, for the good.

 

[LawrenceU]

Little things like that shape a boy, I think, for the good.

Absolutely true.

 

[Marrow Man]

I can tell you, that who story sounds like a fairy tale. In particular, this section stands out:

Fate was no worse for his black eye. It probably taught him to escape from hubris. He went on to be a quarterback for the University of Georgia.

I went on to become assistant secretary of the U.S. Treasury.

Come on. A UGA QB beaten up by a bureaucrat? Pure fantasy.

 

[EricP]

2nd amendment

Parental fear of firearms with the resulting lack of exposure or training for their children must be yet another sign of the times...it's so easy to vilify a simple tool like a rifle or gun when you don't understand, own, or use them yourself (unless you're Ms Rosie O'donnell, who at least can lobby for firearms for her brood's bodyguards, while she decries guns for everyone else in NY). As Rome crumbled, did families fear having a sword in their homes and a shield on the wall? Seems like "nerve" is one of those things we have that atrophies with lack of use. I guess too many of us watched Alan Alda in MASH years ago...

 

[MrMerlin777]

Parental fear of firearms with the resulting lack of exposure or training for their children must be yet another sign of the times...it's so easy to vilify a simple tool like a rifle or gun when you don't understand, own, or use them yourself (unless you're Ms Rosie O'donnell, who at least can lobby for firearms for her brood's bodyguards, while she decries guns for everyone else in NY). As Rome crumbled, did families fear having a sword in their homes and a shield on the wall? Seems like "nerve" is one of those things we have that atrophies with lack of use. I guess too many of us watched Alan Alda in MASH years ago...

I watched Alan Alda in MASH and enjoyed it. But it doesn't mean I agree with his liberal clap trap stances on issues.

I see what you're saying though. We've become a nation of rude wimps and cowards. Parent's would never allow their sons to have a gun but alot of them sure will accept the school nurse providing them condoms.

 

[OPC'n]

You also had child discipline and good teaching!

 

[Rich Koster]

If I went gopher plucking here in NJ, I'd be starting a new prison ministry