One day a month

Once a month, on the third Sunday of each month, I help put on a pistol match. It is held at a range located on a guy's farm in Linn County. My shooting has decreased from 2-3 times per week to this one day a month. When I started shooting I shot in a sport called bullseye. Very structured, very boring. I was introduced to practical shooting and was quickly hooked. Practical shooting is a bit of a misnomer. When the sport started, the intent was to simulate 'real world' situations that a person might find himself when on the wrong side of town. The sport has evolved into quick draw, multiple target, run and gun stages. Time and scores determine who wins the match. Holsters are tricked out, guns are heavily modified, and the courses are 'gamed' to get every advantage possible. There are still people that play with stock equipment. Stock holsters and guns that aren't modified and don't hold more than 10 rounds. To each their own. It is just a game, play it any way you want. As with golf or bowling or league softball, there are those people who take the game far to seriously. Their loss. The objective of playing is to have fun.

There is a gut that comes out (in the first picture) that is in his early 80s. He was a very young man in the US Navy in 1945, serving in the Pacific. He was still a young man when he was activated for the duration of the Korean War. When I am in my 80s, I want to be active enough to continue to play, hopefully with Kat. For that matter, when I am 88 I want to be in as good of shape as my grandmother.

I got very little sleep last night, waking up about every hour. When I realized I was awake, I would think about work and how to manage/improve my project. Wouldn't you know, when I woke up at 4am, I laid there awake until just before 5am, when the alarm went off. Then I had the hardest time waking up and getting out of bed.

You may notice in the pictures, everyone is in shortsleeves and the season looks wrong. At today's match, we started at 8am and it was 10* F outside. No breeze or wind, though. We had 5 shooters for about 2 hours, then another 20 showed up over the next hour. A good crowd for a cold winter day. Thank goodness we have a clubhouse and it has a woodburner in it. Also, one of the members brought about 15 qts of chili for us to lunch on.

Though I missed Jill and Kat all day, it was nice to get out and forget about alot of things. But it is even better to come home and see the women I love.