Friday, October 6, 2017

Blogorado, day (or, rather, evening) 1


We arrived safely in Colorado after an uneventful, but rather wet, journey.  It rained pretty solidly for about four hours, which made driving much less enjoyable, particularly when passing through the spray kicked up by long lines of semi-trailers, which reduces visibility to potentially dangerous levels.  We broke the journey in Amarillo for a quick visit with Alma Boykin, which was (as always) most enjoyable.  She's good people.

After unloading most of our baggage into our hotel room, we headed for the Highly Secret Blogorado Location, on a farm some miles out of town.  It was great to meet members of our tribe again, many of whom we haven't seen since last year.  People kept on arriving through the evening, making for many late suppers as they tucked into lobster and chicken-fried steak.  (Did I mention that the food at Blogorado makes the journey worthwhile all by itself, never mind the company or the shooting?)

There was some somber discussion of the Las Vegas shooting earlier this week.  All of us are shooting enthusiasts, but we all recognize the impact that this tragedy is likely to have on our hobby (for some of us, an avocation).  Most of us expect that so-called "bump stocks" are likely to be, if not banned altogether, at least brought under the aegis of the National Firearms Act of 1934, and treated as if they were "real" machine-guns, requiring registration and the payment of a tax.  Until now, bump stocks had been regarded by serious firearms owners as a toy, something owned only by "wannabes" who couldn't afford the price of a real full-auto weapon (or the tax stamp for it).  Las Vegas has irrevocably changed that.  Personally, I don't mind them being banned.  I've always viewed them as the sign of an amateur and a showoff.  Tragically, we now know that under the right conditions, and given an area target rather than one requiring marksmanship and precision shooting, amateur show-offs can use them to deadly effect.  (Of course, one doesn't require a bump stock to "bump fire" a rifle;  it can be done without any modification at all.  The bump stock merely makes it easier.)

I've learned, to my mortification, that as I get older, prolonged pain makes me snappish and unpleasant to be around.  It's the sort of thing one doesn't notice until a loving wife points out, as gently as possible, that one behaved very rudely to the hotel clerk when the credit card machine malfunctioned and other problems arose.  I hate that.  I'm going to apologize nicely to the clerk this morning, and I'll have to learn to watch my behavior more carefully.  Strong painkillers make the pain more bearable, but after reading up about them a few minutes ago, I now know they can also "mask" or lower one's conscious inhibitions and social controls, almost like over-indulging in alcohol.  I daren't let them turn me into a permanent grouch!  That's an important lesson learned.  Those of you who are in pretty much permanent pain, as I am, might want to think about it too.

Anyhoo, we'll be joining the rest of the clan for breakfast shortly, then it's off to the range for a day's shooting and socializing (and more great food, of course).  I'll try to post again tonight or tomorrow morning.

Peter

8 comments:

Mad Jack said...

I have the same problem. If I take a pain pill, it does a great job of masking the pain, but it also removes my impulse control. I say mean things to people that, while richly deserved, I normally wouldn't say.

I lived in Colorado Springs for a while, and enjoyed the area. I'm glad you're having a good time.

Anonymous said...

Glad the trip was uneventful as far as travel problems. I get the 'grouchy and direct' attitude when your body is reminding you of the past. An apology - explanation of what is going on is a good idea.

Enjoy the food and experience of meeting old friends. And pictures of the cool 'noisemakers' would be appreciated as well.

Uncle Lar said...

Personally wouldn't bother me at all to never see another bump stock. I've installed a few for friends, then uninstalled them once the reality of really bad accuracy and a waste of valuable ammo sinks in.
On the other hand, having watched the anti gun crowd since back in 1968 I know that they are never satisfied with a win, give them anything and they immediately go after the next item on their agenda. And their ultimate goal is the sort of "common sense" gun control that we see in Great Britain. Total ban on all handguns and long arms limited to bolt action or single shot, with even those hampered by licenses and permits. Then too, GB has apparently seen fit to deny its subjects the right to self defense. Use force to defend yourself and you apparently are more likely to find yourself in court than the criminal who attacked you.

Andrew said...

I have found that a prophylactic dose of Vitamin I (ibuprofen) helps cut down the emotional rage I get from the horrid pains of... allergies. Seriously, when my sinuses swell, I go from a mild mannered a-hole to a roid-raging Hulk. When I think that smashing things is a good solution (well, actually, it is. Smashing solves many problems) I quickly reach for the bottle.

Especially when I drive through the allergy belt around Central Florida on the way to mom. About Ocala, time for an extra Claritin and some Vitamin I. Keeps me only raging about the (other) idiots on the road, instead of raging about everything.

If it is nerve pain that is getting you raging, talk to your doc about Gabapentin or Lyrica.

Quartermaster said...

Don't forget, as you age you get grumpy too. :-)

VFM 9054 said...

While I have no interest in bump stocks, I am deeply opposed to them being banned. Because I have no interest in letting the gun control people get a win, and start building their momentum again. I want them to stay on the defensive.

We fight a ban, not because we care about bump stocks, but in order to cost the enemy resources; and slow and distract him from being able to move against a position that we actually want to keep. Like "assault rifles".

Chuck Pergiel said...

Chronic sleeplessness can make you (me) grouchy even without any pain.

Anonymous said...

I'm coming up on 23 years of chronic pain from a spinal cord injury and associated neuropathic pain, the past 17 of which have been pretty miserable at times. Lack of proper sleep, constant unrelenting pain of various intensity and types that are unfortunately difficult or impossible to treat has left me pretty cranky at times. I do a fair job at masking it but it does slip out occasionally. There are some situations I simply have learned to avoid or allow others to deal with because I just don't have the patience to deal with. It's not like I have some sort of outburst at anyone or even be anything other than polite it's just that it takes a toll on me internally to maintain my composure and accomplish the task.