To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Thursday, May 04, 2006
Singing Some Praises
I've been trying to figure out how to write this without sounding like a goofy mom or a radical gun-toting mom... umm... since I'm both... here goes.
Many of you have heard tales of the blogmeet in Austin last weekend. Most of the stories are true... But I feel the need to talk about what my kids did last weekend- Saturday, to be specific.
It all started WAY too early Saturday morning when I dropped the boys off at school at 7:30 (yes, AM) so they could practice a little while longer before their "solo and ensemble band festival", which began at 8:30 (yes, AM). In the end, they each received a "1" (which is a good thing) and a medal for their solo pieces, and a "2" (not as good, but far from bad) for their ensemble. Not a bad start to the day.
Then it was off to meet the gang at Red's. (Background... last year, the boys went with us to the range in Dallas during the inaugural Texas Blogfest, and they requested that they be allowed to take a gun safety class so that they could participate in the festivities this year. Last week, they completed their class- with praise from their instructor.) After firing Mr. Friendly for the first time, they moved on to a couple of Lord Spatula's .22s. (They preferred the semi-auto, in case anyone was wondering). After a while, T2 asked if it would be ok if they tried "something else." I agreed, reminding him that it was up to the owner whether or not they could fire the weapons. Both of the boys sampled several of the handguns in the range (T1 kept going back to Spats '.22... which is understandable...) Then T2 fell in love... with The Emperor's Kimber. Well... I'll let Misha tell that part of the story:
When we left the range, the boys called several people to tell them about all of the fun they had. It was fun to listen to. Really.
After a quick trip to HEB for munchies, we headed off to the park to wait for the gang to arrive. That's when the boys'... um... fun began. A while back, I asked them if they would be willing to kid-sit for the Imperial Heirs and Zane (of Who Tends The Fires fame), and they agreed (once they were promised compensation- they're not stupid). Their sitting duties began at the park, and they did an awesome job chasing 2 4-year-olds and a 3 1/2 year-old around for a few hours. Then we went back to the hotel, and we set up the X-box in one of the rooms (poor DeathKnyte) so that the kids could watch videos while snacking on popcorn and jumping on the beds. There needed to be adult intervention a time or two (which was not the boys' fault- they just didn't know how to deal with a few things), but, for the most part, the adults were free to relax and enjoy themselves thanks to T1 and T2's hard work.
When it was finally time to go home for the evening, I loaded my shell-shocked youngins into the van, pretty sure they'd be out cold within 10 seconds of hitting the pillow. I think I was right.
A couple of weeks ago, I called the boys (while I was in IL for my aunt's funeral) to thank them for being such good kids (long story). They really are. Like I said... the boys did good last Saturday. I told them that, but I thought I'd let a few more people know that.
Many of you have heard tales of the blogmeet in Austin last weekend. Most of the stories are true... But I feel the need to talk about what my kids did last weekend- Saturday, to be specific.
It all started WAY too early Saturday morning when I dropped the boys off at school at 7:30 (yes, AM) so they could practice a little while longer before their "solo and ensemble band festival", which began at 8:30 (yes, AM). In the end, they each received a "1" (which is a good thing) and a medal for their solo pieces, and a "2" (not as good, but far from bad) for their ensemble. Not a bad start to the day.
Then it was off to meet the gang at Red's. (Background... last year, the boys went with us to the range in Dallas during the inaugural Texas Blogfest, and they requested that they be allowed to take a gun safety class so that they could participate in the festivities this year. Last week, they completed their class- with praise from their instructor.) After firing Mr. Friendly for the first time, they moved on to a couple of Lord Spatula's .22s. (They preferred the semi-auto, in case anyone was wondering). After a while, T2 asked if it would be ok if they tried "something else." I agreed, reminding him that it was up to the owner whether or not they could fire the weapons. Both of the boys sampled several of the handguns in the range (T1 kept going back to Spats '.22... which is understandable...) Then T2 fell in love... with The Emperor's Kimber. Well... I'll let Misha tell that part of the story:
The Kimber, meanwhile, was a great hit, getting a lot of exercise. Particularly from one of the Lady Beth's heirs (we forget which one since they're twins and therefore somewhat hard to tell apart) who just couldn't get enough of it. Good. That makes us very, very happy. Watching him shoot it made us even happier still. A 12-year-old fresh back from his gun safety class with no experience shooting handguns whatsoever firing a full-size .45 like it was going out of style and hitting the snot out of the target every. Damn. Time. We kid you not. The youngster is a natural. Not to mention that we like the way he thinks. After having fired the obligatory rounds at center mass just to show that he could, he took a liking to head shots. He didn't miss the head of the silhouette. Not once. And it was a small silhouette.Thanks to the gang for having patience with them at the range. It meant a lot to them. I was impressed (and made sure the boys knew it) with the boys' politeness and attention to detail while they were in the range. They did me proud. And that wasn't the first (or last) time that day.
As we said to the Lady Beth: This young man needs, needs to get a 1911.
So, between him and his brother, we had the distinct pleasure of seeing two fine young men joining the ranks of shooters in the Empire, both of them making a damn good showing of it.
If that doesn't call for a Happy Dance, we don't know what does. Congrats, Milady Beth, you taught them well, and they are obviously good students.
When we left the range, the boys called several people to tell them about all of the fun they had. It was fun to listen to. Really.
After a quick trip to HEB for munchies, we headed off to the park to wait for the gang to arrive. That's when the boys'... um... fun began. A while back, I asked them if they would be willing to kid-sit for the Imperial Heirs and Zane (of Who Tends The Fires fame), and they agreed (once they were promised compensation- they're not stupid). Their sitting duties began at the park, and they did an awesome job chasing 2 4-year-olds and a 3 1/2 year-old around for a few hours. Then we went back to the hotel, and we set up the X-box in one of the rooms (poor DeathKnyte) so that the kids could watch videos while snacking on popcorn and jumping on the beds. There needed to be adult intervention a time or two (which was not the boys' fault- they just didn't know how to deal with a few things), but, for the most part, the adults were free to relax and enjoy themselves thanks to T1 and T2's hard work.
When it was finally time to go home for the evening, I loaded my shell-shocked youngins into the van, pretty sure they'd be out cold within 10 seconds of hitting the pillow. I think I was right.
A couple of weeks ago, I called the boys (while I was in IL for my aunt's funeral) to thank them for being such good kids (long story). They really are. Like I said... the boys did good last Saturday. I told them that, but I thought I'd let a few more people know that.
