A .45 semi-auto; a 9 mm semi-auto; a .357 magnum revolverThe guns of March, April & May ....
Yes, I know. I know. I know.
Some of you undoubtedly are asking, is this guy a gun nut or what? It all depends upon your definition of "nut," I guess.
My fourth day at the range during the past six weeks was Saturday. Another 300 rounds gone. (Any idea how much money that is these days? Nearly a night at the Sir Francis Drake.) I feel very comfortable and confident again. Maybe once more at the range before summer; maybe enough for now.
This time there will be no political, pro-gun rant coming from me; this time no lecture on the physical fitness benefits from my style of firearm's training. No comments about fast cars or rock music. This time there will be just a few words about the handguns used this time around for those (if any) interested in this sort of thing.
Shown at the top is a Remington Rand 1911 in my usual .45 caliber. This piece dates from World War II, and I have modified it into a long-range combat pistol. It has a Bo-Mar adjustable, target-type, rear sight (for long range). The thumb safety, slide release and magazine release are all over sized to assure no fumbling around during reloads (for combat). Of course, it has been fine tuned internally. The grips are traditional 1911 style, made of Rosewood and made by Herrett.
In the middle is a Browning Hi-Power. This was John Browning's idea as an improvement on the 1911, which had been his design, as well. While very popular, it never did gain ascendancy over the 1911. It was, however, widely used by the European military and police communities from its introduction in 1935 into the 1980s. The one shown here is 9 mm and in factory configuration with no modifications.
Resting on the bottom is a Smith & Wesson Model 19 in .357 magnum caliber. These revolvers were among the primary handguns used by police departments throughout America from the 1950s well into the 1970s. Once upon a time, they were carried by all FBI field agents. My first experience with a Model 19 was using one borrowed from a FBI agent on a FBI Practical Pistol Course range. (Government ammo, too. Nothing like free shooting.) My shooting was atrocious that day. The Model 19 still does not like me, but I still like it, and enjoy playing with it on occasion.
Thus, endith this tale of the gun.
The way it is ....
Mary Hemingway wrote a book called, "The Way It Was," about her years with old Ernie. To paraphrase her title for these few paragraphs, we shall call them, "The Way It Is."
The past few weeks, I have been asked, directly and indirectly, for photographs of myself and to divulge my real name more often than anytime since beginning this blog in mid-January. (Must be spring.) I am going to use some of the words I wrote about privacy on one occasion in response:
"Strange? Weird? Just something I decided way back then. I like being low profile. I'm a natural-born reporter. I like to remain in the background and observe, draw my conclusions and write the story from a clinical point of view. I've gotten into places and talked to people where other reporters have not been able to simply by being invisible in the crowd and a chameleon during the interview."
This is me. Take me or not. Like me or not. It is the way I am and always will be. If any of us should meet or it is certain we will meet, I suppose I would offer fair warning in the form of a photograph and additional information about myself.
Some people choose to use their actual names and photographs on their blogs. Some do not. It may involve trust or it may not. My position is that absolutely nothing about my life is anyone else's business unless I choose to reveal it. The same is true for you and you and you.
If anyone asks me a question, I will either answer it openly or say I choose not to answer it. This is not deceit. This is believing one's own privacy is among the most valuable of possessions. Guess you got a bit of a rant after all ....
Music Note: Listening to Bad Company ....
Specifically, "Here Comes Trouble"
Some lines from "How About That?"
last night
when the moon was new
I couldn't sleep
I was thinking of you
and how much I need ya
how bout that?
I act like like I'm tougher than steel
with a heart like stone
but ya know it ain't real
I really need you baby
how bout that?
if ever you need time and space
don’t run away just tell me face to face yeah
how bout that?
23 comments:
Fram,
Thanks for writing more about guns. I find your gun collection interesting, which is weird for me. I haven't shot a gun since college.
Amen on the the way it is. I agree with you.
Hi handsome boy :-) Finally I start my computer day work, so I probably will be back few more times. I'm wondering, how many of them you've got... Very hot in Poland, uff... Have a beautiful day, Fram :-) Bye, bye.
Greetings, Boni .... I think it is a rule that anyone who lives in Montana has to be a gun fancier. At least it should be a rule. I grew up with them, and I even hope to have one buried with me. If I meet the devil, I will be ready.
Privacy is very important to safeguard in these times, I think, and between loons, thieves and government bureaucrats, it is increasingly difficult to maintain.
Greetings, beautiful Polish girl .... Must be my eyes. My gaze always drives young ladies crazy.
I have more firearms than you have years, Magdalena. They are a form of recreation for me, but only for target shooting.
Your sunshine still is with me, and I am enjoying it very much. It sounds like summer has arrived for you. May your day be what you wish it to be.
Hello Fram :) Yes, you are a gun nut...LOL....a very private gun nut :)
I like your song too :)
Have a Happy Day!
Greetings, Kelly .... Gun nut? And a very private one at that, hah? Well, as Steve McQueen once remarked in a movie, "You gotta be noted for somethin'." I guess I will enter a plea of guilty on both counts and place myself at the mercy of the court.
Good, that you like the song. "Bad Company" always has been good company, I think, and sometimes their lyrics fit the times.
Yes, one's privacy is indeed among the most valuable of one's possessions. I try hard to stick to one of my own beliefs in this regard; namely, that people only reaveal what they feel happy to reveal when - and if ever - they feel happy to reveal it. For all I do not know your proper name or what you look like, you are just as real to me through the things that you write about, your writing voice, and so on and I guess I have *created* a picture of you that way. How similar that is to the real Fram I have no idea :-)
It's not lack of curiosity on my part to not ask you these things; I just guess that if and when you ever want to do so, you will.
When I started blogging back at the start of the year, I too thought a lot about whether to do it identifiably as 'me' or in some other more anonymous way. It did take a little while to feel comfortable with it (still does sometimes), and I do take care with regards both to what I say about myself (and what I don't choose to say) and what I write about others.
I'm not crazy. Maybe that's the gun :-) Yes, summer is coming soon, now I will need your coolness :-)
WHAT??? More than 30???!!! OMG!!! You need a second house for them, don't you?
While I did not mention it, Katy, a segment of my near-rabid desire for privacy has to do with work affiliations and not wishing to have people who know me in that context stumble into my blog. In addition to just plain feeling more comfortable through maintaining as much invisibility as I possibly can, there are real advantages to remaining in the background and to being a chameleon. Even though I will be leaving my present employment in a couple of weeks, I doubt I will show my face or my name then, either, unless some real need should arise.
How similar my writing voice is to the real Fram, I am not certain, but probably close. All revolves around perception, I guess.
"Machine Gun Magda." That does have a certain ring to it.
If you need cool, just whistle.
Maybe not a second house, just sort of a big one on top of a hill, with special rooms for books and for guns, and with enough land for expansion.
No, no, it doesn't ring cleanly. But the house of the hill does. Good night, Fram :-)
You are right, it does not ring cleanly, but I like to tease.
Good night, Magdalena.
Privacy and perception. I always wish for one day where I can follow me around, and see myself as others do.
I would have the same wish, Rachael.
Sometimes it is easy to know what others see and think, if you trust them to be honest. But, too often, others respond in a certain manner because they wish to influence your perception of them.
I don't think it's anything to do with being a 'gun nut' or not. When I was younger I used to go to a shooting camp near my flat in Havana. It was a liberating exercise. Years later when I relocated to the UK we went to a fair with a couple, friends of my wife's and there was a shooting camp there, too. It was just pellets but I remember feeling excited at the prospect of having the butt of that rifle propped against the front of my shoulder. I was a good shooter back in the day and I think I still am a very accurate one (97 points out of 100 in college, I could have been a sniper in Angola, had I been sent there in '89).
Bad Company, wow, you surely take me down some very dangerous lanes in my 'memory city' :-). That band brings back one of those summer affairs that... Well, let's leave it at that. Sometimes ellipsis is better than a fully-fledged explanation. Must admit that never liked him to join Queen on that tour a few years ago. No need, Freddie was unique.
Greetings from London.
For some, there can be something sensual and sort of mystical through the experience of firing a rifle or a handgun, and even more so through archery, I think, CiL.
James Dickey wrote of it in "Deliverance:"
"Lewis is still a good shot, and it is still a pleasure to watch him. 'I think my release is passing over into Zen,' he said once. 'Those gooks are right. You shouldn't fight it. Better to cooperate with it. Then it'll take you there; take the arrow there'"
It is fascinating how much our lives are ruled by the times and the places into which we are born. Had you, CiL, been of your father's generation, you might have roamed the Sierra Maestra mountains with Fidel, Raul and Che.
Freddie was one in a billion, under the new American system of measuring worth.
Thanks for the visit, and for joining into the Zen of this post.
Sweet Fram,
I am enjoying your gun stories, and the pictures, I hope you don’t mind but I have saved them onto my screen saver at work, ***chuckle*** I enjoy the looks that happen when my screen saver pops up.
And you are not a “gun nut” you are a gun enthusiast; there is nothing wrong with being enthusiastic about something you enjoy. ***sigh*** I wish more people were that way.
About the cost of ammo? Yes it would be about the price of a night at the Sir Francis Drake. I was at the gun show this weekend, I could not believe the crowds---take that back, I can believe it, given the political situation.
About your real name and privacy? You are Fram, the fabulous, mysterious Fram and I wouldn’t have it any other way.
Come to think of it, instead of reading tonight, I think I’ll watch “Magnum Force” instead, I think I saw a glimpse of the fabulous Fram in one of the scenes. ;)
Until later, sweet dreams.
Fram, you won't regret reading Clarissa, promise :-) You will love her.
You're right, I might have roamed those mountains with those three and then left my beloved country when they took control. Many did :-).
Greetings from London.
The Diva returneth. Good. Any guns of mine would be thrilled to appear as a screen saver on your computer. Any special requests? Maybe I have it. And, yes, gun enthusiast is the way it should be seen and understood.
I have to admit I enjoy being sort of mysterious, but personal privacy is serious business with me.
It is entirely possible you caught a glimpse of me in "Magnum Force." I am kin to The Diva in that regard. I am the reality, should you will it so, within your imagination.
Clarissa has now become the focal point of my reading attention, Magda. I am curious.
I have known a few who left under those circumstances, CiL. I even am related to one through marriage, a woman who left Cuba as a child and later became a housewife living on Long Island in New York.
The current of history is a strong one, indeed, and carries people wherever it will.
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