Yesterday the subject of the children’s moment at church was the Library.  The minister’s wife asked the children that had come forward how many had a library card.  Not many raised their hand or otherwise signaled that they even knew what she was going to discuss.  It brought back memories.

I remember the library in Pecos in great detail.  I remember that set of stairs going up to those big doors.  I can see the exact shelf where the Hardy Boy books were kept.  I can also vividly see the card catalog.  That place was magical.  I can remember the day that my Mother helped me get my own card.  I treasured it as much as any treasure I had at the time.  It was probably replaced a number of years later by my driver’s license.  However, I was not so happy to get my draft card.

My library is now Amazon.com.  My book shelves are the 3 Kindles that I own.  I find them much more magical than the old library.  I remember the first Kindle that I purchased.  The day after I had placed the order I realized I had not purchased any books.  I got on-line and hurriedly bought 3 books, hoping to download them when I received my unit.  To my surprise and awe I found that they had been downloaded to my Kindle even though the Kindle was in shipment when I purchased the books.  That was little short of a miracle as far as I was concerned.  I am never without one of them.  I read while I eat at a restaurant if I am eating alone.  I used to read while driving but Dorothy insisted that I stop that.  I need a driver.

I dont think kids read as much now as we did in our formative years.  I am not sure that they are even as inquisitive as we were.  We had so much more to learn about.  We didnt know about space walks, orbits, etc.

Now I have to decipher whether the latest letter from the widow women in Nigeria is really a legitimate damsel in distress that needs me to help her get $ 20 million in gold out of her bank account in Zambia or if it is a scam.  How did she get my address anyway.  Is helping her even legal?

I think I am going to just sit down a reread those Hardy boy books one more time.  Hopefully some child will see me reading in the restaurant and ask his parents what I am doing.

Chuy the reader

It has been several days since the tragedy in Orlando and there has been time for many to voice their opinions on what the problem is and how it can be solved.  Many folks believe that the cure is as easy as prohibiting the sale of assault weapons.  Sounds simple.  It isn’t that easy.

Many rifles that are referred to as assault weapons are not actually what they are thought to be.  Most are not fully automatic weapons.  Most only fire when the trigger is pulled, and must be pulled for each round fired.  This is the exact same process as was required to fire the .22 rifle i received as a Christmas gift at about age 12.  The new weapons have the advantage of supplying the next round in a more efficient manner than removing the rounds individually from the box, but the firing process is the same.

I personally own 11 long guns, and 5 pistols.  I am a licensed firearm carrier.  I live in a state that allows its citizens to carry a firearm on their person, with only a few exceptions.  You can’t wear a firearm at a polling place, a bar or at any place that specifically forbids one from being armed.  Although licensed to do so, I have never carried a pistol on my person anyplace except at my ranch.  I can carry it there because there is no one there to complain.  I do however always have a firearm within reach, more specifically, in my automobile.  None of my firearms has ever killed a human being.  I don’t foresee it ever happening.  I might mention that I have several guns that by physical design and appearance could be considered an assault weapon.  They are equipped with magazines that will hold up to 30 rounds of ammunition.  They do not have to be so equipped and come with alternate magazines that hold 5 rounds.  The normal hunting rifle will hold 5 rounds depending on the type gun it is.  I consider the larger clips as “what if” equipment.  As in, what if the native Americans up in Oklahoma decided that they have had enough of the folks that invaded their country and held it captive for the last 400 years.  As you can see, pretty slim chance of me needing the 30 round clip, but I am ready.

Would we be less concerned and/or revolted if the man in Orlando had killed 10 people by using a machete?  We shouldnt be.

I think we have slowly evolved into a species that does not consider the rights of others.  The family unit has deteriorated from what it was in generations of our ancestors.  Our fast paced lifestyle has contributed to this in many ways.  Many families have quit having family get together to reaffirm our relationships to our family members,  Too many people stand alone in life.  We are separated by religion as well as geography.  We are separated by economics.  So many things make us diverse. We expect people to care when many have nothing to care about.

Solution?  Not a clue that would have an immediate effect.  I think over time we could reinvent our society to one that had a central core such as family.  Maybe its too late for even that approach.

ghc