Make my day, punk!

So, now I can say I travelled round America and blew things up.


...even if it was only paper targets. Bob, who lives next door to Jill and her dad, kindly took me to the gun club indoor range. We arrived with a briefcase containing four handguns. Here is Bob expaining a few things



Magnum 44, 9mm Browning, 9mm Ruger, 357 Python.


There wasn't room in the truck to take all 60 of the weapons he has, or indeed his ammo cache which is bigger than the local National Guard cache. (No, really).

I shot each weapon at close range (7 yds) and then competition range (50 feet). I have done this sort of thing before but still felt the awesome reverence towards the contraption in my hands. The weight, the power, the potential to do harm. Something not to be taken lightly. To describe this as fun seems perverse. It was fun, but not in some childish bla-ze kind of way. I didn't do too badly.




I could have bought a Sadaam or Bin Laden target. There is something very telling about the fact that the traditional silhouette figure has, in this gun club at least, been replaced by the Iraqi and Afghan nemesis (what is the plural here? - nemesii?) I stuck to the competition targets above.

By the way, I got stood up by Earl last night. Apparently something came up at work and he had to work late. Sounded like a poor excuse to me, but then looking back at the conversation, I wonder if he thought I was hitting on him! Friendlyness plus English accent could add up to gay advance to the untrained American ear... oh well. I cruised around town, found a restaurant. I went in, "Table for one?" I felt this insurmountable pressure to explain my aloneness "I just got stood up". Slight pause, as the attractive female seating hostess began to wonder what was wrong with me. I added "It was by a guy too, so that's worse..." Not making things sound better here. Her look said it all. I tried to make myself as masculine and straight as possible as I sat down. Anyway, the menu wasn't what I wanted so I left without ordering. I apologised as I exited. Maybe she thought I was going next door to the Blue Oyster Club.... definitely time to call it a night.