M-Taliesin
Regular Member
Howdy Folks!
I went out with my metal detector yesterday and found a bunch of coins, but better still was finding a silver necklace (.925) that fits an adult, such as my wife, who noted right off that it goes around her neck just dandy... and a broken 10k gold bracelet. Silver, gold and a mess of coins calls for a bit of celebration. Being in a festive mood and all, I decided to let my wife take me out to a local eatery for our evening repast. Least I could do for her was let her spring for dinner considering I found that beautiful silver necklace she ended up sporting!
Anyhow, the morale(sic) of this story is....
There was a man and woman, along with a young boy sitting nearby. The boy fixed his eyes on my 1911 as we walked over to a table I liked near the windows so we could enjoy the view outdoors as well as one another. As we enjoyed conversation along with our meal, I noticed the boy kept looking at my pistol. He was pretty overt about it, but I just let it go.
After they'd finished their meal, the family at the table nearby got up and the mother (I assume, coulda been grandmother, I dunno) set the boy to the task of tidying up his area somewhat. Evidently he'd been a bit messy or careless while eating, or possibly distracted by my presence with a handgun on my hip, but his elder bent him to the task of mending whatever disarray might exist over there.
Then I noticed her nudging the boy in my direction. He gave some resistence, but she kept nudging him forward toward our table. "Go on boy, ask the man!" I looked up wondering what might be afoot. The woman looked at me and smiled, "He's been asking us all through dinner the same question, and I want him to ask you himself directly!" I turned my gaze upon the boy who shrugged, acted a bit embarassed, then spoke up to inquire "Is that a real gun?" I laughed just a little as I said "You betcha it is real!" On a side note, I had noticed his father (possibly his grandfather, I dunno) was sporting a shirt that was from a martial arts center someplace, and had a statement about a black belt organization of some sort below the logo. I continued with the youngster! "You see young man, you know there are some pretty bad people in the world. It isn't fair, but that's how things are. So a man must be prepared to defend himself against bad guys. Your daddy has trained to use karate and such for defense, but I carry a handgun for the same reason. If a bad guy came in here, with hopes of hurting you or anybody else in this place right now, your daddy would probably be the first to confront them. And I'd be right there, along side of him, to defend everybody in this place. So yes, it is a real gun and is worn by a man who is ready to defend his own life, along with yours and everybody else around him, just as your daddy is trained to fight back using his hands and feet. Your daddy is a good guy. And so am I!" The woman smiled broadly and thanked me, and I shook the boy's hand and told him to stay safe. Then I spoke to the mother (possibly grandmother, I dunno)
"I was noticing how you were giving instruction to your young lad here, and mention how impressed I was by your teaching him to be responsible. Too many folks these days allow their kids to run amuck, and it is totally refreshing to see people who coach their kids on being polite and well behaved, as your young fellow obviously is." She broke into a wide grin and thanked me for the compliment, and I parried by thanking her again for being an exceptional parent.
They went on their way, I turned my attention back to my best friend and dear wife. "I wonder who really wanted to know whether this handgun was real. Was it the boy alone? Or was her own curiosity such that she compelled him to do the asking?" We had a chortle over that, and I went on to ask the manager about having a meet and greet at their establishment one day soon. They agreed that we would be warmly welcome, and I told them we'd be back!
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
I went out with my metal detector yesterday and found a bunch of coins, but better still was finding a silver necklace (.925) that fits an adult, such as my wife, who noted right off that it goes around her neck just dandy... and a broken 10k gold bracelet. Silver, gold and a mess of coins calls for a bit of celebration. Being in a festive mood and all, I decided to let my wife take me out to a local eatery for our evening repast. Least I could do for her was let her spring for dinner considering I found that beautiful silver necklace she ended up sporting!
Anyhow, the morale(sic) of this story is....
There was a man and woman, along with a young boy sitting nearby. The boy fixed his eyes on my 1911 as we walked over to a table I liked near the windows so we could enjoy the view outdoors as well as one another. As we enjoyed conversation along with our meal, I noticed the boy kept looking at my pistol. He was pretty overt about it, but I just let it go.
After they'd finished their meal, the family at the table nearby got up and the mother (I assume, coulda been grandmother, I dunno) set the boy to the task of tidying up his area somewhat. Evidently he'd been a bit messy or careless while eating, or possibly distracted by my presence with a handgun on my hip, but his elder bent him to the task of mending whatever disarray might exist over there.
Then I noticed her nudging the boy in my direction. He gave some resistence, but she kept nudging him forward toward our table. "Go on boy, ask the man!" I looked up wondering what might be afoot. The woman looked at me and smiled, "He's been asking us all through dinner the same question, and I want him to ask you himself directly!" I turned my gaze upon the boy who shrugged, acted a bit embarassed, then spoke up to inquire "Is that a real gun?" I laughed just a little as I said "You betcha it is real!" On a side note, I had noticed his father (possibly his grandfather, I dunno) was sporting a shirt that was from a martial arts center someplace, and had a statement about a black belt organization of some sort below the logo. I continued with the youngster! "You see young man, you know there are some pretty bad people in the world. It isn't fair, but that's how things are. So a man must be prepared to defend himself against bad guys. Your daddy has trained to use karate and such for defense, but I carry a handgun for the same reason. If a bad guy came in here, with hopes of hurting you or anybody else in this place right now, your daddy would probably be the first to confront them. And I'd be right there, along side of him, to defend everybody in this place. So yes, it is a real gun and is worn by a man who is ready to defend his own life, along with yours and everybody else around him, just as your daddy is trained to fight back using his hands and feet. Your daddy is a good guy. And so am I!" The woman smiled broadly and thanked me, and I shook the boy's hand and told him to stay safe. Then I spoke to the mother (possibly grandmother, I dunno)
"I was noticing how you were giving instruction to your young lad here, and mention how impressed I was by your teaching him to be responsible. Too many folks these days allow their kids to run amuck, and it is totally refreshing to see people who coach their kids on being polite and well behaved, as your young fellow obviously is." She broke into a wide grin and thanked me for the compliment, and I parried by thanking her again for being an exceptional parent.
They went on their way, I turned my attention back to my best friend and dear wife. "I wonder who really wanted to know whether this handgun was real. Was it the boy alone? Or was her own curiosity such that she compelled him to do the asking?" We had a chortle over that, and I went on to ask the manager about having a meet and greet at their establishment one day soon. They agreed that we would be warmly welcome, and I told them we'd be back!
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
