Packin' Heat
May. 13th, 2008 12:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
frustratedpilotOn my last trip into Gatlinburg some weeks ago, I noticed how prevalent Airsoft guns had become. I wasn't sure they were so commonly available back when I was working there (nearly nine years ago? sheesh), but it seems now there are probably a dozen tourist shops there alone--and who knows how many in Pigeon Forge?--where you could buy an ersatz automatic pistol or assault rifle.
Being as my Mom is a peacenik, the closest things I have to weapons in the house are Laser Tag sets (one an original Worlds of Wonder, the other a G.I.Joe Worlds of Wonder set that doesn't record hits the way the Star Sensor does). My father was a Marine Corps Rifle Instructor, and it's weird then that I didn't learn to shoot a gun from him--in some circles that would be proof that I'm less than American. On the other hand, it also means that being disarmed has been a blessing in disguise--yes, I've run amok. No, I haven't hurt or killed anyone. I know my limits and obligations.
The Airsoft thing is rather adolescent, you think? Too dangerous for kids but not more than a toy to the mature?
I just had this mental image of myself installing a police-cruiser type barrier between the front and back seats in Moonshine, and setting Airsoft weapons on the gun rack. But then, that's not me, is it?
And again, I'm reminded of the time I visited the local National Guard post to photograph their tank on display, and the Guardsman there offered to take pictures of me hoisting a bazooka. I demurred on the offer...and have wondered since what trouble such a picture could have gotten me into in the years since.
FP
Being as my Mom is a peacenik, the closest things I have to weapons in the house are Laser Tag sets (one an original Worlds of Wonder, the other a G.I.Joe Worlds of Wonder set that doesn't record hits the way the Star Sensor does). My father was a Marine Corps Rifle Instructor, and it's weird then that I didn't learn to shoot a gun from him--in some circles that would be proof that I'm less than American. On the other hand, it also means that being disarmed has been a blessing in disguise--yes, I've run amok. No, I haven't hurt or killed anyone. I know my limits and obligations.
The Airsoft thing is rather adolescent, you think? Too dangerous for kids but not more than a toy to the mature?
I just had this mental image of myself installing a police-cruiser type barrier between the front and back seats in Moonshine, and setting Airsoft weapons on the gun rack. But then, that's not me, is it?
And again, I'm reminded of the time I visited the local National Guard post to photograph their tank on display, and the Guardsman there offered to take pictures of me hoisting a bazooka. I demurred on the offer...and have wondered since what trouble such a picture could have gotten me into in the years since.
FP
