The Laughing Wolf

It Began Early, It Did

A sense of humor in life is mandatory, and a warped sense of humor is vital for surviving/dealing with/and/or recovering from some of the more interesting things we do in life. The Acidman was one of the first to get me to open up and share some of that which I normally keep hidden, at least on the blog. I think he recognized something in me, namely that I am much more a smartass than I care to admit. To keep skin and career intact, I tend to be dry, keep a straight face, and be very careful of the line. For example, I did refer to an ostensible superior one time as having their sense organ cluster firmly embedded in their ventral orifice, and got away with it because while some knew it was bad, they couldn't figure it out .

Given that there are not statute of limitations on this story, I figured I would share a little weapons-related humor with you. No, not the time I blew my sorry rear onto freshly cut saplings, the six- to eight-inch stumps of which did a credible imitation of punji stakes. Nor the time I slipped blanks into the gun of someone trying to impress the ladies with their marksmanship. No, this one is the time I was probably the most obnoxious with a weapon.

It was in high school, and I was a junior part of the rifle team. We had a teacher who was probably a very nice person, but a bit -- flighty I think is a good word. They tended to be a touch unfocused, and as such pulled some notable bloopers such as saying that there were B-52s (as opposed to B-17s) at Pearl Harbor. I suspect now that some of what went on was an act, but there were parts that were not. One day, this teacher began asking questions about firearms, marksmanship, and more.

It was then that my inner nature came out and in a very serious and straightfaced manner, began instructing them. I explained sight picture and more, and decided to see how far I could take things. I took it to the point that I was talking about pulling the small end into your shoulder, sighting through the rear peep, and carefully pushing the trigger -- and having them appear (at least) to start buying into it. When they finally worked through the logic, I got a look and a wagged finger. To this day, I wonder how much they were just playing along -- and I hope they really were. The alternative does not bear contemplation.

LW
who notes for the gentle souls out there that the weapon never did point at them, was unloaded, safed, and I may even have pulled the firing pin (another fun trick to pull on people)...