Two steps to Manhood

there are two distinguishing mile markers in every (redneck) man's life. a coming of age, if you will. one is waking to find that first, long, black hair growing out of your back (fortunately, this comes much later in life and can usually be held at bay with tweezers). the second, is the day you get to shoot a gun.

a friend of mine is an avid hunter. he has a large family and they eat alot of game. while visiting the other day, he asked me if christian was old enough to help him 'sight-in' one of his rifles. so, christian, dave and i took a four-wheeler ride to the target range. now christian is a very laid back cat. nothing really gets him too excited; but i could tell he was loving this. dave spent some time explaining how a rifle works and the do's and dont's in regards to safety. christian soaked it all in occasionally glancing over at me smiling.

finally, the time came. christian was shown how to position his hands, lean into the sights, and control his breathing. confidently, he clicked off the safety and squeezed the trigger. his first shot was about an inch above the bullseye. the second, a half inch above the bullseye. the third was in the black. my eyes teared up and my pride soared. out of 10 shots, 3 were in the bullseye and the rest were in a tight pattern around it.



afterwards, we retrieved the paper plate target and fished around in the grass until we found one of his .22 casings. christian said they would go in his 'special' box along with his other priceless treasures.


all in all, it was a fun day. a good childhood memory was made. and a good dad memory. i too will put it in my special treasure box (right next to my tweezers).