Two days in a row????

WTF, I'm getting all crazy here.  Guess it felt so good to blog that I had to try it again.  To keep on with my restaurant rants I have to tell you about and experience I had here in town last week.  To start with, this is about guns, not food.  Of course that nitwit who is 'alleged' to have killed all those folks in Colorado brought this to mind. 

We went into a local Italian joint the other night.  It's got fair food, reasonable prices and pretty good service.  It's problem is that it basically looks like a dump.  They have a small problem with cleanliness but a larger problem with decor from the 1970's.  When is the last time you saw a statuette of a little Italian chef?  ANYWAY, this place has three employees:  the owner/chef, a fat useless greeter and a server.  The fat useless one just wanders around talking to friends/patrons and generally being useless.  The thing is that he is carrying a sidearm; a nice looking .357 with custom grips.  I told him that the food was good; he doesn't need to carry a gun but he didn't really seem to get it.  We got into a discussion about guns and he seems to think he needs to be armed to protect the place from robbers.  Hmmm.

My folks had a store.  My dad was in retail his whole life.  He taught me 'it's only money'.  If someone wants to rob you, it's only money.  It's not worth being injured or worse; it's not worth injuring someone else, it's only money.  This guy in the restaurant seems to think he's a local Rambo or something.  I wonder if he's got a clue about what it feels like to be shot - or to have shot someone else.  It's just stupid.  We watch someone on tv or in a movie being shot.  If it's one of the 'good guys'; they are walking around with their arm in a sling 15 minutes later.  If it's a 'bad guy' they are dead and the 'good guy' who did the shooting is having a beer with his friends.  Really?  Why is it that in real life police officers who have to shoot people are put on leave and offered counseling?  Why is our local park named for an officer who died in the line of duty?  Why did I contribute to a fund for his family?  Well, it's because life and death are a bunch harder than what we see on tv.

I'm a strong supporter of the 2nd amendment to the constitution which gives citizens the right to own and carry firearms.  I've always owned guns and if they were outlawed, I'd still own guns.  But to use a gun to take a life is a terrible burden.  I would do it if there were no alternative, NO alternative but not otherwise.  It's my belief that if you have a gun for protection you must have that discussion with yourself and know if you are going to use it or not.  And understand and accept the consequences of using it.  It's a big responsibility that I'm pretty sure a lot of gun owners/toters haven't figured out.

Have a good one.