WVMountainBoy
Member
I was always in a bit of trouble in high school. Never any legal stuff, just stayed on the bad side of the administration. I wouldn't admit to having a temper but I was in more than my share of school yard fights and in my generation that is really frowned upon.
So after one such occasion of earning a 5 day break from school for exercising my opinion of one boy's treatment of a female friend of mine...my grandfather sits me down and gives me one of THOSE talks. Not the "you're in trouble" kind, but the "time for the real world and possible consequences" kind.
He tells me "You've gotten way too big to be fighting, worst yet you seem to be good at it. People won't tolerate that long. Sooner or later, right or wrong, you'll have someone afraid of you, and do you know what a scared man does? He shoots ya. Fighting won't solve anything, it gets you sitting here, the other boy looking like a fool, and whatever started is still going on. If you think you have to hit someone to prove a point then I haven't taught you very well" I was so ashamed of myself that I was almost in tears. My grandfather did always tell me not to back down when I was right, but that day he sat me straight on lots of things. Standing up doesn't always, and to be honest hardly ever means being violent.
My grandfather was the one who raised me, he played mother, father, grandparent and every role between. We had many talks about when, how, and what fights are acceptable. He had given me my first weapons and taught me how to shoot, even though his eyes had long since robbed him of the ability to do so. When he gave me my first pistol, he told me that if I hadn't gotten away from my hot headedness he'd have never done it. further talks of it always came to him saying that a gun is a tool how it is used will show the charactor of a fella and that in todays world any use of a gun would be scrutinized in and out, so if I ever had to pull the trigger I'd better be darn sure of myself and darn sure of what I was doing.
My grandfather carried a small pistol in his pocket for 45 years and never had occasion to shoot at anything other than a pepsi can. I can only hope I'm so lucky.
So after one such occasion of earning a 5 day break from school for exercising my opinion of one boy's treatment of a female friend of mine...my grandfather sits me down and gives me one of THOSE talks. Not the "you're in trouble" kind, but the "time for the real world and possible consequences" kind.
He tells me "You've gotten way too big to be fighting, worst yet you seem to be good at it. People won't tolerate that long. Sooner or later, right or wrong, you'll have someone afraid of you, and do you know what a scared man does? He shoots ya. Fighting won't solve anything, it gets you sitting here, the other boy looking like a fool, and whatever started is still going on. If you think you have to hit someone to prove a point then I haven't taught you very well" I was so ashamed of myself that I was almost in tears. My grandfather did always tell me not to back down when I was right, but that day he sat me straight on lots of things. Standing up doesn't always, and to be honest hardly ever means being violent.
My grandfather was the one who raised me, he played mother, father, grandparent and every role between. We had many talks about when, how, and what fights are acceptable. He had given me my first weapons and taught me how to shoot, even though his eyes had long since robbed him of the ability to do so. When he gave me my first pistol, he told me that if I hadn't gotten away from my hot headedness he'd have never done it. further talks of it always came to him saying that a gun is a tool how it is used will show the charactor of a fella and that in todays world any use of a gun would be scrutinized in and out, so if I ever had to pull the trigger I'd better be darn sure of myself and darn sure of what I was doing.
My grandfather carried a small pistol in his pocket for 45 years and never had occasion to shoot at anything other than a pepsi can. I can only hope I'm so lucky.
