Prose as a Gift

I don’t carry a gun to kill people. I carry a gun to keep from being killed.

I don’t carry a gun to scare people. I carry a gun because sometimes this world can be a scary place.

I don’t carry a gun because I’m paranoid. I carry a gun because there are real threats in the world.

I don’t carry a gun because I’m evil. I carry a gun because I have lived long enough to see the evil in the world.

I don’t carry a gun because I hate the government. I carry a gun because I understand the limitations of government.

I don’t carry a gun because I’m angry. I carry a gun so that I don’t have to spend the rest of my life hating myself for failing to be prepared.

I don’t carry a gun because my sex organs are too small. I carry a gun because I want to continue to use those sex organs for the purpose for which they were intended for a good long time to come.

I don’t carry a gun because I want to shoot someone. I carry a gun because I want to die at a ripe old age in my bed, and not on a sidewalk somewhere tomorrow afternoon.

I don’t carry a gun because I’m a cowboy. I carry a gun because, when I die and go to heaven, I want to be a cowboy.

I don’t carry a gun to make me feel like a man. I carry a gun because men know how to take care of themselves and the ones they love.

I don’t carry a gun because I feel inadequate. I carry a gun because unarmed and facing three armed thugs, I am inadequate.

I don’t carry a gun because I love it. I carry a gun because I love life and the people who make it meaningful to me.

Syd

Thank you for writing this Syd. It is the perfect prose to go with the pistol I am giving my newly minted son-in-law at his Christmas wedding today. That along with directions to Gunsite and Thunder Ranch.

I am certain that some in my extended family may question the gift. That is not my concern, really. My concern is that the man have the means to protect himself and those I love. They will reside in Houston. So, for those who may doubt the wisdom of Syd's words, and my thoughts on the matter, here is one more reason.......

On December 9, 2009 in Houston, Texas, a tire shop owner used his handgun to save his life against four armed and violent felons. Police say that four armed criminals attempted to rob the El Mante Tire Shop on the 11000 block of Bauman Road at about 8:30 PM. Fearing for his life, the store owner drew his lawfully carried handgun and fatally shot one of the robbers. The three surviving robbers turned tail and fled in a black Mercury Mountaineer pimped out with chrome rims.

The store owner was unharmed, alive, and after the expected formalities with law enforcement, went home to his loving family. That is as it should be, but never let it be forgotten that the reason his life was spared was because he refused to die and because he had a gun at hand.