Good trips are worth mentioning in dispatches... the truest honor.

  There was once an army of Regulars of the good King George and his many variations, that found a lot to be truly proud of being mentioned in dispatches from the front, to the court or to the home office. Now, wearing the ribbons or the medals are a public display of merit or achievement, I like to think my highest honor were to be thought well of by those that were there and actually know what they think they saw me do. This trip has been full of great things.

 I had conversations, deep ones with my wife as we finished meals with nowhere to run, no schedule to fulfill, place to be or were surrounded by people that would not care what we were doing in public. There is a lot of freedom in that place, although, it reminded me of my mother having to take a picture of me holding my wife's hand - she had never seen any public
display of affection between us - none that she could see through her idea of what my life should be like. If she had to write about it - she was always writing a story about everything around her.

  I was privileged to escort my wife to a formal military dinner for my son and his classmates and catch a picture of his advisor giving him the certificate (diploma) for the course. I met many fine men and women, currently in uniform - can you say the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Joint Chief of Staff ? He was truly interesting, kind and fun. My son's classmates were also polite, sharing and considerate - in the end I am happier with the current military than the media or most of the American public (although most of the public that knows people in the service or that had served before have a better idea than the media). Really, a very satisfying evening with my son and those he has been with these last few weeks. He looks so much better in his mess whites than I ever did in my mess blues - and I don't know the proper term for any Navy uniforms.


  He took us to visit Concord and Lexington and Battle road, found a museum that I hadn't thought to visit that had some very neat stuff I wouldn't have seen otherwise, with a helpful young woman that would have allowed me to exchange knowledge on North Bridge all day. We hit the best of the Friday got to go to the weekend commute, which was moving but frustrating - he held us together and returned us to the safety of the motel and we said good-bye until the next visit to his home.

  I have some real idea about how to improve my Three Strikes, and the Appleseed event on the getting the folks out of the deck chairs. I needed more time with those that really don't know who, where, when and definitely WHY, the loyal subjects of the crown would decide that being treated as not capable of Liberty because of birth or lineage was just stupid and must resisted by all means necessary.

Weathering the campaign hat... sweat into it.

  So I take off early to apply my body to moving swiftly nowhere at the YMCA, and I had a total of 17 miles, only 6.2 were on the rowing machine - while the Zumba class cavorted on the basketball court below me... I have always wanted to use 'cavorted' in a sentence... thank you, Zumba class. Talked to the old guys, cause I ares one, one wanted to use my military ID so he could fly to Rome and visit the Vatican. I mentioned that lending someone else our IDs was against the rules, and that I have already seen it. Did he want me to buy him a ticket?

   I showered and came back home still old and fat, but happy that all I had to finish was packing, mowing, dressing and leaving.  I can handle that. So I put on work clothes and the campaign hat, and sweated away the mowing. Since my wife had locked the gates to the front yard, I didn't have to do it, but will have to fix it all when we return. With the mower put away, I brushed the campaign hat off, sun, dust and debris must have an opportunity to age properly.

   Looked for love on the internet, still sadly lacking (one would question if the internet was a real human endeavor) so I await the awakening. As I ate my mostly vegetable and tomato lunch, I saw that someone thinks somebody ought to do something about ISIS - and they keep mumbling and waiting for leadership. I laugh. They also find it will really cost a lot of money to put those children in schools, they came without tax payers attached. I laughed. The media loves only certain candidates for President in 2016, but hasn't admitted that the Democrats and Republicans are having so much trouble getting to November of this year.  Not enough drama, not nearly enough. I laughed. They have missed entirely the event that started somewhere off their director's plot outline... and that will be the problem they aren't prepared for, all too soon. And, I will laugh.

Good morning, September, how is the world today?

Have finished the first five of twenty-one virtual bicycle tour runs for this month, Sunday I normally don't go to the YMCA, but the others I would have, but I am traveling the friendly skies to visit the site of the start of the end. Lexington and Concord. How far they have fallen. It should be interesting. We are actually going to see my son, and have dinner as he finishes the Navy Enlisted Course - I don't know what it actually called (the U. S. Navy Senior Enlisted Academy). Which is kind of cool, my father mother and one niece (Sherry), my wife and I got to view his graduation review in Great Lakes when he completed his first training. I was even stunned to hear him sing a solo - the boy that wouldn't sing in church hardly.

   Sherry assembles bombs for the Air Force against our enemies,  in South Dakota. Although she was in Korea, England and Pope Air Force Base. Anyway, they serve well. Difficult to believe they have served so long already, and the places they have been and the missions and training... busy folks in uniform, glad I don't have to try to get all those ribbons and awards in the proper order, or have a chest to pin it all upon. I like my father's few. My son had some questions for the protocol officer or petty officer, I was only important if you knew who I was and I was working, otherwise it is best forgotten. Still, I don't hide anything, I am just not concerned, but they find life better and richer if everyone is a known entity. I will behave myself, I am too old to attempt stupidity and expect not to fall on my face. Just to be a guy, I will wear a very small reproduction of the Master Parachutist Badge. A small one. Mostly I will listen and smile quietly. Just glad to have some time with him in his neighborhood.

   For those still of the mindset that things are better than they have ever been. I have doubts but don't want to trouble y'all about them. My grandfather that lived and grew up in California wouldn't recognize it today. My other grandfather wouldn't recognize much either. Guess I can clean up and prepare to pack up for the trip. Heavens, when I go back to Ligonier, Pennsylvania or Albert Lea, Minnesota I hardly recognize the places or the people - the only reason they don't feel the need to lock me up or subdue me, is I listen and smile quietly - the moment they feel otherwise - it is all over.

What is on your mind today... or why are you up so early...

How little of my monitor screen is taken up by what is on my mind. Really, 17x10 inches, and my mind has 6x1 inches of acknowledged FB content for display? Sure, then the diversions, take y'all immediately to where FB is going to make money...

No, what I think about: Combat Experiences of the AEF of WWI (reading it) Pontiac's War in the movie '
UnConquered' (watching the DVD), RWVA expansion to the millions of those that have never been to one or have never heard of us (the members only portion of the RWVA Forum), declining participation in church, public schools, voting, community, and when am I going to learn how to shoot better... or do anything better than...

There are many places to go and get lost aren't there?

I did shoot yesterday, checked my zero at twenty-five, found my sights off, put them back on, then took the target to 100 yards, the black was about six inches, okay, I shot it, I hit it. Go back to 200 yards the black is still six inches, darn that is a small target, shoot it and hit the paper, take it back to 300 yards the black is still six inches and I can see it? Well, yes, unless I look at my front sight (FOCUS!) then I have the large paper blur, twenty-one inches wide, which is about 7 minutes of angle, which is about my front sight width... Still I do hit that paper.

But I don't have the good tight one inch groups I have shot on the twenty five yard line. Sigh, what is my expectation? Consistency, but I am not that good. Yet. I bring all my failures home, lay the targets on the bed and think... Maybe I should use a larger target at the distances, you know, something like the whole twenty-one inches. Looking up the longer range targets I find them having black areas about twenty-one inches or even more. Ah, that is interesting. I could run out to the range and engage a full size, 24x20 D silhouette. Be happier.

Notice the sneaky NRA commercials? First one I caught was the blond with the 1911 gold pistol necklace, and she was talking about something other than shooting, when she got to the 5 million members of the NRA I had it figured out. Saw a man later, but he had no jewelry so I wasn't sure except for now familiar format.  My brother's enemy, the NRA, which like Republicans and Conservative values - is a red flag - a warning that nothing good will come from listening to that stuff, all lies. Which is shared to guns and shooting, although most people may now something about guns and shooting that doesn't fit the EVIL label... some of them.

As long as the unknowing media label soft ear plugs as non lethal bullets the shooting community has its message to get out - there are so many unwashed and unknowing out there. Can't get them to read the Constitution or Declaration of Independence since it doesn't fit in a hundred and forty characters or takes more than a few seconds to think about... or are they thinking anymore, maybe they are just feeling?

Well, your homework assignment, so I can rest longer and sleep soundly is: define America, Liberty, and marksmanship. Why are folks tuning out, dropping out, not being part of the herd, or defining themselves as a part of the herd, the protest, the mob, the looters, the lost, the winners, the losers... are they defining self or their darkness potential? Think it is time for a fresh pot of coffee, I am not going back to sleep.

Rebranding, or rustling with a running iron?

The RWVA Forum is just full of comments and ideas and chatter of great potential... check it out. I have to laugh, at myself, in the first few days I commented a couple of times. But I stopped. I am a volunteer and all those professionals, don't need me to add my foolish thoughts - I have Facebook! I can swim in foolish all day long there. There have been some serious emails about Appleseed events without Shoot Bosses and shooters, and crew. I find even volunteers can't do it all. Just getting it put on a host range schedule doesn't make ammunition available, get to the local or a couple county away shooters. Much of the discussion is about how to get to them.

As my links on the side show, I have been working Appleseed pretty steadily, met lots of great shooters, people that are worth my attention and fun to be with on line. Lots of them. But out of a hundred and sixty million gun owners in America - only 70,000 have been to an Appleseed. So we think we should stretch out and reach some more. The how to do that is where the professionals come in, or the lack of firm organization and leadership? Hmm, I have no idea about how it could be, I have never been to the great shooting schools, I have never worked for the firearms companies, I have a long association with the NRA, but really, I have been instructing and coaching more shooters on Appleseeds than I ever did with the NRA. The National Rifle Association does have qualified instructors and great programs for a shooter. It just seems to me they want political influence and money. Appleseed wants your participation, your time and talent and if nothing else - speak well of us and send more shooters to our events.

One of the secret goals of the RWVA and Appleseed is to ignite the shooters with a mission of finding out how our country started, heritage. There are people that think the ship of America is sinking, off course and out of control... and most of the passengers are still sitting in deck chairs talking about the latest sitcom on cable. We instruct the shooting because that would get the shooter to feel empowered, and challenge them to reach Rifleman (only ten percent of shooters will get that high). Of the Riflemen, only like half a percent will volunteer to become a member and aid in the events and instruction, going through all the training to become a Red Hat. Then, because life is in the way, they slow down their participation - I mean, shooting isn't the beginning and the end of everything. There is family, friends, work, politics, aging -- a lot of reasons to slow down on the Trail... but speak well of us.  Especially all you shooters that talk to shooters, family and friends that don't shoot. We aren't Hollywood, we aren't anything but marksmanship and heritage.

Bean counters... what could we do without them? Much more... much...

Numbers are wonderful and often useful, but bean counters can get in the way. Sure I am certain that if you don't feed your army, don't have any arms and ammunition that it isn't going to always win. But having been soundly defeated by the media and the loving Left at home in America, I did notice that the Army deciding that it would win if the bean counters could tally up lots of VC/NVA bodies.... and that counting doesn't work. Does not mean they won't still try to score more before the period ends or the game is over... the numbers aren't worth dwelling on since the second half hasn't started - and someone is tired and hurt, and others think they are going to win big.

So if you are part of an effort, organization or cause - don't start using bean counters to tell you if you are winning. Honestly, you should feel good about the fighting, the struggle, the little victories, the improved morale, the bragging based on reality... bragging that only someone else that has been there understands. So if your church coffers are close to empty, and the parish pews aren't full - it doesn't mean you didn't save the one soul that the Lord needs for His work. If attendance is off at the theater, in your dinner or hot dog stand, if you can't get some help for the effort to cure some deadly ill of mankind - don't go to the bean counters, they can give you numbers, they can make reports, they can hire pollsters to help counting - and pay themselves well along the way - if you listen to them loud enough - they could give you a business model that really doesn't win battles - but it should have, just put some more money up and twist the product a bit this way or that... call it by a new name! And still you aren't winning, but the numbers say we should be, this has worked before - everyone knows our good intentions, it should be supported by all! The bean counters didn't keep the Continental Army under George Washington in the field. More beans would have been helpful. All the pretty uniforms and wonderful weapons and drill under General George McClellan couldn't win him a war nor a Presidency, but gosh he looked good, and the numbers said Lee had to surrender.

My point, especially in a volunteer (till their hearts burst with pride of success and joy of victory) organization, is keep it light - don't count wild numbers just praise for one more done well, because the next effort is going to be harder and the reward only comes to those that were there on St Crispin's Day. Not the bean counters, of the French or the home court.

I have the pleasure of telling all two of my faithful readers - that The Admiral: Roaring Current is a fine foreign film with great English subtitles. It is about a Korean hero Tan Gun Yi, Sun-shin -- there is lots of the History left out, both the Japanese and the Korean - although the hints of the political struggles of both nations is texture easily seen in the level of trust and demands of obedience... and it isn't for children, very well done battle scenes, properly blood drenched. The music if not distracting, but you can't hear birds singing nor crickets chirping. Like I said, I will own the DVD, it is that good. Even the best love story, works, although it is almost magical. If I had any real complaints, it would be that young Korean men have had enough plastic surgery and make up to make me wonder if they aren't really women. But then there are some real women and you can figure it out after that. No bad language nor sexual perversions - so it isn't designed for a decadent American public... just honest blood and gore and strange things like honor and sacrifice and duty.... no matter what.  Oh, I guess most current culture won't want to see it, not politically correct enough.

Go to the range more often... sure

Friday, visit the YMCA, which is still cleaning up floors of the main courts and walking loop, and unsettling people set in their ways... so I just do a light workout of eleven point four eight miles, bike and rowing. Clean up and drive to Range 15, of Joint Base Lewis McChord. The ranges on either side have real Army units shooting pistols or M4s, and I can tell they aren't buying their own ammunition. They do shoot fast and even automatic, sounds good, hope they hurt the targets.

I am out for my first taste of shooting my Lady Liberty 03 A3, thank you Kool Aid and Remington. I set up to fire prone, in sling and advertising Appleseed, cause we need more shooters on our ranges.

I am using a 1907 leather sling, and the wind is coming straight at me, so extra staples in the target to hold the paper to the cardboard. I start with four rounds for zero, no time monkey, I have all day to get it done.

 The target says I am right and high, so I go Left four and Down two, and I am just learning the sighting system. I split the next four, but still want down two more, and I worry about my sling slipping down my arm, ought to do more biceps and triceps building (such an olde man). I am not wearing a shooting jacket (it is in the Caravan, I am lazy).

My next four are vertical strung and a touch to the right again, hmm,  I don't like that but don't want to change sights, think about changing shooter. Last four of the zero, right two, are all touching but a vertical string again, I am blaming working a bolt and the sling slip... that is my story and I am sticking to it.

 

I move the target from the twenty-five yard line to the 100  yard berm, and remove the sighting square target for a clean large target. I mark the inside holes with orange pasties so I know where the new holes are, and I go and fire four, prone with sling and no change in sights. I am happy for all except the final round which killed the nine on the target, my sling slips a bit and I think I could have had another ten, like I have ever scored my holes before, the other three are fine. Even counting my 'flyer' it is still a group that would take the deer or elk. If they would just stand still during hunting season.

 I move the target out to 200 yards, walking it out. Then running (okay, jogging gently) back to the firing line. Yep, I am the last shooter, but the only one to be shooting 200 yards. I will drive to pick up the target next time. And when I am going to do the hundreds in the future I will drive and get my jogging gently somewhere else. Could trip and fall in a mole hole or hill on this range.

Two groups of four, sling slip, dropping aiming point, one off paper low right, one low right above that one, three in a group and then three with more vertical stringing. I must, must, do more shooting long distance - and lock my sling and position when I am engaging the target... really.

More dry practice, more position practice, don't be too lazy to button up and wear the shooting jacket and watch out for that sling slip, slipping away. That can't help my technique. See how much I learn as I go to the range?  Hope you are getting  enough time on target where you are. See you on the trail!