In the spirit of yesterday's "feel sorry for me, it's my birthday" post, I thought I'd do the same. :)
Seriously, being 2 years shy of 3/4 of a century is sobering. I can't figure-out what in the hell happened to the time. I bought my first gun just this year. I must be a slow learner, because it took me that long to realize it was my duty as a citizen to own a rifle.
Except for my wife, if I think back over the 10 people I cared about the most over the past 10 years, they're all gone. I've come to realize that life is too short to let little things stop you from doing what you want to. I'm tired of seeing posts in gun-related forums that we shouldn't see a movie or enjoy a certain TV show or buy from a certain company because we disagree with their beliefs. It's good to know about, but is not going to see a movie, for example Enemy at the Gates, that you want to see really, the solution? Screw it, I'm going to listen to my Indigo Girls, watch Nicholas Cage movies, and have lunch with my friend that's a democrat today and enjoy it! I'm not driving further across town to get to Home Depot, because of something Lowe's posted on their web site. It's not worth my time, wear and tear on my car, and extra gas. I'm not going to let my life be ruled by petty (in relation to what's really important) prejudices.
I live next door to a gay couple, and for several years, I carefully ignored them. The entire time, they've gone the extra mile to be a good neighbor. Finally a few months ago, I've realized that I've been missing-out by intentionally not interacting with them. I don't approve of what they do, but I don't let it get in the way of going to their house to eat a steak off of their grill. I even helped the guys put a new roof on their house. How many friends do you guys have that you'd do that for? A few weeks ago, one of them rushed my wife to the hospital after an accident. When he called me at work, he was so upset about my wife that he had trouble talking. He was terribly concerned about my wife. How in the hell could I let a small thing like his political or sexual beliefs make me think badly of him? We might disagree with many people and the way they live their lives, but they have many (probably most) of the same concerns and wants that we do. Anti-gunners aren't demons or lepers, and we shouldn't treat them that way (Einstein and Ted Kennedy not included).