Lincoln stared past me. His etched visage looking out towards somewhere in empty space contemplating some great cone disconnected from what the artist had posted as a quote below him. “A house divided cannot stand.” It’s written in script to give it an old timey solemnity. When quoting the bard, even if it is Lincoln quoting Shakespeare,...
By now you are all aware of the events two weeks ago at Cook’s Corner. I have driven by Cook’s Corner several times on my way into Silverado Canyon but, in all candor, I have never stopped there. Perhaps it was the motorcycles? I am not against motorcycles in the slightest. In fact, I’ve wanted to...
In the hierarchy of organ failures I had assumed that my liver or my lungs would give up the ghost first during my brief stay here in the mortal realm. Turns out, irrespective of the toxins I have diligently poisoned myself with throughout my life, it would be my pancreas that would check out first. ...
A mea culpa… A couple of months ago I wrote a blog about professionalism-at-arms. I was specifically referring to our responsibility as gun owners and, more importantly, those who carry guns to operate at a higher level of maturity and, frankly, stoicism than others, not simply in the way we present ourselves to those around us,...
Professionalism at Arms, Part Deux The fire crackled loudly causing me to lift my eyes from my copy of Dante’s Inferno and glance toward the hearth. “Concerned that the Seventh Plane of Hell is opening its gates for you, Captain?”, the Major said from his chair with a chuckle. “I believe that, in the final analysis, my dear...
Professional”ism” at Arms If you have taken any classes with me, or listened to my missives, you may have heard me refer to the concept of Master-at-Skill-at-Arms. A number of people have commented on this term and the vaguely archaic nature of the way it sounds. Master-of-Skill-at-Arms is indeed an old concept, predating the invention of gunpowder...
The inspirations for this blog come from a variety of sources. Most often they come from my muse…. my wife Sandy. As a weekend approaches I typically ask her for a blog idea and she will rattle off a slew of topics. Sometimes I don’t need to ask… a story is of such importance that...
A few years back we had the good fortune of having James O’Keefe of Project Veritas come into Artemis for a little training. If you are not familiar with Mr. O’Keefe or Project Veritas, I would highly recommend of few minutes of Google searching. Mr. O’Keefe has made somewhat of a cottage industry of having activists...
So… I wanted (I mean really, really wanted) to discuss a book that I am reading with you this week: Washington’s Crossing by David Hackett Fischer. (It is on Amazon and won a Pulitzer Prize for history… since I am going to delay that review for a couple of weeks, this gives you ample opportunity...
Last week we talked about faith. This intersession between Christmas and New Year’s we are going to talk about stupidity… specifically, the arrogance of ignorance within our own community and how we must deal with that, not only for our own protection but, frankly, for our own reputation. Two stories to help illuminate: “The Stupid...
