Texas Country

In a bold attempt to escape the intense political drama that is daily life in modern America, I drove out to visit the flock. That took me to a ranch, with trees. Those of you who understand the reality of Texas' bucolic Mesquite groves will know how pleasant that is.

I shot at a pig there once, from a moving Gator, and missed.

Heart of Oak,

LSP

Happy Thanksgiving!

Have a great Thanksgiving.

God bless,

LSP

Dialing in the Lee Enfield Sporter

It's all very well restoring a rifle but the question is, will it shoot? With that in mind I took the newly minted sporter to the range, only to find a tree blocked the path. I moved that and set up at 25 yards to dial in the scope, bore-sighting the old fashioned way, because I've been too parsimonious to buy a laser, and using the tailgate as a rest. Must get some kind of sled to put the guns on in future.

warrior on the edge of the tailgate - note cloak of invisibility

I was nervous as I took the first couple of shots. Would the gun blow up? Would the lovingly shaped and polished forestock splinter into a deadly hail of wooden shrapnel on bearing the shock of the mighty .303 Brit? For that matter, would the thing shoot straight at all after my expert gunsmithing...

getting there...

I needn't have worried. The rifle got on paper quicly, which is a good testimony to peering down the bore with the bolt removed and shot some reasonablegroups from 50 and 75 yards. Performed well offhand at a steel ram at 100.

Due to time and ammo constraint I cut the exercise a little short but I'll return with a few boxes of the right stuff and finish the job. But not a bad result at all.

Shoot straight,

LSP

Wisdom of Solomon

Chickens have been making a takeover bid for my back yard, which is fine by me. I like to watch them scratch about, during the odd interlude in the fast paced, high pressure clerical lifestyle.

I was doing just that when DWN (Dog War Neighbor) knocked on the fence and asked if he could have a talk. DWN, who is a disabled vet and writes patriotic letters for me to give to George Bush - he's convinced I know him - wanted some advice. 

He used to have a small pick up truck in his drive, which a young NDW (ne'er do well) wanted to buy. DWN said "$1000", NDW offered $800. DWN accepted and NDW paid $700, on the spot, with a 'verbal' to pay the balance in two weeks.

DWN then took a working battery from his van and put it in the pick up to show NDW that the vehicle worked. NDW promptly got in the truck and drove off, with the battery, leaving DWN down one battery and owed $100. 

No title had changed hands and the pick up was still insured in DWN's name, which brings us to the present. A month after the 'deal', NDW still hadn't paid the balance and DWN was worried, on two scores.

Most importantly, for him, was the principle of the thing. If NDW was allowed to get away with casually walking off with other people's $100 he'd never learn responsibility in life. Secondly, the truck was still insured in DWN's name and he didn't want to be liable when NDW crashed the vehicle.

DWN was perplexed. He had prayed about it pretty hard and been to the police, who told him that repossessing the truck over a paltry $100 was kind of mean; DWN thought so too, but principle mattered. So he had taken the key to the truck (it was in the ignition) and the battery and left the vehicle outside NDW's house.

"Now pastor," said DWN, "what should I do?"

In the spirit of Solomon, I gave him two choices. He could keep the key with the proviso that NDW could have it back when he paid the outstanding money, at which point he'd get the truck and the title. Or, far better choice, DWN could give NDW his money back and repossess the truck.

The problem with 'option 1' is that lack of a key isn't going to stop NDW from driving the truck...

There's a moral in this, somewhere.

It's all going on in the countryside, I tell you.

LSP