Guns & 80 yr. olds

Guns - I know it's a touchy subject. I don't doubt that half the people who read this will not agree with me and that's absolutely ok. But sometimes things bother me so much I just have to vent and well, this is one of my soundboards.

This weekend we were at the pool and a neighbor said to another neighbor that there was a shooting in our neighborhood. Clearly, this conversation happened loud enough for all to hear and it commanded our attention. He then went on to explain that a few houses down an 80 year-old man was cleaning his gun and it accidentally discharged, shot through his hand and then into the stomach of his 40 year son. As far as anyone knows, the son has survived (and the 80 yr. old is fine).

I wouldn't necessarily phrase that as a shooting - that takes me back to some of my living and working in Pontiac, MI days - those were legit shootings. But anyway...


The woman he was talking to immediately says "see, that's exactly why I think guns should be illegal. I don't care how careful people claim to be, they're still dangerous." She clearly wanted the entire pool area to hear her opinion as she loudly announced her stance on gun control. She said it with fierce conviction and nearly sounded outraged that the 80 year was even allowed to have a gun.


Here's my problem - if you have a stance on an issue, please try to make sense. Say something like "how scary, guns scare me and that's why I don't want them anywhere near me or my home." That makes sense. Guns can be scary and it's beyond understandable that people are scared of them. Heck, they make me a little nervous too.

And she was right - guns are dangerous. But so are many things in our lives, like cars. Let's say a drunk driver gets behind the wheel and hits someone - do you then think cars should be illegal? No, it's the act that is illegal, not the object.

Let's even tone it down some - say someone is putting mascara on while driving (no, I don't do this... anymore) and accidentally rear-ends the car in front. I don't see anyone outlawing vehicles, but absolutely she should get fined for being careless and reckless. Or even better, put the same 80 year old man behind the wheel and let's say he can't see well and accidentally starts running over mailboxes. You're given a license to drive and with that comes the responsibility to drive safely and not hit anyone or anything.


With a gun you're held to similar laws - you can't just go around shooting people (except for in Florida). It's gun handling 101 to not clean a loaded gun. That was ridiculous and obviously an accident waiting to happen. I'm guessing because he's 80, shot himself and his son that they won't charge him, but they have every right to.


When you abuse your right to drive or have a gun by being careless with it, there should be consequences. However, I think it's a stretch to see it as a justifiable reason to make it illegal. Stick to the things that make sense instead of making outlandish statements that make you look silly.


These are all the things I wanted to say to that lady but she looked like she could beat me up, so I'll just share it here.

In case you haven't guessed I'm pro the 2nd amendment and grew up with a father and many other family members who are avid hunters. I grew up as a little girl with guns in the house and constantly around them. It never phased me. Never once did I ever think it was ok to play with them. I wasn't afraid of them, but I respected them.


At the same time, I understand those who are afraid and against guns. I don't agree, but I understand. It's a different age and clearly there is some serious abuse out there - that I firmly believe should be controlled. But I think a lot of that fear comes from the unknown. If you grew up like I did you would see things differently. If someone kills someone with a gun I see a killer and wonder and worry what made him do it. Others see how and why he got the gun. While that may be part of the problem, it's not what caused the problem in my eyes.

Ok, done with this topic - hope I didn't offend anyone!

Why Doc, Why??

Earlier this week I had scheduled my dental checkup and decided to go ahead and multitask by scheduling a follow up appointment with my ENT too.

*Quick backstory - I've had severe sinus issues for a very long time since living in a place with some "mild" mold. So finally I went in to a recommended ENT out here and got a CT scan.

Anyway, dental checkup was great. Everything from last week healed well and I can eat solids now - yes!!!! Invisalign is the next step to work out some jaw issues, at least I thought it was until I saw the price tag. Nothing irritates me more than looking at something that costs an arm & a leg and appears to be something I could make.

At the ENT they wanted to review my CT results. Deviated septum - big whoop, doesn't everyone have one? I'm not snoring or having many other issues, so that one will have to wait.

On to my sinuses. My doc knows how to get through to me - color code things. So he starts out "black is good, means open and easy airflow. Light grey means blockage, darker grey means infection." Got it. He pulls the scan up and I immediately show him all the little black spots that I can find. I was so impressed with my sinuses and relieved I could find any black at all. Then I realized he looked amused...

"Yes but you are about 90% grey. You're supposed to be 90% black." Rats! He then went on to say that whatever the way back sinuses are (why can't they have easy names) are dark grey and we need to remove the infection ASAP because it's so close to my brain. Then I saw some stars.

Why do they feel the need to scare you? I mean, I guess if he hadn't and just handed me some Nasonex I wouldn't have taken anything seriously.

So I asked what can be done. A hospital visit, go under, and they'd clean it all out and could fix the septum too. 1-2 week recovery. Ouch. And no.

I explained that I just had some restrictions put on me from a dental procedure and that I'm not good with restrictions so I asked for an option B. He's a very kind a patient man :)

Antibiotic for the next 3-4 weeks, see if it does anything. I was so excited when I said, no problem I just got off one so I should be good. All done, problem solved.

Then he asked what antibiotic and when I told him he laughed an evil, pompous laugh like that antibiotic was a low life. Oh no sweetie, a more intense one.

Instantly I thought of Oberon. But... But ... its summer. I want my Oberon and orange slice. I want my chilled glass of white wine that I only drink in the summer. I want a margarita on our deck after crappy week. These antibiotics are ruining the start of my summer!!