Improving The World By David Bock
A few years ago I read an article about an interaction that an experienced shooter had with a novice at the range. While I don’t know if this story is true in all details, it still contains an important lesson.
The experienced shooter, let’s call him Bob, noticed that the new shooter I’ll call Jane, had a lower priced, lower quality, firearm and was obviously nervous and inexperienced.
Instead of ignoring this person or dismissing them out of hand because of their “lesser” firearm choice, Bob struck up a conversation and found out that this handgun was all Jane could afford at the time.
Jane had bought her handgun at the suggestion of a police officer because Jane’s ex had made threats of violence against her and Jane refused to allow him to victimize her or her children any more.
Jane had a strong impression that her ex was going to come back sometime over the next few days to make good on his threats. Therefore, she had little time to become proficient.
Bob took her under his wing and spent *his* range time helping her learn the manual of arms for her pistol as well as basic shooting skills.
He taught her the usual stuff. Loading, reloading, stance, grip, sight alignment and sight picture, trigger control, breath control, and follow through.
In addition Bob taught her the basics on how to clear a jam and how to disassemble her pistol for cleaning.
Bob urged Jane to practice as much as possible and pointed her towards some additional resources.
At the end of their range time, Bob had not done any shooting himself. He and Jane had only exchanged first names and were unlikely to meet again.
How many of us can honestly say that we would behave the same way in those circumstances?
For myself, I can say that I’ve done *some* of the same things as Bob. However, I’m a firearms instructor and work at a shooting range. When I’m acting in my capacity as a Range Safety Officer I often give people pointers or tips on how to improve their shooting.
This does not rise to the level of being a random person at the range helping a complete stranger to the exclusion of your own shooting practice.
I hold Bob in high regard for what he did that day.
Reading this article also reminded me of the concept behind Operation Blazing Sword. An organization started by Erin Palette following the Pulse Nightclub massacre to help bring together knowledgeable shooters who wanted to help and members of the LGBT community who wanted to learn.
The biggest difference here is that Jane didn’t seek Bob out for training.
Bob saw her need and reached out in the moment.
In Judaism there is a concept known as Tikun Olam which is generally defined as an activity that improves the world. Bob, though probably not Jewish, demonstrated the true spirit of Tikun Olam at the range that day.
A stranger anonymously offering help to another stranger is also one of the highest forms of charity (called tzedakah in Hebrew) according to Maimonides, a twelfth century Jewish Scholar.
This form of giving is viewed as especially beneficial since you are doing so purely for the sake of helping. Not to be seen as giving by others or to create an obligation from those to whom you give.
These are things that all of us need to do more of, not just in regards to firearm training, but overall.
We need to keep our eyes open for those in need and offer assistance. Not because we might benefit in some way, but in order to improve the world.
According To Hoyt 
I will add to this something that I have to keep reminding myself about.
It is seductively easy to focus on the problems facing the world, or our species, or civilization or nation. And I don’t mean to suggest they aren’t worthy of working on.
But if that’s all you focus on, you are heading for despair. Despair is also seductive. “Why do anything, it’s all so hopeless”, is a way of excusing yourself from doing the things you can.
No, you might not be able to do anything about WW3. But I bet there’s a street near you where litter needs to be picked up.
No, you might not be able to do anything about the clown in the White House; but there’s probably a school board meeting worth the time to attend, or a candidate for state or local office where a small donation or volunteer effort might actually make a difference.
When it all seems beyond your strength; find the things that you can do, and do them. You’ll feel better. And who knows, someone may notice your example, go forth and do likewise.
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I’m actually feeling enthusiastic about the chance to vote for a really good guy who’s running for a local school board position. He’s running against someone who’s claiming 25 years of educational leadership, as if that’s a good thing in these parlous times (the “experienced” guy was principal when my kids were in elementary, so I happen to know from sad experience that he’s both a tool and a fool, and was loathed by everyone who had to deal with him). I should see if I can put up some more signage for my guy around town. It ain’t much, but it’s something.
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Tikun Olam, Tzedakah, the right thing to do, has been and is even today a big part of living up here atop the world in the sub-arctic.
Fifty below temperatures, someone’s rig is in the ditch, you help them dig out and pull them out. Been there done that more times than I can count of both hands over the years. Been pulled out at least a few times as well.
If someone’s baby is floating down the Yukon river you jump in and haul her out. Nope, I’ve never done that, but a friend has.
“…find the things that you can do, and do them. You’ll feel better. And who knows, someone may notice your example, go forth and do likewise.” right on!
The common query up here, when pulled out of the ditch or whatever is “Thanks, what do I owe you?” Far more often than not the reply is “Not a dang thing, just give the next guy a hand if he needs it.”
No fault with Tikun Olam, Tzedakah, the right thing to do & sometime when you might need a bit of help, the seed you planted just might save your bacon!
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Build islands of sanity, it is just that simple. We built this nation in spite of the government, not because of it. We made this nation work, we built it. It doesn’t take all the much to turn things around, you start one interaction at a time. The more you stand up to chaos, the more it backs down.
It’s always a good day to have a good day.
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My husband once gave up his range time to help a stranger pattern his shotgun. Turned out he had forgotten to pack his tubes. Not as much of a mitzvah as Bob did, but that’s how we met Justice Tony Scalia.
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Oh, you are SO LUCKLY!
/jealous
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He was the nicest person in the world! Introduced himself as “Hi, I’m Tony, nice to meet you.” And when my husband gently suggested (after a few practice shots) that it looked like he didn’t have the right tubes in, he literally smacked himself in the head and said, “I’m an idiot! I left them in the closet! Well, not gonna get much practice today…” Did not pitch a fit, and definitely did not act like your average Beltway celebrity at the range. Meanwhile my daughter, the politics junkie, is frantically hopping up and down behind his back, mouthing “DAD! It’s Tony SCALIA!” It was quite an experience…
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Thrice now, fate or happenstance or luck or whatever you want to call it has plunked me down in an indoor shooting range with a .22 rifle next to a brand-new shooter that was really struggling with whatever they were trying to learn on (twice a small centerfire handgun, once an AR-15). I always leaned over, asked if it’s their first time, and offered to let them “try mine.” Each time they took to it like a duck to water. Loved it, and in at least one case demanded that their instructor bring them back and teach them again on a .22.
Like Ms. Johnnie said, not nearly as much of a mitzvah as Bob, but that’s three new shooters who odds are would have had an awful experience and never picked up a gun again.
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I handled a handgun three times before most recent range time. Grew up with guns, hunted with rifles, left the handguns alone. Why? I could never safely unload fired or unfired brass from dad’s revolvers (there is a reason, more later). Same with the little .25 we’ve had for decades. Turns out the .25 needs some “adjustments” then I probably can, TBD. Dad’s revolvers, turns out he was over packing the powder, or the brass was reloaded too often, new commercial loads, the same isn’t happening. BIL (who does reloads) is investigating the remaining reloads that we have.
Point is. I first fired dad’s handguns when I was 12. First fired the .25 when I was 23. I grew up with handguns in the house. Until we got me the S&W EZ 45 that I proved to myself I could handle (despite my current lack of ability to hit the dang target) the handgun, I was not comfortable handling handguns. I am 67 (as of 4 days ago). Also, yes, having a range master do more than “this is how I hold the stabilize handgun to fire it” (son and hubby) show me multiple ways to hold the handgun with both hands, and stand, helped. I do not hold the handgun or stand to fire exactly like either my husband or son.
……………..
Oh. To be clear. Oops, canoe accident.
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Guilty of this all the time. Not big stuff. Not even to the level to pulling people out of the snow, rescuing children out of dangerous waters (and Alaska waters qualify anytime of the year), or giving up my range time (like anyone is going to listen to me, I’m the one getting the instruction at this point). But little things. Guilty of super little stuff all the time. If I can “help”, even not asked, I probably will (some might call it a “bad habit” of not minding my own business). About as big as they get.
Intersecting myself into a conversation. Example: (grip more like it) “Anyone will bring their dog into Costco these days!” In response to one bark (not a series, One). First off a audio task response is allowed, not encouraged by service dog community, but allowed by law. Two service dogs are dogs first and foremost, and have bad days. As long as the handler handles and stops inappropriate actions appropriately or removes the animal if action is not controllable. Third, which applies only to states where service dogs in training are given public access rights, whether training or not, in not pet friendly locations (Oregon is one) see handler appropriate response of item two. Note, while I am a handler myself, this conversation is never started when I am actually have her with me.
Stopping a stranger and telling them which side of the CanDo setup actually has rooms for bags or if it is really already too full. I get some strange looks. But more often than not, a “Thanks!”.
Stopping and digging into backpacking packs to give a bunch of HS students some minor, but they really needed, that we (adults) ran into checking out trail conditions: Bug juice. Suntan lotion. Compass. Map. Okay, wasn’t the expensive compass, but we gave up one. Of coarse our group had more than one, of each item. (The person who was suppose to bring the map didn’t show up. Someone else “knew” where they were going. Rolls eyes.) Seriously, we weren’t telling a bunch of 18 year olds to turn around and go back to the trailhead (as much as we all wanted to. Knew futility of that.) But we also didn’t want to hear about disappearance of a small group of recent HS graduates on a day hike either, after we got out of the wilderness ourselves.
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Silly little helpful thing for dealing with kids– a pack of balloons in your purse will last forever, you get like 40 at the dollar store, and if you see some kind of Obviously Spinning Up a going “Hey, think a silly little balloon will distract him? I’ve got an old bag of them in my bag-” can derail a lot of nonsense.
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I don’t recall seeing any concept similar to tzedakah in the Koran. Mohammed the Mad must have eliminated it entirely, or decided it only applied to Muslims, and not other humans, or what he thought of as non-humans.
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It’s called zakāt. Root meaning of the word is “purity”, as in, giving
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… zakāt “purifies” one’s money. The root of tzedakah, on the other hand, is the same as for righteousness and justice.
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Yeah, purified as a mandatory tax by a half dozen Islamic nations, and a “voluntary” one in a half dozen others. Wanna guess how many non-Muslims, other than a token few, get any benefits?
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How much of that ‘charity’ is funneled to terrorist groups?
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Yeah, I thought about that too.
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Considers typing
reminds self that the Left has corrupted and weaponized all sorts of good concepts from Christianity too
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Communism: Christianity gone bad.
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Communism didn’t even work when Christians were trying to do right. See: The Mayflower colonies and Plymouth Plantation.
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Even when enforced by God.
Acts 4:20 Tale of Ananais and Sephira.
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Except for the part where that wasn’t even communism.
That, it was pointed out to me, was charity, extended by believers in response to a temporary crisis (i.e. thousands of new believers hanging around longer than they’d planned to, after Pentecost); and Ananias and Saphira got whacked for lying about how generous they were being, not for retaining some of their private property.
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:”All the believers were of one heart and mind, and they felt that what they owned was not their own; they shared everything they had…There was no poverty among them, because people who owned land or houses sold them, and brought the money to the apostles to give to others in need.”
From each according to his means, to each according to his need — Marx would have been proud to call them brother.
However, given that communism is also a religion, the definition is as much a matter of belief as evidence, and Sarah doesn’t like religious arguments.
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Sure, make your argument and then tell me I’m not allowed to refute, because that would make it “a religious argument” that violates the guest-right.
Screw you.
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That was not communism enforced by God.
That was people trying to get credit for completely voluntary charity that they had not, in fact, DONE.
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Thanks Sarah
Great piece
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Whew, for a second there I thought the anecdote was going to end with he read in the paper the next day about how she had used her training for some criminal purpose.
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–
What do you mean? Of course you benefit if the world becomes a better place. You’re not just benefiting yourself alone, is all.
A couple of months ago I saw an older woman with a big package of bottled water in her shopping cart.
“Need help?”
“Oh, yes, thank you.”
So I loaded the water into her car. Took about 30 seconds of my time. Well worth it.
———————————
At my house, the ‘things that go bump in the night’ are cats.
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I’ve helped “older” (older than me at any rate) people take stuff out of carts and load into vehicles, in the past. Unfortunately, I’m getting to the point where I have to ask for the help. Which, see a family with a strong teen, or two, I ask. The other challenge I am having to ask for help with is high placed stuff in stores these days. I’m vertically challenged. Unlike the heavy stuff, which my age and condition have affected what I can and cannot do (leverage still works fine, shear force not so much), my reach hasn’t changed. Store configurations, OTOH, have changed.
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Don’t know if she was older than me or not, but that was a lot of water.
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I can still use leverage to slide Costco packaged boxes of water onto cart bottoms, pop boxes (30 or 36 cans/package) into carts. Pulling same out of cart and lifting into the back of the SUV, days, not a problem. If I have an inkling of might have a problem, or large item package vehicle Jinga required, then leave cart at the front, go get the vehicle, and let Costco employees help. Sometimes I misjudge. More often than not someone will see and come over and help, or send their teen (usually male, but not always) over to help. Just because I still can lift most heavier stuff, doesn’t mean I won’t accept help.
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Tikun Olam is a blight.
It is a moralistic pox that causes evil to be done in the name of good.
Do not seek to “heal the world”.
That lies beyond mortal ken, and is a cloak donned by Pride.
Instead, humble thyself.
Confront yourself, catalog your weaknesses, repent, and seek Grace to heal yourself.
It is by improving yourself that you may improve the world around you.
Seriously, large parts of Maimonides‘ doctrine were an explicit rejection of the New Testament teachings, and Tikun Olam is the best example of this.
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True, get the beam out of your own eye, but still, we are to only bless others (as our Father sends rain to both wicked and justified) not curse them, love your neighbor as yourself, pray for/do good to even/especially your enemies (those who despitefully use you), give to others even only a glass of water.
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I… There’s nothing I can type that won’t come across badly, so I’ll just stay out of this sub-thread. I’ll just observer that leaving our small corner the world a better place is not—in itself—a bad idea.
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Nod.
All I’ll say is that many evil things are perversions of good things.
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Consider this. The Coast Guard frequently rescues people, considered a good thing, who do really stupid, non-survival behaviors. As such, they are violating the evolutionary concept of natural selection and survival of the fittest, which would be considered detrimental to the species.
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Then there is/was “Social Darwinism”.
Where children of Rich Parents/Grandparents believed that they were superior to the Poor. :twisted:
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TBH, mine was a paraphrase of a buddy of mine who’s a retired Coast Guard helicopter pilot.
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Nod.
I’ve heard/read stories from Coast Guard sources about “idiot boaters”.
Larry Niven’s phrase of “consider it evolution in action” comes to mind.
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Some people need rescuing even though they didn’t do anything stupid. Others need rescuing because somebody else did something stupid.
Overall, having a rescue service is a good thing. The really stupid ones will get plenty of other chances to off themselves. :-D
———————————
It takes a lot of smart, competent people to design and build a car. Only takes one idiot to wreck it.
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Um, he was a Jewish Torah scholar. Of course he was rejecting New Testament teachings. What does that have to do with fixing the things around you that you can actually affect?
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I encourage the reader to look at the linked Wikipedia page, particularly to see when the modern meaning of tiqun ‘olam came into being, and compare that to when Maimonides lived. This will help you assess whether this opinion by “Luke” has any value.
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I’m going to be a devil’s advocate here and put in a good word for honest self-interest. My favorite baker is Jewish and makes great Challah bread. I can tell by the price he’s proud of it, but he deserves to be. It is not through Tikun Olam that he makes that bread for me, and it is not out of Christian charity that I give him the money for it. As the brilliant Milton Friedman would pount out, we are both engaged in honest commerce in our own interests and we’re both making the world better for it. On the other hand Tikun Olam, the un-innovative idea that people should try to change the world into what they think would be a better world, got us the Rosenberg’s giving the USSR the secrets to the atom bomb, Jonathan Greenblatt gleefully scheming to reduce the non-Jewish White population, David Horowitz’s father and his entirely Jewish communist cell sacrificing and working diligently to destroy the lives of people who were standing in the way of the glorious socialist future that will improve the world. And those are just the horrible crimes I can think of off the top of my head.
Lest anyone think I’m picking on the Jews, perhaps the best description of this is C.S. Lewis’s famous quote about “a tyranny sincerely exercised for the good of its victims may be the most oppressive… The robber baron’s cruelty may sometimes sleep, his cupidity may at some point be satiated; but those who torment us for our own good will torment us without end for they do so with the approval of their own conscience.” that was almost certainly based on his observations of Christian and agnostic Englishmen. Every tyrant of every religion and ethnicity from Pharaoh to Pol Pot to Karen on your homeowner’s association considers themselves as the hero in their own story who is working to change the world for the better.
I’ll take the Jucker brothers and their honest, free-market Challah over a million Julius Rosenbergs. And I’ll take a more modest goal to “be honest to each other and treat other individuals as you would want to be treated” over the grand call to “repair the world” that can make someone feel good about themselves even as they lie and torment the people they imagine are standing in the way of building a better future.
No offense to Bob, intended, who sounds like a great guy helping out someone who needs it. But rather I just wanted to put in my grumpy, contrarian $0.02 for doing a good, honest job and letting the free market worry about repairing the world.
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It’s literally “do what you can where you are.” Charity is a virtue but not, apparently, one you have. And that’s okay. Not everyone does, just as not everyone is temperate or prudent.
Being specifically DIScharitable, however, is also rather disagreeable, especially when people are already fighting the black dog and need to know they’re not alone.
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“Charity is a virtue but not, apparently, one you have. And that’s okay. Not everyone does”
Bless your heart.
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While it’s been a while since I read about it, my recollection is that Richard Gariot’s (aka Lord British) idea of “ethical hedonism” was similar.
But again, it’s been quite a while since I read up on it, so I might be forgetting an important detail that screws up the linkage.
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The one thing we haven’t heard from Bob is whether that unknown woman actually needed to use that gun, and if so, was she successful? Note that you don’t have to actually fire it, or kill the assailant; sometimes just the brandishing of it is sufficient for the attacker to turn tail and run for it. Unfortunately, it’s just such uses as brandishing that are the least frequently reported, either to the police or the media. Worse, in some cases of brandishing, corrupt prosecutors and courts end up punishing the victim, as happened to Ward Bird in New Hampshire about a decade ago.
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Or the McCloskeys. They were persecuted for years because they stood on their own front porch and held off a violent mob that threatened to burn their house down with them in it.
None of the mob were even arrested.
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That St Louis DA that persecuted them was another Soros-backed DA, wasn’t she? She should have been dis-Barred for life.
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Yep, another Soros sock-puppet. :-(
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It’s not about “making the world a better place” – what does that even mean? Who defines “better”? That’s a weaselly phrase much abused by tyrants.
The story works because it’s about one person seeing another as a person and having compassion. Seeing a stranger and treating that stranger as a brother. It’s about seeing the image of God in the faces we meet.
The more we strive to do that , the more the world improves on its own.
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That’s a weaselly phrase much abused by tyrants.
Well, where are they going to steal moral authority from?
Trying to lay claim to bad stuff?
That some jerk steals and abuses a thing no more makes it a bad think than the existence of normal thieves means money is bad.
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“The world improves on it’s own.”
And there in you entirely prove you miss the point. It’s way up there. Over your head. THAT IS WHAT THE OP IS SAYING. Please refrain from skimming until offended. There’s enough of that idiocy going around.
Those little acts of of compassion are what turns the difference (which, by the way, are as firmly rooted in the OLD testament as the new, or why do you think the religious leaders in the New Testament couldn’t answer when Jesus said ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, and spirit. And the second is like unto it: Love your neighbor as yourself. The law and the prophets hang on these two.”). A whole bunch of people seeing others as something other than ‘the enemy’ make the world a better place. It’s not magic. Quit letting the assholes set the terms of engagement.
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And to be absolutely clear the assholes in this case are the ones abusing charity and kindness and twisting terms so people think they can’t be used anymore.
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I seem to remember reading that the Christ was repeating, in this case, a teaching by a Jewish Rabbi known to those religious leaders.
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in re: Tikun Olam
There was this other Jewish teacher who had a story about that. It involved this Samaritan guy
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Yeah. Odd that.
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It is not just firearms training. I would argue a great many people are becoming aware that they need to be more self-reliant or responsible for themselves, even in small ways. I have often benefitted deeply from people who helped me when they had neither the reason nor benefit to do so.
Besides, it does put to rest the idea that “the other side” is just a group of selfish and unkind individuals.
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Coincidentally oldest boy and I are trying to sync schedules so we can sit with a neighbor lady and discuss her self defense options. She’s 85 and housebound at present with hip issues, lives alone in a nice house in a good neighborhood, but is concerned over the possibility of home invasion. Not high risk, but these days not inconceivable either. She has firearms from her husband, and in younger healthier days has fired them, but those are now too heavy and awkward for her in her current physical condition. She’s clear headed and quite sensible so no danger either to herself or others. Chris and I will be talking her through the usual rules and strategies for home defense and bringing a selection of small caliber firearms we thing most appropriate for her. Eventually once she’s in better shape there will be a range trip, but for now we’ll just have a sitdown and perhaps some dry fire practice.
She has a daughter who visits regularly and sees to her everyday needs and takes her to doctor visits, but lives at least half an hour away. I’m also arranging for her to meet with a fitness trainer who does in home visits so she won’t need to be driven somewhere else for physical therapy.
It’s what neighbors do, share the things you know with those that don’t.
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Considering the home invasion problems the Seattle Washington area is experiencing, her concerns are quite understandable. I’d personally recommend that she sell or trade the firearms her husband had for one or two firearms that she’s capable of handling well. First, that gets her something actually of use. Two, that removes unused stored weapons that could be used against her. Three, that removes unused stored weapons that could be stolen and used for other criminal purposes.
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Personal Rule #3 –
Always leave things in a better condition than you found them.
In this case he lifted someone up, providing encouragement, education, and hope.
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-Always- take the time to evaluate and properly guide the new shooter. Someone helped you. Pay it forward.
If you need a personal benefit:
Keep them from making the news in an anti-gun story.
Re-emphasize your grasp of and practice of fundamentals.
Screen out the truly ill or evil from the practice of arms.
Avoid unneeded range drama or closing.
You might learn something useful.
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On a distantly related front;
Did you happen to catch the recent USPS NewsLink
article about the “Tragedy at Tunnel 13” ? It included a link to a
Smithsonian site which had a picture of mail clerks practicing
with their issued handguns? Ah, the good old days!
[https://link.usps.com/2023/10/17/tragedy-at-tunnel-13/]
[https://postalmuseum.si.edu/exhibition/tragedy-at-tunnel-13-exhibition/the-context]
A little of 3/4 of the way down on that page.
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Didnt see that one. Thanks.
11B is my US Army MOS = Light Weapons Infantryman.
Trained as such. Thought I was pretty good at it. So did others.
Arrived at my first unit. Process in via S-1 (personnel shop)
“Hey College Boy! You are our new Battalion Mailclerk.” (details…)
(to personnel clerk) “No thank you Specialist. I have an Infantry contract. Line company please.” (much arguing. I win.)
…
(To S-1 SFC) “NO Thank you Sergeant. I have an Infantry contract. Line company please, Sergeant.” (respectful discussion. I win.)
….
(To S-1 CPT) “NO Thank you Sir. I have an Infantry contract. Line company please, sir” (Further respectful back-n-forth. I win.)
…
(CSM M) “The unit needs you. We haven’t got a decent clerk for this in months. Current mailclerk leaves in a few months. You are the one I want. You can do it. Please.” (Note: this is the CSM anyone reading Kratman’s Carreraverse will know.)
… (Wait. A CSM said “please” to a newbie PFC? WTF?)
…
What else could I do? “the unit needs you”. So I said “Yes Sergeant Major. I will do it.”
Did I mention that I was a 5 wpm hunt-n-peck typist at the time? Oy vey. Mailclerk is technically and extra duty, so they had to tag me as Battalion Awards Clerk, also. Oh, and I had to maintain proficiency as 11B (versus 71L) because I was technically temporary. Oy Vey.
It worked out. Thus a handle was born. And Pride Goeth before the WTF….
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So you’re not USPS related? You have the attitude of a GOOD one, trust me. I was nuclear qualified ET in the Navy, now I’m the local networking expert in the Postal Service. Hey, when I went in, most computer were still rather large cabinets sitting on the floor, if they didn’t take up the whole room. But I DID have computer training before joining the service; wrote out Fortran programs on punchcards! The nuclear field I WANTED to work in got eaten by bureaucracy while computers ‘reached for the stars’, so here I am.
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USPS only to the extent I had to placate their (retired E-8) Installation Postal Officer while running the Battalion Mailroom.
I may have bent the written rules into a 4-D pretzel getting the job done. Just a bit short of a continuum breach.
Ex: I was required to have two orderlies per company. But no maximum written. So I got anyone trained and credentialed who I could persuade or draft. Meant someone was always available to deliver no matter how screwed up things got in the field, or how dispersed we were. Also if some idjit walked away from a mailbag at a HQ desk or out in the woods, there was likely another orderly near enough to cover it. I maxed out at 38, around when Mr. B finally caught on and told me I now had to relieve one to get a new one. (Which I managed to …. evade a few times.)
As a PFC, then Specialist, I was effectively managing a short platoon of orderlies. Most of whom outranked me significantly. Yet I could tell them how to do their job and make it stick, so… (Helped that the Bn CO would say “Do what he told you.” and “Stop F***ing with my mailclerk.”
When I took over, we were on the verge of getting mail services revoked. In nine months, I had maxed our inspection (generally considered “not happening”) and got an attaboy for “Best in division”. (Granted, my first was near-disaster. Was not up to speed enough, and was also cleaning up an seemingly explosively backed-up sewer leak into my mailroom when E-4 inspector arrived, who had just been publicly demoted and humiliated. “Good morning Sergeant. er… Specialist?” (thus freakout by e-4) Epic fail….)
Ended well.
Heh. Good times.
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Something was bothering but I couldn’t figure what until just now.
I finally remembered a name or two that.. well, here:
Some seem to have issue with Tikun Olam.
Would they prefer Teller Ulam?
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Volunteering is good for the soul. But do like to whine about Scouts where not only must you be willing to spend your time and efforts trying to make kids into decent citizens with useful skills, but these days you’re going to break the bank account to pay for your own background check / fingerprint scan and uniforms and registration, etc. for the privilege of volunteering your time
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“No Good Deed Goes Un-punished.”
Which also ties nicely back into my up-thread handle explanation….. For another day.
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Americans can help improve the world by demolishing their local college or university, with the f’ing Nazis still inside.
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That and the whores from hell in the liberal media, each and every F****** one of them.
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Someone else mentioned this, on another thread, and zorched my brain.
Enjoy!
Rocky Horror Muppet Show
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And just because: Muppet Metal
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I ruined me co-workers’ day today by finding and playing a metal cover of …Baby One More Time.
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We all know he didn’t, but this is a prime example of liberal logic applied to them, funny as hell too.
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Bernie Sanders and Barry Obama have got to be the worst communists ever.
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OT: Hi folks. Just a quick note. We are all hair-trigger right now. I’m seeing more snappishness and bad temper in the comments here (and at a few other blogs) than I have in a while. I’ve done it too. We seem to be misunderstanding each other more, and that’s leading to heated replies and back-and-forths.
Please take a deep breath, maybe look out the window at some birds or other bits of nature if you can. Pet a cat or dog, enjoy a bit of a treat of some kind, stare at the waxing moon, enjoy the changing leaves if yours are doing that.
Don’t let the world grind you down when there are still good things out there.
We now return to the usual evening frazzle, stress, and on-going fight with that one drawer that flat out refuses to open without a battle.
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me too. There’s a lot of fighting and all to no purpose.
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@ TXRed > “Don’t let the world grind you down when there are still good things out there.”
Amen.
Thanks for the reminder that bad things in the news shouldn’t generate bad feelings in our midst.
I’m grateful for our Hostess and all the Huns and Hoydens that contribute to this island of sanity in the blogosphere.
Ok, maybe “sanity” is going too far, but at least it’s an entertaining bright spot in my day (though most often at night).
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