The four rules
Roberta X reminds us all of the four rules. Including the why’s…and a few examples of what happens when we forget them.
That’s all folks!
It’s the Wile E. Coyote school of gun safety!
Robb reminds us why it is not a good idea to stand in front of a loaded gun and yank on the barrell.
ALWAYS remember the four rules:
- All guns are always loaded.
- Never point your muzzle at something that you are not willing to destroy.
- Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target and you are ready to fire.
- Know your target and what’s beyond.
The day the towers fell
Seven years ago today, my life changed forever. I lived in New York City at the time. I worked for a software company in the financial services industry and spent nearly every day down on Wall Street. I was in the towers the day before the attack. I was scheduled to be in the towers on the day of the attack before a meeting was cancelled.
At 9:03 am on the morning of the attack, I had just arrived in the City and was heading to the office. As I looked down 5th avenue, I could see a lot of smoke downtown. I asked a passerby what was happening, and he told me “There is a fire in the Trade Center.” I made a note that I would have to check on my meeting down town later that day.
As I made my way crosstown, I passed the Fox News building at 47th and 6th, and the display outside had their news feed going. I didn’t stop to watch, but noticed the ticker “Second plane hits Trade Center” I still didn’t realize what was going on. “That’s weird,” I thought, “I know that a plane hit the Empire State Building in the 40′s, but a plane has never hit the Trade Center before…their fact checkers must be wrong.”
I finally made my way to the office, and it was there that I learned what had happened. At first, everyone thought “plane” meant some sort of little private plane. We assumed that it was only some sort of horrible accident. Even once we learned it was passenger planes, we still believed it was some sort of error. A colleague’s wife worked downtown, across from the Trade Center, and she was texting her husband, describing the scene…the people jumping for their lives from the upper floors of the towers, and the fire and smoke and panic. Even after all of this, I still didn’t believe what was happening. It was only after we heard that the Pentagon had been hit that my mind clicked, and I thought “Oh my God, we are under attack!” I ran to a friend’s desk and said, “Time to go!”
We ran out of the building…it was one of the larger buildings in the City and we didn’t know how many more planes were out there. Several things went through my mind. Would they close the city and not let anyone out? (Not hard to do on an island.) Should we shelter in place…get a hotel room before they are all gone? Should I try to rent a car and get out of there? How many other planes were out there? Would people panic and riot? What if there were other attacks? Where was my wife? Where was my family?
Cell phone service was really, really spotty, but I managed to call my sister and tell her that I was OK. My friend called his wife to tell her he was coming home, and to tell where their investments were in case he didn’t make it. We tried to form a plan of action, and decided that we would walk to Grand Central Station and see of the trains were still running. If they were, we would get on the first train going anywhere. If not…we would start walking.
We got to Grand Central, and foud out that the trains were not running. We also saw a news feed, and learned that one of the towers had collapsed. That was the first time, I think, that the enormity of the situation had sunk in. I really, really wanted to get away from Grand Central, or any other landmark, for that matter. I thought of the old Viet Cong tactic of planting a bomb, setting it off, then setting off a second one once the rescuers got there. I thought it would be a great tactic to bomb the egress points…so I planned to avoid them.
I realized that we didn’t have any water, and that would probably be our most important consumable, so we stopped at a deli and got some bottled water. And…we started walking. As we walked slowly uptown, we kept hearing rumors….a plane had hit the Capitol….there were four more planes unaccounted for…two planes had been shot down on their way to New York. We really didn’t know what was going on. Eventually we made our way to the 125th street train station and were told that the trains would be running again in 10 minutes. We agreed to wait 10 minutes, no longer. (I was still worried that the City would be closed and no one allowed to leave.) 10 minutes later, a train arrived, and I made my way home.
I took a picture from the station that day:
I said at the beginning of this post that my life changed forever, and that was not artistic device. For the first time in my life, I realized that there were people out there who hated me, and would do their best to try to kill me if they had the chance. No amount of persuasion will dissuade them. Whether Islamic fascist terrorist, or petty thug, there are people whom can only be dissuaded with force. A simple realization, to be sure, but an earth shattering one.
Second, I realized that New York was not the place for me. I had to move my family to a safer place.
Third, I realized that every day is a gift. I never, ever leave the house, or get on an airplane, or go to bed without telling my family that I love them. I am haunted by the recordings of the passengers of United 93 calling their families for the last time. I shudder to imagine being huddled in the rubble of the tower, sending a farewell to your family on your Blackberry. So, I make sure that I tell them that I love them every day…just in case.
I learned some tactical lessons, as well:
- Your brain will reject even overwhelming evidence that something is wrong if you haven’t considered the possibility that you are experiencing what you are experiencing.
- The fight isn’t over until it is over. People who had been evacuated from Tower Two after the first plane hit returned to the building.
- You need to have a bug-out bag on your person at all times with a flashlight, a radio, and a multi-tool. A flashlight was the single most valuable piece of equipment for escaping the burning towers. A radio ensures that you can get news updates and make sound decisions. There are numerous other sources for other suggested items for a BOB, but that is my bare minimum.
I remember. I will never forget that day, and I will never forget the lesson of 9/11. Take some time today to tell the people that you love how important they are to you…you may not get another chance.
Proud Dad
I’m the proud dad of a four year old girl. She and I have been talking about guns and safety. She knows all about Eddie Eagle. Eddie Eagle is a program sponsored by the NRA, and teaches kids a very simple set of rules:
If you see a gun: STOP!
Don’t Touch.
Leave the Area.
Tell an Adult.
You can view the Eddie Eagle training video here.
She can also recite the four rules perfectly. Today, she saw some of the neighborhood kids playing with some toy guns.
“Dad, why are those boys pointing guns at each other?”
“Well, they are playing, sweetheart.”
“Dad, you never point a gun at people. Never point a gun at something you aren’t willing to destroy!”
And yes, she used those words. Did I mention she is four?
I had to wipe a little tear from my eye. I’m so proud of my little girl.
Auto Safety
Poor Squeaky doesn’t seem to be having any luck with cars lately.
I’ve been an AAA member since I had my first car. Their basic package is about $45 per year, depending on where you live. AAA is worth every penny for one important reason. If you get stuck, you have to dial one number and someone comes to help you. No worrying about which tow shop is open or whether or not they have trucks. One number, help is on the way.
The last time I used AAA, I was driving from Charlotte to Nashville. It is a long drive, and I wasn’t paying too much attention. I thought to myself “I wonder when I need to get gas?”…looked down…and found out I was running on fumes. Two miles to the next exit….and then my engine died. I was in the middle of Tennessee. No idea where I was. I knew the road I was on, and the mile marker I was at. That was it. I called AAA, 30 minutes later a truck brought me gas, and I was back on my way.
The other cool thing about AAA….it protects the person, not the car. So if your traveling with friends, for example, and their car breaks down, you still get your AAA benefits.
I think AAA is part of the basic safety package that you should have for your car, like a jack or a spare tire. It make sure you are never in a position where you can’t get help. It can be the difference between being able to wait in your locked car for the to truck that you KNOW is coming, versus hanging out the white flag and hoping someone swings by.
Other basic equipment that you should have in your car at all times:
- Jack
- Spare Tire (Sorry, Squeaky.
) - Jumper Cables
- Flashlight. Make sure the batteries work. A LED/Lithium combo like this is a great choice.
- Multi-tool. I like the Leatherman line. I have a Surge in each of my cars.
- Duct Tape
- Locking Pliers
- Multi-bit screwdriver
Even if you aren’t comfortable working on the car…keep these tools handy. You may run into someone who is.
Kids and guns
The recent foolishness involving kids and guns has got me thinking about kids and guns.
I’m the dad of a young girl. A curious young girl. A smart young girl. How can I keep her safe? As a shooter, how do you make sure your youngsters don’t get access to your firearms?
First things, first. Despite what you may have heard, a firearm in the home is not, truthfully, all that deadly. It is dangerous, to be sure. But, a bottle of bleach is dangerous. A can of gasoline is dangerous. And, in fact both of those things are probably more dangerous then a firearm.
One of the cool things about the internet is that you can look up data directly. Let us consider the CDC data on causes of accidental death for children 1-14 for the year 2005. 4,079 children died accidentally in 2005. Motor vehicle accidents top the list at 1,812 deaths. Drowning comes next at 746 deaths. Then fire, then suffocation, then pedestrian accidents, “other land transport”, and “natural/environmental” until we finally come to firearms at 58 deaths in 2005. To put it another way, your child is more likely to die from influenza and pneumonia (216), septicemia (166), or heart disease (403) then they are to be accidentally killed by a firearm.
I don’t mean to suggest that firearms are not something to be concerend about, or that they are not dangerous. They can be, if treated carelessly. But, in truth, they are no more dangerous then any other deadly thing in your home, be it car, swimming pool, or poison.
Bad journalist…bad!
Via Sebastian and Robb we learn the tale of a journalist and a policeman who decided to play with their guns.
If your child came across a gun, what do you think they would do with it? Tell an adult? Pick it up? Pull the trigger?
We wanted to try something. With a Northside ISD police officer’s help, we put a group of children in a room with a real, unloaded gun to see what they would do when they thought no one was watching.
See rule number one, fools. “All guns are ALWAYS loaded.”
The money quote is this gem:
We want to emphasize: News 4 and a police officer took every precaution to make sure these children were never in danger.
Um…every precaution except not putting them where they could get unattended access to a firearm.
This kind of experiment is the worst kind of sensational crap there is. It’s designed to provoke an emotional reaction. It’s dangerous as hell. And proves nothing. You left a gun in a toy box. What are the kids supposed to think? That some jackass of a reporter is trying to trick them? Or that they have found a toy?
First things first
Before you do anything in the shooting world, you need to learn the four rules of gun safety.
1) All guns are always loaded.
“It’s not loaded” is never an ok answer. Treat all guns as if they are loaded all the time.
2) Never point your muzzle at something that you are not willing to destroy.
Not your TV, not your dog, not your mirror, not your buddy.
3) Keep your finger off the trigger until your sights are on the target and you are ready to fire.
Your finger shouldn’t enter the trigger guard until you have your target in your sights. When you come off of your target, your finger comes off the trigger.
4) Know your target and what’s beyond.
Not all bullets stay in the target. You are responsible for every bullet that comes out of your firearm.
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Do your part!
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