first of all my hat is off to zia1 and zia2 for the blog idea and im really looking forward to it
as for me and stories one with me and pop comes to mind i was guessing 14-15 and he took me to the Reaver gun range one Sunday afternoon.
I was really excited because on this trip i was going to get a chance to use the .45 magnum that he had you have to understand up until this point the only gun he would let me touch was the .22 pistol and that shiny magnum was the thing of lore. so we arrive and set up pop tells me he is going to load 5 .38 caliber shells and one .45 he then hands me the gun stands behind me which is strange to me because we always got our own lanes ...he told me he just wanted to watch how i did and so i squeeze the trigger the first few rounds feel strong but don't knock me over... but all along poppie has now put his had on my back. not knowing what i was in for overly confident from the smaller .38 rounds i pull of a few quick shots and pop tells me "slow down buddy don't be dirty harry" with that i pull the trigger the last time reach the .45 shell the gun goes off like a thunder clap to my 14 year old ears and i promptly shoot the cealling poppie catching me and grabbing the magnum all at the same time.., this was the first and last time he let me shoot it
i guess he always made me feel like i could handle things by myself even if all along he had his hand on my back to catch me
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When Poppie took a particular interest in something, Ma went all out to support him in that endeavor.
ReplyDeleteHe decided to take serious measures in his career at the Port of Authority. Ma bought him a rainbow of shirts with matching silk ties. This was when most flashy male Accounts were breaking out with beige and blue shirts for work.
Poppie wanted to go back to school for his Associate’s degree in Accounting. Numbers were his thing, language arts was not. Ma completed the research and wrote all his papers so that he could focus on Accounting, Law and Economics. In truth, Ma was the stronger all-round student.
Then Poppie figured out that most of the Managers were conducting career business on the golf course. First Ma insisted Poppie have a matching set of clubs so he wouldn’t look like a piker. Then Ma went to her friendly neighborhood swag dealer and bought him sporty golf outfits. Now, this was during the 70s and 80s and to be honest, some of them were so bright you needed shades to see them. But her heart was in the right place.
One night Poppie mentioned that he was invited to go hunting with a few of the fellas at work. Ma’s head popped up like a prairie dog in a burrow. A new project!
Initially Poppie went out to a range using someone else’s gun to see if he liked it. Then he took a few classes and joined the NRA. The next thing we knew, Ma was trekking down to Karnival Sporting Goods store and began her quest to buy him enough rifles to outfit a Montana militia!
By the time Poppie’s attention turned to hand guns, Ma was just as hooked as he was. She would join us at the local NRA indoor range and squeeze off a few rounds just for fun. Ah, it was a Kodak moment to be sure. The cool thing was that in Ma’s daily life, her hands shook; she called it “coffee nerves.” But at the range, her aim was balls-on accurate.
Her favorite piece was the .22 Beretta. When I was stationed in South Carolina, Ma insisted I keep it with me for those late nights at the office and on the road. It was completely illegal to bring a firearm on the base but hell, a promise is a promise. Besides, an Italian mother outranks a Navy Captain every day of the week.
Yes, Poppie was the “rough and ready cowboy” but Ma was definitely “Cool hand Luke.”