Saturday, October 21, 2006
Turkey ShootsMy youngest daughter is a senior this year and they are doing a thing called Project Grad--a prize giving night after graduation--something fun and cool to keep kids busy and safe on the night that so many wanna go and get drunk and stupid. It's a cool idea.
But, it looks like it fills the whole year with fund raisers--which are generally things that suck us dry. Today is a turkey shoot. We're in Missouri, so it is no surprise that there are guns involved in the first big fund raiser. These people are a little nuts on that sort of thing. Kids get guns at the age of eight here. (I'm not kidding.)
I am not for gun control. I'm a firm believer that guns don't kill people--PEOPLE kill people. Responsible gun ownership should be required. I'd be the first one to say...I don't think kids or stupid people should be allowed to have guns. But I think gun registration is a scary thing. If someone is murdered with a .44 and you are on the list of registered owners of a .44, you automatically get put on the suspect list--which they work their way through as a process of elimination. The truth is...the only people with registered guns are the law abiding types. Criminals will always have unregistered guns, and illegal weaponry of every design. If we give up our guns, how will we defend ourselves?
Okay, sorry for spouting my politics about guns and gun control. Please don't unsubscribe if you disagree. Instead, feel free to comment and persuade me to your viewpoint.
One of the problems in this world is that people remain silent. They slink away. Instead of standing up for what they believe in. If nothing else, let me empower you to state your opinion...(even if it's wrong?!? LOL)
I don't assume I know everything. I'm willing to hear supporting arguments for opposing viewpoints on anything I post.
But what I really meant to talk about today is the whole fund raiser concept. When I was a kid (I know, it was SO long ago and the world worked differently then)...local businesses donated to our worthy causes. We did bake sales and car washes. And no one felt nickel and dimed to death. Everybody was happy to donate a cake, brownies, or snickerdoodles in baggies--or something.
But this year...we're gonna be selling candles, pampered chef (and I love both of those...but the candles WE'RE selling are way expensive ones)...and then there's about four other THINGS/BOOKLETS of stuff that is overpriced--that you can get at the dollar store for a buck or buy from the fund raiser book for $12 so they'll donate $4-6 to the kids. I'd much rather donate $6 and save some money.
Is it just me? Or are you getting nickel and dimed to death by this sort of stuff from your own kids, or kids you know?
I DO want $20-30 worth of girl scout cookies since those are only out once a year and I like to stick them in my freezer. But other than that, I have yet to see a fundraiser I could stand.
I have asked repeatedly for them to get smart. How about buying candy bars (regular size) when they go on sale 3-4 to a dollar, and then sell them for $.75 cents. Fifty cents profit on each one could add up, and people would by them. Other kids would buy them. But no. We get the boxes of the super size ones--and the fundraiser place makes as much money off of us as the kids get to keep for their goal. I just don't understand it.
Anyhow...today we are probably gonna go see if we can shoot well enough to get us a frozen turkey.
I AM a dead-eye--no kidding. Ask me about killing a rattle snake from my front porch some time.
But I've never done skeet shooting, or clay pigeons or whatever they call them here.
Anyhow, if anyone's anywhere near Branson...feel free to come to the shooting range on HWY 65, 11 miles north of Branson. It'll be going til 2 p.m.
(SO much for writing today!)
3 Comments:
okay tell me about shooting the rattlesnake from the front porch. I completely agree about the gun thing. I live in Al they do the whole gun thing too. But I have one problem and that is parents that are too stupid to live who leave guns lying around where anyone can get ahold of them. I know I know young kids should be taught to respect guns but what about visiting kids who have never been around guns and I don't know about you but sometimes my kids do stupid things they are kid after all. But IMO guns and kids should not be mixed unless there is a responsible adult supervising.
We did a bunch of stupid fundraisers when I was in school, too, like the selling chocolate bars and things from expensive catalogs. We also had a few that weren't so bad, mostly involving band performances to raise money for field trips.
The main fundraiser for dry grad was cleaning toilets at the fair. I didn't participate, mostly because I didn't want to spend any more time than I had to with my classmates.
I can comment today, couldn't yesterday thanks to Blogger issues.
Anyway....
The company my dad works for hauls an interesting combination of things. Hydrochloric acid (mostly), sand, and clay pigeons.
When I went to school -- actually probably the last 2-3 years -- they were starting the nickle-and-dime you to death thing. Though they had the courtesy (I suppose) to confine it to one semester.
