On Saturday I taught my very first solo firearms course. John was teaching a rifle course out in West Virginia, so when this opportunity came up, he asked me to teach.

This was not a self defense course. This was a group of 9 professional women from Northern Virginia who were looking for a different kind of “Girl’s Weekend.”

TSM came along to help assure safety and give the ladies a special treat…shooting an AR. I have to say, I think that was their favorite part of the day. The combo of a Marine and the thrill of that gun was enough to produce 9 ginormous smiles.

I had a blast. The weather was spectacular, I was able to teach the fundamentals of shooting while laying some groundwork on carrying for self defense. Even though shooting is a blast, my main concern will always be trying to encourage folks to do more for their personal safety. And, of course, the people were phenomenal.

Just in case you are wondering if the women enjoyed themselves as much as I enjoyed teaching, here is the email sent to John and me from the lady who organized the event.

“John, I can’t even begin to describe how fabulous last weekend was, but I’m sure gonna try!

First & foremost, AGirl was AMAZING!! Not only did she demonstrate great passion for her belief in the FPF Training philosophies and practices, but she found the perfect way to blend that spirit and knowledge with her students into the overall goals for the group! She was honest, dynamic, knowledgeable, and completely focused on safety and developing the right habits.

AGirl did not dictate, she simply taught! She left the politcal perspectives up to us, but she never held back in describing what she, herself, believes. Her raw honestly and willingness to share her personal experiences were forces that forged a trusting and close-knit relationship with us, as her students. We learned, we grew, and we revealed things within ourselves that added to our overall characters. We gained confidence; ALL of us!

Every single one of us also appreciated TSM and his contributions to the day! Hey, it takes a REAL man to pose for photos in a pink cowgirl hat, right?! He was the perfect support to AGirl in her instructional role, and to us, as we worked on our skills. He also did a great job of demonstrating the finer points of the AR-15, and helping us to handle and shoot it.

A few of us have already decided to take your two-day course. We want to get our permits, but we don’t want to purchase a gun until we’ve taken the full course to gain more experience. I even have a neighbor who wants to join us. She couldn’t come with us this time, but she likes what she’s hearing.

It’s obvious to us that you have a sound, solid, and very comprehensive program there, John, and you have the right individuals helping you.

Thanks, again, for working with us on this special program. It was worth every penny and more! You’ll see many of us returning, and bringing others along!”

In every shooting course I take at some point the instructor sets the students up to potentially shoot an innocent person.

It goes something like this…man walks up to you and ask for money or directions. The student tells him to get back, he doesn’t, student pulls gun, instructor says, “hey, hey, this guy just wanted to know how to get to Wal Mart.” “Haven’t you ever asked for directions before.”

It is true that 99% of the time the person is probably just wanting directions. It is true that we do live in a polite society where we help each other out, but for me that is no longer an option.

For me, unless I know you and well, you may not ask me for the time, money, directions, or even tell me I left the lights on in my car. No, I am not going to start screaming, yelling, drawing my gun or shooting anyone, necessarily, but 100% my response will to move back and firmly tell you no.

There is no 100% solution. Danger lurks and even when you do everything right bad things can happen, so for me it makes sense to stack the odds in my favor as much as humanly possible without living in a state of paranoia.

This poor woman was killed by her neighbor. Apparently, she knew this man casually and it seems perfectly reasonable for her to give him a ride to work. I would be surprised though if it doesn’t come out that she and/or her husband found him creepy. Couldn’t put their finger on it, but he was just off. Almost always our instincts warn us and time and time again many of us do not listen.

That is not an indictment against this woman. Maybe she didn’t feel that way or even if she did, it is so a part of us to quite those thoughts and help. She was kind and compassionate. There is zero fault in her behavior. The animal who violated her is the only one who is at fault. My only concern is what we can learn from our own choices and from choices of others.

Yes, I carry a gun and yes my choice would have been to try to shoot him, but if I am in a car with my gun on my hip and another one pointing at me, at the very least I need a little time probably to get to my gun. I have other ideas like ramming the car into a poll or something before I willing drive to my own death, but all of this requires some forethought and plan A, B, C, all the way to Z if need be.

I have no advice. I only have encouragement for each of us to continually be thinking about these things. Can we be more aware? Do we need to do a better job listening to our inner voice? Do we have a plan for this?

Please be safe!

Well, actually it isn’t better. In fact, it is down right bad.

Over the past few weeks several food delivery people in my town have been assaulted and robbed. Two pizza places and a Chinese restaurant. The incidents have ranged from intimidation to full out ass kicking and threats to blow the person’s brain out. The last one was 4 guys on one.

My son’s part time job is as a pizza delivery guy. The particular place that the robberies have been taking place happen to be in my kid’s zone. As a concerned citizen and even more concerned mama, I am displeased by the solution that is being offered by my son’s employer. Which in short is no solution at all.

“Yes, we are aware of the issue and have been in contact with law enforcement.” The basic idea, of course, is not to fight back and just to give the thugs what they want.

We all know how well that works out.

A few years ago a Chinese food delivery man was killed here and so several of the Chinese restaurant owners decided to take action and now they all carry. The young man who comes to our house is under 21, so his Glock can be easily seen on his hip, but he has had some training and he does very well approaching the house etc. Even though we have been ordering from them for years and we are friends with the owners, this boy behaves exactly the same way every time he comes to the house. He knocks, steps back from the door, has one hand clear and his hip is pointed away from the door. He is very alert.

My son used to work for them, but he is a daddy and needed more hours than this small place could give. The current place he works is a big chain and they prohibit firearms.

We can’t protect you, the cops can’t protect you, but we are uncomfortable with legal, law abiding Conceal Carry Permit holders carrying while at work, so just cross your fingers and hope no one jumps you.

Yes, he could get another job, but it will be the same kind of job. He is young, in school, and a daddy. He currently isn’t skilled or educated to do much of anything that will also allow him to advance his education. The bottom line is, even if he does change jobs, he should not have to choose between his job and his life. It would be great if in this country we worried more about punishing the bad guy  than the good ones.

The companies do not worry about getting sued when they get one of their employees get killed, but they are down right paranoid about the bad guys family bring a suit. Can’t say I entirely blame them as our court system pretty much awards monetary damages to anyone who asks regardless of merit, but still money over life. Seems a tad off on the whole moral scale.

Somebody has a birthday today! Go send your good wishes!

This came in my weekly email alert from the VCDL. The crime on and near this campus is not getting any better despite a large police presence.

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ACTION ITEM: VCU Concealed Carry Authorization Request Underway!
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Two VCDL members who work at VCUHS are encouraging like-minded students, faculty and staff who are concealed carry permit holders to sign a letter to VCU President Dr. Michael Rao requesting written authorization to carry concealed on VCU campuses.

If you are interested in being a part of this effort, or know someone who is, please contact Mark Hile or Matthew Schaefer at this email address:

[email protected]

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VCU: Breaking down VCU’s latest security report
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Board member sent me this:

According to the Virginia State Police’s Crime in Virginia Report for 2011, VCU has the largest police force among state schools, with 79 sworn officers, 25 more than George Mason’s, the next-largest campus police force in the state with 54 officers.

That report from the state police indicates that **VCU had the highest number of incidents among the 24 colleges and universities reported**, 1,111 total , which is more than double those at the next highest school, the University of Virginia. VCU tallied the highest number of assaults, larcenies, weapons law violations and drug/narcotic offenses among state schools.

From commonwealthtimes.org: http://tinyurl.com/8e56b27

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Yesterday The Cornered Cat linked the story about the 12 year old girl who bravely defended herself against an home intruder. Then Kathy made a comment and asked this…

“A young person responsible enough to be left home alone should be responsible enough to be trusted, alone, with _every_ item inside the home. If a young person cannot be trusted with everything in the home, that young person shouldn’t be home alone.

Agree or disagree?”

Again and again I hear this I idea that children should not learn to handle guns because it is to dangerous for them. I actually hear this about adults as well.

What about your huge butcher knife or your matches? How many homes are burned down by kids playing with matches?? Yes, put the matches up where the kid can’t get them if your child is young or irresponsible, but the point is, teach your kids about the dangers and how not to stab themselves, get burned or shot and if they don’t get it then leaving them alone should not be an option.

I once knew a person that said she didn’t want a handgun in her house because she didn’t think she or her kids were responsible enough and it scared her. A rifle yes. A knife yes. I blow dryer near a tub full of water yes, but not a handgun.

Choosing not to have a handgun in your house is a personal choice and it is fine if one is not comfortable, but if your reason is that neither you or your children are responsible enough then I am think none of you should be left alone, period. Responsibility is a full time gig and really it is a mind thing and a behavior thing.

Again, if a parent doesn’t feel a child is responsible enough to handle a gun safely then absolutely that child should not be left alone with one, but if a parent feels a child is responsible enough in all other areas then it makes sense to put aside the bias and fear and evaluate if the child is capable of being safe with a firearm. Often we use our fears to make choices for us without really thinking it through. Using one’s own fear to keep a child from having all means of protection at their disposal is not the best way to keep them safe.

Guns do require an enormous amount of respect and care, but the rules for safe gun handling are simple and if followed make them one of the safest tools in the house.

We have children who we, without question would trust with a gun anytime, anywhere. They are more committed to the 4 rules then anyone I have ever seen, but then we do have one who isn’t so good yet. This is pretty universal with his overall behavior. I don’t trust him not to put the dog in the washing machine or eat the entire bag of Halloween candy stashed in my closet either, so guess who is supervised 24/7? He will find that dog and that candy no matter what, so my only real choice is to watch him or have him watched. Funny, though, he never touches the knives, the scissors or opens the front door and even the toy guns he asks to touch. However since I don’t feel he is responsible enough in general there is no way I would risk leaving him home alone with or without a gun(He is 6, so that would  not happen regardless, but if he is still this way at 16 he won’t be left. Please Lord, don’t let him be this way at 16:)

My daughter as you know isn’t super keen on guns, but since we have guns in the house she has had to learn how to use them safely and since I believe in having all the tools available to help defend ones life against a mortal threat, she had to learn  how to use all the guns, knives, flashlights, fire extinguishers, chop sticks, heavy objects in the house, mace…get the point. Shooting isn’t fun for her, but she is comfortable with guns and she absolutely has the mindset and skill to defend her life she should be forced to. In addition she is over all just a trustworthy kid.

My husband and I are not comfortable leaving our children in an environment that is unarmed. Sometimes we have to(like if we go to DC), but if we can avoid it we do. It doesn’t make sense to me that I walk around my house with a gun on my hip just in case and then leave my children home with less tools. We only have armed baby sitters…funny, but totally true.

Of course we really do not trust a lot of people with our kids safety so we teach them how to take care of themselves and until each shows they are responsible enough in many, many areas to include safe gun handling they are not left alone at home or at a friend’s house or in the mall and no my kids do not carry a gun in the mall.

I think many adults underestimate how responsible and capable children really are. True we seem to have an abundance of irresponsible folks running around, but that is learned behavior and the good stuff is just as easily learned. We just have to take the time to teach it.

 

I have added some new blogs to the roll. And by now you all should know when I say “I” did something techy on the blog, I mean Barron. Musings Over a Pint and The Cornered Cat. David has been giving me quite an education on all things brewsky and plus he is a gunnie, so that is like the perfect blog set up.

Many of you know about Kathy’s FB and newsletter, but now she has a blog too!! Good stuff!

Go check them both out.

I have been contacted by several companies over the past few months asking me to promote them, which if I think they have a good product I do and if not, then I don’t. Recently I was contacted by Ammo.com. I have been exchanging emails with a very nice gentleman for the past couple of weeks and since they are so awesome I have decided to link them here. For full disclosure I think they are tossing me a few bucks. We had chit chatted and I agreed to put them on the blog and then in the last email the gentleman informed me that it was “customary’ for them to contribute monetarily to the blog. I don’t know why, but I thought that was kind of cool.

And finally…

Last night while in EMT I got an email from Erin. In the email was a picture. She said it was me.

I should have asked for clarification, but I decided I wanted to believe she meant I was the one in front with the gun.

Of course, the reality is that sometimes I am the one in the back needing cover (not the kind that stops a bullet). Lucky for me, I have backup and protection when I need it, but also lucky for me, everyday I get more and more like the one in the front. Everyday, I get a little stronger, a little tougher, a little bolder. I don’t think I ever want to be so independent as to not need others, but it is nice to know that I have what it takes to help too.

I love this picture…so much Thank you Erin.

For the past week I have been sick and not the good kind of sick either. Last Thursday I started to feel under the weather, but nothing to awful. Friday was rough, but manageable. By Saturday I wanted to crawl into a hole and sleep for, like, ever. Of course, that was not going to happen.

Saturday was our first EMT Practical class and missing is a big no-no. My instructor scares me a little. Ok, not really, but she made it crystal clear that it was beyond wise to show up. I did with my head cold and some yummy homemade cinnamon rolls for the class. Those were a BIG hit. I had offered to make the 40 roll batch prior to getting sick, but I am a woman of my word, so I did not show up empty handed.

Class was awesome. Love this stuff and it is coming together inside my head nicely. We were scheduled to be there from 9-5, but some of the instructors didn’t show up, so we left at about 3:30 which gave us enough time to head home, change and get ready to meet our friends at the pumpkin patch.

This is an annual thing for our two families and even though I didn’t feel great, I refused to miss-out. I think traditions are important. I am not tied to them and yes things come up, but in a busy world where it is all to easy to let relationships fall to the way side, I pay extra attention to keeping those that matter to me front and center. Seems like if we miss one it becomes less and less a priority and next thing I know, our annual trip is no more.

This was the first time our families had gone at night, but our friends were gracious to make the switch to allow TSM and I to attend EMT. What a fun time. We didn’t do as much as we do on the day trip, but the kids had a blast and wouldn’t you know it, I bonded with a stranger.

Riding on the hay truck to the pumpkins, I was signing with my daughter, A, when the woman sitting next to me says to her husband, “They are signing.” Turns out he owns a local interpreting business. We talked kids, language, skill(he offered me a job) and as luck would have it, they want to adopt. We exchanged info, so I could chit chat more with them on that whole thing. Opportunities abound I tell ya. Although, no one get on my case, I know I am busy and I am not going to take the job. Unless it is just a one time they need an emergency interpreter kind of thing. Once, twice at the most:)

Sunday I headed up north to meet 2 women for a business luncheon. This one had to do with firearms training and I had the best time. Can’t wait to give you all the details of that, but it will be better after Saturday.

Monday was a day full of catch up and EMT class. Tuesday was rough here. I was sick, TSM was very sick and 2 of our kiddos were sick. Yesterday morning, I was so tired, I laid in bed and cried. Fortunately, everyone was well enough to head back to work and or school, so I stayed in bed and slept for an couple of hours. By mid-afternoon, I felt kind of sort of like I could attend EMT class without dying.

This morning I am much, much better. Still have some sinus pressure and all kinds of gook in my throat but the headache is gone, the constant coughing is gone and I have some energy.

Before you all lecture me(and I know some of you will anyway:) on taking care of myself and not over doing it, I want to remind you that I am young, healthy and that almost every single person in my EMT class is sick. I am not kidding. At least 20 of the 29 of us are coughing, hacking, blowing our nose…It is just that time of year.

The next few weeks are full of fun stuff. Some of which involves guns…yeah!! But, for now I am off to stick my head in a very hot shower where I am hopefully the steam will turn me into a new woman. One that can breath.

While you are waiting for my next riveting post head on over to When The Balloon Goes Up and do a little early Christmas shopping.

 

Over the past several months the town I live in along with a neighboring town has had several robberies/home invasions where the bad guy(or two) approach a person walking their dog or doing yard work and then assaulting them, robbing them or forcing them back into their homes for various not so fun games.

I hear many people say things like I will not let the bad guy win. I refuse to be a prisoner in my own home. My home is a place to relax and I am not going to walk around with a gun on my hip paranoid all the time. Of course, that is a personal choice and I am not going to tell anyone they should or shouldn’t carry a gun(although you probably should), but there are some things to consider when opting not to.

I always find the argument about not being forced to do something by the bad guy an interesting argument. The whole reason I choose to carry a gun is to up my odds of stopping the bad guy from imposing his will on me. I have no idea when and where a bad guy might choose to act out his nefarious plan, so in an effort to be calm, relaxed and in control, I opt for the always be prepared route. I am the most relaxed and unafraid when I am prepared. For me that almost always means I have a gun very close by.

Everyone’s favorite tactical guru has an article on some things to think about.

As for the practicality and comfort of carrying at home. For me carrying at home is one of the most comfortable. I wear my OWB AGirl holster from The Holster Site, a good belt and no cover garment. It is honestly the only time I “forget” I am carrying. I cook, clean, wrestling around with my kiddos, lay on the couch(I never really get to do that much, but…) without giving any thought to the gun. It’s much more of a pain for me when I am out and about. However, it isn’t much of a pain then either.

From my house in a “good” neighborhood I can tell you about more than one crime that has taken place 5 miles away, 20 miles, 60 miles…Currently, Richmond is all worked up over a rash of robberies taken place on and near the VCU campus. One of the students that took our FPF Training course this past weekend is a young 20 year old young lady who attends that campus and lives on the street where several robberies and rapes have taken place. Want to hazard a guess why she was in class?

For me violent crime is not abstract. It isn’t the kind of thing that happens to someone else and it isn’t the kind of thing that happens at night far away from home. It is a daily kind of thing. The kind where one walks out of a grocery store at noon, or is gardening in his own backyard or is walking on a college campus minding her own business.

To be honest I don’t give a flying flip about what I should be able to do or what is fair or any false ideal of not giving the bad guy power. I really only care about what I can do to create a world where I have the best possible chance of A. Avoiding a bad guy situation or B. Surviving it should that not be possible.

Well, I also care that you create that kind of world for yourself to the best of your ability.

If you are on the fence about some of these things, please take the time to really read what Greg and others have to say and then do something positive for your own safety.

A few days ago Murphy flew his plane out to see his dad who was not doing so well. Fortunately for all involved Murphy made it in time and was able to see his dad before he passed.

The loss of someone we love is always so hard. I am sure Murphy would love it if you stopped by wins offer your thoughts and or prayers.

Much love and prayers Murphy!!