a choice and a conversation....

Some girls fret over what clothes and shoes to buy, the choices are endless, and the decision is always a hard one. Not I of course, my current dilemma is over a new handgun. This really started over a week ago when Senior got a text from a friend asking if I wanted to sell my Glock...  'What" !!  No I am not selling my Glock. Then I wouldn't be "The Glock Mom"  I love that gun.

My current issue is between a Ruger SR .22 or a 1911 .22  I like them both and have handled them both. I watched a youtube on the Ruger , and liked it, very lightweight and fits well in my hand.  But, it came in black,  pink or purple.  And I really want mine in Zombie Green. But then there is the 1911... I always wanted one.
This search took me from the local gun shop to a big box sporting goods store. Senior was shopping from the 5.56 that is soon to be executive ordered out of stock. And I was peeking in to the counter. Again no Zombie green Ruger SR.22  and no 1911 in .22 either...

Next to me was a small and fragile elderly woman and her overbearing son, who was trying like a politician to talk his little ole mother in to some big honking  knock off brand .45  in stainless steel that the woman could barely hold up. I hate seeing this.
 I injected myself in to the conversation, after chatting with her a bit I found out she had never handled a gun before, and had never shot one. So, I suggested something easier for the mother to handle and to shoot. Such as the Glock 26 or a Ruger..   Oh no! This made the son unhappy. He did not like Glocks or Rugers and wanted his mother to get something cheaper, it is only for home defense he said and will stay in her nightstand., his mother he said needed something with stopping power and a gun is better then any insurance policy. The guy behind the counter looked at me rolled his eyes, and shook his head at the son...lol
My argument back was that she needed something she could handle and was easy for her to use. I even suggested a revolver so that she did not have to worry about a slide.   I myself went through at least 4 handguns until I found my perfect fit. But what did I know? I was just a woman.
The best thing for this mom to do would have been to tell her son where to go, and carry herself to an indoor range where she can try out different guns. And I kick myself for not suggesting that..

I wished her luck and Senior and I walked off. After some more time browsing we walked back past the gun counter and the pair was still there..

And I am still here with my little dilemna  of what to get the 1911 or a Ruger SR. For me to get the SR in green obviously means I need to get the black one and duracoat the parts I want green...  *SIGH*

Always Be Alert...

This is a true story of events that happened a couple of days ago to an acquaintance who has recently relocated to the north Georgia area. He is a retired police officer, and even served as a detective for a few years, so he has seen it all and knows what to look for.. 

 

While shopping this afternoon, we noticed a black female loitering around the front door acting very suspicious. A few moments later, she followed my wife into the store, waited for her to look away and advanced towards the buggy where her purse was located.  My wife was aware of the girls actions and didn't allow her purse to be stolen. One additional subject appeared pushing an overloaded cart and rammed the door as they ran towards an awaiting vehicle. I called the local SO, gave a description and just a few minutes later the vehicle spotted & stopped.

 

  Results: 4 black females arrested in what appears to be a string of grand thefts, 11 felony arrests, firearms seized, marijuana recovered & vehicle seized. You never fully retire. Eyes always open observing what is going on around you.

 

I wanted to share this with you all because the holidays are fast approaching, there will be more crowds in the stores,  times are tough for a lot of people. They will go to  extreme measures to take something that is not theirs.   OPSEC is always important, know your surroundings, know who is around you ,and their proximity to you..

Always stay vigilante...

 

-JUGM

Blame it on the Screw....

Blame it on the screw that Senior found in my tire. For if it had not lodged itself in there, then I would have gone about my day as I had planned and not side tracked by sitting for over an hour and a half at the tire store. I could not complain to much though, they did patch it for free, even though I did not purchase the tires from there.
 Finally the Cherokee was finished. I sent a text to Senior who was working near by to see if he wanted lunch. He said sure, and we had a brief but nice little outing.

I had an hour to kill. did not want to drive back to our little area then over to our subdivision, then leave again to get the boys from school. Senior had said he needed a veggie tray for his last class tonight. They were having a "pot luck". Okay, my original plan was the store earlier in the day, but since it was wasted at the tire store, I will go now.  I really hate driving around so much. But, I am also a firm believer on if you are out...then stay out and get your errands done.

I get to the store around 1;30. that is about 40 minutes I had to waste before getting ND. I browsed like I normally do. Picked up a few groceries, including the veggie tray. Checked out and headed to the car. It was 2:05 and I was right on track for picking up the boys.

That is when I first saw her. She was leaning on a car parked next to mine talking on a cell phone.  I could hear she was crying and something about her medications had her upset. I went to open the drivers side door. She had hung up, and was sobbing.

{I do know what some of you will say.. And yes my guard was up, and my hand on my glock. I know to be careful,I was wary of the other shoppers going to their cars, and where her hands were at all times-security cameras were every where, and store employees were sitting at a picnic table near us. }

" Oh Hell! "  I thought......  "ma'am, are you okay? "  I asked. I just involved myself.  She looked up, with a bit of surprise on her face.
"No, I just moved here and because I am not a resident I can not get prescriptions filled, and my back is killing me, I came all this way out here from California..and now I just want to go back"

At this point, I expected her to ask for drugs, or money. But she didn't. She never asked for anything.
 She told me her story, most of which I still can't figure out. Like why she  couldn't get a rx filled, If the original was at Walgreens.
And how she was married for 24 years, but separated from her husband 18 of those years.. wow! And now he wants her back. She just went on and on for what seemed an eternity.

 I know I could have got in the car and drove off. But, it was something an old preacher once said that made me stop. He said " We are tested every day. You never know when that person in need could be Jesus in disguise"

 Things always happen for a reason... And I think the series of events starting with the screw in my tire put me in that spot at that exact moment, more for my benefit then hers. Lately, I feel as though my level of compassion and nice-ness is being tested. I needed to know for myself that I truely am not the mean catty ogre a couple of former friends have made me out to be.

I nodded my head a bit, then told her I would pray for her. I wished her luck..and I truely meant that. I did keep my word and said a silent prayer as I drove off.

-JUGM

Car Chat

Today is NDs 7th Birthday, yesterday my sister brought him a gift card, and it immediately started to burn a hole in his little pocket. Senior left for school, and I took the boys to the store so ND could make a purchase, after an hour of going between the aisles, And me explaining to him that he only has $20.00 to spend,  he finally choose yet more Legos. ...  at least it is something constructive.

Anyways, the entire fiasco was wearing NW out. Now that he will be a big third grader he thinks he is an automatic adult. So, we are driving home. And he says to me:

NW: "Mom" ?
ME:  "yes"..
NW:  "tomorrow, can you give me one of those little pills you take to help you deal with me and ND, you know the ones that make you happy, when we are driving you crazy ?
ME: "What" ? 
NW: " I need something to help me deal with him, he is getting on my nerves, and driving me batty. he wore me out shopping and I need something to calm me down"
ME:  Shakes my head, keeping eyes on the road... " those are mommy's special pills, if I give them all to you, what will I do when you both are driving me bat crazy" ?
NW :  " maybe you should just soak in a hot tub of water, and have one of your special Icee's" ( frozen margarita)
ME:  "oh geez! " 


-JUGM

Cool Mornings, and Warm Afternoons

We have had a cold snap. Jack Frost has blown his cool breath across the area and its been in the 50s here in the mornings.. for us that is BRRRRRRR Cold.
But it has warmed up to become a beautiful fall day. The pumpkins are out in massive droves. Halloween is around the corner. I must get on to SENIOR about getting my Halloween items down from the attic.

The baby fish are growing, you can now make out their little eyes and tails. We only have 5 of them left. So I hope they make it.

The other day the boys ran in yelling for me to go out back with them, a butterfly was laying in the grass. Very  beautiful one in deed. Not sure if its a Monarch or not.  ND is an aspiring entomologist. I mean what boy isn't.?  If there is a bug within a five mile radius of our house, he will find it. When Seniors mom passed we found a book with pictures of every possible insect in the world. He likes to carry it around and draw them. So, when he say this butterfly in the yard, he went completely nuts, and hoping it wasn't dying. Explaining nature to a 6 year old is really hard.

A new antique shop has opened in town, I must see if one day Stephens Sweet Wife would like to come up and go off antiquing with me. I am in need of more old canning jars....okay, so its not really a need. Oh gosh, I can see Seniors eyes rolling at me! 

Finally almost done with the baby album I have been working on, only three more pages to go and I can gift it to my friend. She use to be NW and NDs Preschool teacher, so I let the boys pick out a month to design, they chose March and April. 

Got to ride around the community yesterday with our assistant community manager person. She does the inspections for the Homeowners Association. I was her little secretary writing down all the addresses she is sending violation letters to. Well, the political signs are actually getting out of hand around here. People are acting like its a competition of who can have the most signs in their yards.So, she had to send out an email to all residents about it, plus mailing a letter. It is a violation to have any sign other then a "For Sale" sign up. So, I am sure there will be some ticked off people around here.

The VP debate tonight! This will give the American people a good chance to look at Paul Ryan and get to know him. I hope he does well against Biden....

Welp, its time to go get boys from school...can't wait to hear about their adventures. 

Saturday...Last day of the Week...

I ended my week, by having to take both boys shoe shopping. With the way they scuff their feet, they wore holes in  the bottoms of shoes I had just bought them in August. And again, can hardly find lace shoes, so Velcro it is again...  : (  
I must have been asking for it, because I invited my mother along, you know my same mother that thinks "nothing bad can ever happen"... well, Thank God I had half a pot of coffee this morning and a whole anti-depressant, with out them both I doubt I would have survived dealing with her, and 2 boys out shopping.. We started talking well, here is the jest of our conversation:

Mother: "Do you think the president will get re-elected" ?
ME: " Yes, but IF he doesn't, look out for rioting"
Mother: "Rioting!!!"  " your not serious"
ME: " yes" and shaking my head
Mother: "I spent 200.00 last night on groceries, and have nothing to show for it"
ME: " everything is getting expensive, wait until gas is 10.00 a gallon, and a loaf of  bread is 5.00 a loaf, now you see why I am learning to make my own"
Mother: " what are you Amish?, and what's with this car of yours being so high? Is this how you like it" ?
ME: <---- bangs her head on the steering wheel!

Knowing the area we were going to be in, I did something today I have not done in a while, I got out my wrap holster ( I call it that, because it literally wraps around your waste and you fit your gun in pockets on the side) and i carried on person today. I have recently gotten in to the habit of carrying a concealed purse, but lately this particular area of her town as gotten much worse, and I felt better with my glock on my side.

Senior is off with group friends today, so I am making a good spaghetti dinner, and home made Italian herb bread...the kitchen smells delicious...I hope the family enjoys it. We have also been camper shopping, wanting to get out of the one we have, and in to something a bit bigger..I like those with bunk beds for the kids.

This has been a heck of week in my area, we lost a great police detective and our good friend Duke lost his sweet mother in law. My sister new her very well, and is deeply saddened.His mother in law was a very beautiful person inside and out, all though I did not know her personally, I have heard my sister speak of her on many occasions, and I felt like I knew her. Our prayers goes out to his family during this sad time....

So on to a new week, Hope its a good one for all of you.....

Pink Ammo! ....Who'da Thought!

As I have been dealing with nasty strep throat and sinus headaches all week, I finally started feeling better last evening and ventured out to shop for my Dads birthday which is tomorrow. This is a first in a string of Birthdays over the  next week, including mine.

So Senior and I took the boys to a outdoors store, what do you get a 78 yr old man that has everything? I know, a digital thermometer! sounds good to me, If he doesn't like it I will throw in the receipt and he can return it. Senior as always ventured over to the gun section, while I did my browsing. He eavesdropped on a couple of "thugs" who were gun shopping. Do you know the type I mean? Dreadlocks, baggy pants,etc.... I won't go any further with descriptions because far be it from me to be racist or a bigot. Well these superheros who want to play "grownup" and carry a gun had the poor sales man in a tizzy, as they had not the slightest idea on how to pull back a slide. And here they were wanting to buy one. For what purpose I can only imagine. Senior walked over to me with a smirk and shaking his head...

I came across something cool in my browsing, Federal Ammo now has colored shotgun shells, Pink for Breast Cancer Awareness and Red, White , and Blue for those who feel patriotic....So they get a KUDOS from me. Knowing the Pink and Purple kind of girl I am, my eyes got big over the Pink ammo...WOW!!!!  ammo makers are really hitting the mainstream and appealing to the ladies. I batted my eyes a few times at senior, but he wouldn't budge...I thought how much fun I could have shooting these from the mossberg tactical 12gauge. I wish they came in 410 so I could shoot them from my Judge. Oh well, my birthday is next week, maybe I will get a box. Getting ammo is better then getting chocolote right?

Women and Children Safety

Wednesday evening Senior made me sit down and watch an episode of one of his gun shows, it was about women and children safety. 9 out of 10 times I am out shopping, I usually have at least one or both kids with me. And they always get me sidetracked with one thing or the other.
  I get looks and comments all the time in stores, especially in regards to our youngest. He is very outspoken, and doesn’t meet a stranger. We have had our hands full with teaching him about “Stranger dangers”
  I will tell you all right now; I am a real B---- when people approach my children. Once, some elderly lady saw shoes untied on my oldest and without asking me she took it upon herself to tie them, and I let her have it, I am sorry, but no body touches one of my kids.  

So in this episode I watched, there was a mother and son being followed home by 2 home invaders, in the first scenario she was clueless and her husband got shot and killed. Second scenario she hurried in the house, told her husband she was being followed and husband shot both intruders dead. The third and final scenario had her being aware of being followed, calling her husband and keeping him on the phone until she led the strangers to the police station and to safety.

Since watching the show, I have started making it a habit to be more aware of who is around me, especially while getting in the vehicle, which I believe is when I am at my most vulnerable. I have taken notice of people in line with me at stores, and getting mental pictures of them in my head. It is my hope that I can hone this mental skill now so that if the time ever arises that I need to give the police a description that I will be sharp with details. However, I know that all this is good and a great exercise… but as a concealed weapons carrier with 2 small children, I will defend my family first.