A Return to Thoughts on Guns and Other Things

So Carl Mintz, the 27 year-old who now faces a possible prison sentence of up to 10 years probably thought when he exercised his right to gun ownership that he was protecting his life, not ruining it.  What happened?  Well, he was defending himself he says, against a driver who was angry that Mintz kept stepping on his brakes which meant the mad driver had to step on his breaks too (geesh!).  According to Mintz the driver stormed to his car and was screaming and spitting on him and then apparently reached for his pocket, Mintz shot him because he assumed he was going for a weapon.  If we had gun control laws in this country that made it illegal for us to carry handguns, Mintz might have just rolled up his window and driven away because he would not have assumed that the other driver had a gun, and Mintz would not have had a gun to shoot him with so he would not now be looking at a possible prison term.  The real irony in this sad story is that Mintz, who has no prior record, has a degree in criminal justice from Wayne State University!  Geesh, again, what a waste. 

Next thought, wear a helmet when bike riding no matter how stupid you think you might look.  Bad things happen to good people, and an unavoidable accident could happen to you.  I am right now caring for my  husband who has a broken collarbone and twelve staples in his head, it is only by the grace of God that he doesn't have a closed head injury.  It's funny because I have actually had a premonition about something happening.  I talked to my husband the other day about riding the bike with no ID.  I have heard sirens and looked at the clock, thinking "He should be home by now."  so when I saw the police car out the window, I knew.  When I got to the ER and saw that he no longer had a head of white hair, but that half of it had turned bright red, I went numb.  Hearing him cracking jokes with the nurses helped me realize immediately that he was all right, but the blood, I knew how lucky he was.  So he gets it now, as do I, a helmet will protect your head from a fall from a bike and any of us are subject to that fall.

This leads me to my next thought which I have actually been thinking about for a week.  I went to church with my sister-in-law last Sunday while up north, and the priest's sermon reminded us that we don't know when we will be called to give up our life, it could be this very night.  I left church thinking that I don't want my last day to be one filled with anger, envy, disappointment, unhappiness, unpleasantness, arguments, confusion, or anything negative.  Since I don't know when my last day will be, I have to actually try to rid myself of these feelings.  Will I have them?  Of course I will, but then I have to allow myself to be happy for the good things in my life, which are plenty.  This makes me remember a thought read on a stone not too long ago, "The time to be happy is now.  The place to be happy is here."  I get this and I want to get it everyday, because I don't know when my last day will be. 

Last thought, just a question really.  The Yankee Air Museum 2010 Thunder Over Michigan Air Show is this weekend.  It costs adults over 16  thirty dollars to get in and they charge ten dollars for parking.  Why?  A couple with young children will spend seventy dollars to attend this event.  Most likely concessions are sold, and telling the young children "No" at these kind of things is pretty hard and not what you want to do, so it might very well be an eighty or ninety dollar night.  Why is it necessary to charge so much to get in and for parking?  I don't get it do you?
Rosemary