View Full Version : Freedom. How do you show your appreciation?
RobertTheTexan
05-10-17, 17:32
Chatting with a co-worker today. He lives in Canada. Loves guns. He told me he was working on some dry fire drills with his 1911, with holster. Gets a knock at the door. It's the cops. His next door neighbor saw him practicing through the window and called the cops. He was "cleaning" and decided to "play" a little and so the cop let him off. It's illegal for him to do that. He can only do that sort of thing at the range. His pistol has to be locked up away from the ammo, and only gotten out when at the range. (as he explained it.)
This type of communist backstabbing, neighbor-spying and reporting stuff isn't new. It is invariably creeping closer and closer to our doorstep.
But hearing him tell me this, like it was just a normal thing that is to be expected, just made me stop what I was doing and verbally express gratitude for the freedoms that we have. Freedom that others have given up so much for, from the Revolutionary War, where young Colonists became insurgents and fought and died for an ideology free of oppression. Oppression like this. There are many ways to celebrate freedom. We shouldn't just do it on July 4th, but it should be a daily thing. So I'm going to endeavor to show, not just speak it, but put action to the words, and celebrate freedom, and do it daily. HDRolling's thread, "What have you done with your AR today" sort of inspired the thought. But I'd like to hear how you celebrate your freedom on a daily basis. It doesn't have to be going to the range, that's a great way, or shooting on your own land, that 's another amazing way, so I'd like to hear what you do. I think it would do good for us and others to see how freedom is celebrated.
Today, I'm going to take my son out to the local sporting good store and look at some .22 rifles. He's at that age where he's almost ready for his first rifle. Maybe a 10-22 or maybe a Crickett. And Dad's going to pick up a little match ammo for this weekend. :)
I need to whip up something tasty and take it up to the VA. I'll try to do that on Friday.
What or how do you celebrate freedom daily?
chain-smoking, old school gangster rap and hardcore metal, driving a gas guzzler, big gulps, and high cap .45s.
If I didnt have legit needle phobia, I'd almost get an American flag tattoo
Nightvisionary
05-10-17, 18:17
Everybody wants to celebrate it. Almost nobody is willing to defend it.
chain-smoking, old school gangster rap and hardcore metal, driving a gas guzzler, big gulps, and high cap .45s.
If I didnt have legit needle phobia, I'd almost get an American flag tattoo
Love driving a gas guzzler. My 01 TA gets about 1mph at the track. On a work trip in SC now and rented a '17 Camaro SS lol. I do have an American Flag Tattoo. ;-)
No smoking or anything in .45 for me tho.
Outlander Systems
05-10-17, 18:24
I post dank memes in the seedy internet underbelly.
Memes that, in some countries, would literally get my ass killed by the regime.
#Liberty
#TheseColorsDon'tRunMother****er
Dist. Expert 26
05-10-17, 18:30
I ride my motorcycle 25 over the limit, drive a diesel dually that chugs fuel like it's cool, drink moonshine and carry John Moses Browning's greatest creation every day. Not necessarily all at the same time.
In the 70s I wore a t-shirt with Washington crossing the Delaware to a Yes concert..;) There were some that didn't appreciate the artwork.
I teach high school students what the Bill of Rights means.
donlapalma
05-10-17, 18:45
Idealistically speaking, by trying not to judge those who choose to live their life in a different way than I do. I'll admit, that I'm not perfect at this and sometimes it is REALLY hard.
Not so idealistically speaking, cuss like a madman, carry a firearm, and exercise my freedom to choose, boycott or praise things that I like or dislike.
First, it is here. Have you not heard the phrase "if you see something, say something" on radio, tv, and billboards as a PSA?
Another diesel guzzler here. I give thanks every day when I can do what I want without annoyances from neighbors or cops/politicians.
Averageman
05-10-17, 19:10
Silently fart in the grocery store and slip away quietly in to another isle...?
In all honesty I fly my flag, grill and smoke meat in my backyard, ride my Harley without a helmet and do pretty much as I please.
By being a member of the NRA, GOA, and Oregon Firearms Association, and donating money to all three every year. It's a shame that a lot of members here and at all the other firearm forums aren't members of a national and a state pro 2nd. amendment association. Forum rules dictate that I don't use abusive language to call them out for that but they know who they are.
FlyingHunter
05-10-17, 19:30
I teach high school students what the Bill of Rights means.
Well Done. Salute.
Dist. Expert 26
05-10-17, 19:31
By being a member of the NRA, GOA, and Oregon Firearms Association, and donating money to all three every year. It's a shame that a lot of members here and at all the other firearm forums aren't members of a national and a state pro 2nd. amendment association. Forum rules dictate that I don't use abusive language to call them out for that but they know who they are.
I used to be an NRA member. Got fed up with the whole "they're gonna take yer guns!!!" BS and lack of offense legislatively. They're just common scam artists.
I used to be an NRA member. Got fed up with the whole "they're gonna take yer guns!!!" BS and lack of offense legislatively. They're just common scam artists.
They are certainly moving in the direction of proactive legislation. I totally believe without the NRA, we would have had our rights diminished.
Also many trainers and ranges are insured because of the NRA. Thank them for that. Also, the development costs they sport is very significant. I can't tell you how many ranges exist because of NRA funding.
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All jokes aside; I wake up every day, look around to see my wife, my house, my cat and dog, my guns, know I have a great job to go to and thank my lucky stars that my parents gave up everything they knew to bring me here.
I do that to remind myself that without the USA I wouldn't have to wake up in a drab tilt up concrete apartment building with the only thing to look forward to being a glass of vodka.
God Bless America!
RobertTheTexan
05-10-17, 20:12
Everybody wants to celebrate it. Almost nobody is willing to defend it.
I suppose it can be seen that way. But in my circle of friends, the majority are veterans will do whatever it take to defend the constitution. My friends who weren't born here, feel as strongly. "THIS" is home. Texas is home.
I hear what you're saying, but my take is a little different. I think most don't celebrate it. I think many, maybe most abuse it and take it for granted & they take advantage of it for their own profit and gain, without caring what the consequence is. One word: welfare)
My wife wasn't born in the US, she's Brazilian. She came here on a student visa to learn English. Cleaned houses while she was a student, home sat bedridden elderly and babysat babies. She already had a bachelors and a teaching cert. in languages, she speaks a few. She got a job at the local bank here and worked there until our boy was born. She earned her US citizenship. The joy and honor of that moment is only eclipsed by the birth of our son.
She makes this observation: People who come to America the RIGHT way and legal way and earn their citizenship are more patriotic than most Americans. Most young people crap on the very tenets that made us a great nation. They are a people of entitlement. So bro I don't agree that most only celebrate it. Many abuse and take advantage of it. Every single person in my circle of friends would do whatever is necessary to defend the constitution and even the scum sucking maggots who don't honor or appreciate anything about our nation except what they can manipulate from it.
My son was watching a mom and son Chopped on the food channel. The teams were working for their favorite charity.
A couple of guys all tatted up. American by birth. It was funny that the only team raising awareness for "dogs for combat veterans"
were an old Thai woman who came here legally and opened the first Thai supermarket in LA, and her son who was so appreciative of the opportunity he was given here that he would not have had in Thailand.
Maybe we haven't been pushed to that extreme. I don't think we have. Albeit for so many years we sat around allowing the liberal left to pass law and policy that have eroded the foundations laid by our forefathers.
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I was born in Chicago, but six months after I was born, my parents decided to move back to the Philippines. There I learned first-hand what martial law was all about. When you see freedom is taken away from law abiding citizens by force, one gets to appreciate it even more. Right after college I decided I wanted to go back to the country of my birth, but felt it was only right to earn my way back so I joined the US Army. Spent nine years there. Got out and settled for a little while in New York. Got tired of the politics and moved to the Great State of Texas. This is Heaven on Earth. :)
-Sent a doughnut joke to a cop
-Ate three tacos
-Performed a TCTO on an F-16
-Cleaned my rifle
RobertTheTexan
05-10-17, 20:23
I was born in Chicago, but six months after I was born, my parents decided to move back to the Philippines. There I learned first-hand what martial law was all about. When you see freedom is taken away from law abiding citizens by force, one gets to appreciate it even more. Right after college I decided I wanted to go back to the country of my birth, but felt it was only right to earn my way back so I joined the US Army. Spent nine years there. Got out and settled for a little while in New York. Got tired of the politics and moved to the Great State of Texas. This is Heaven on Earth. :)
Brother we are glad to have you. You are home.
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RobertTheTexan
05-10-17, 20:31
When I read y'alls posts I can't help but humming and then breaking out in a little Hank Jr...
"I live back in the woods, you see
A woman and the kids, and the dogs, and me.
I got some shotguns, and rifles and a 4-wheel drive
And a country boy can survive
Country folks can survive!!"
I ride my motorcycle 25 over the limit, drive a diesel dually that chugs fuel like it's cool, drink moonshine and carry John Moses Browning's greatest creation every day. Not necessarily all at the same time.
First, it is here. Have you not heard the phrase "if you see something, say something" on radio, tv, and billboards as a PSA?
Another diesel guzzler here. I give thanks every day when I can do what I want without annoyances from neighbors or cops/politicians.
I just made the firearm ownership more realistic. As in plural.
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By not being a hypocrite and spending my time bitching about how other people choose to use their freedom. Making me one of the few true Americans left alive.
By choosing to serve in my Country's Army for 22 years. By living a reasonable, rational and responsible life. Treating my neighbor the way I want to be treated. Not laying a hand on another, and demand the same from them. By raising my three children to fear God and what love of Country really means. And love of Country also means a love of the land this family has been on since Colonial Spain ruled here.
396 years on old Spanish Land Grant land for one family to survive on is quite an accomplishment, especially in the United States. We were blue-eyed, light skinned Castilian Spanish soldiers first under that flag, arriving here in the Spring of 1621. Then Mexico's flag flew over this land and in 1846 we officially became Americans. We swore allegiance to the American government and have served in almost every war since then, including the Civil War and Indian Wars. We consolidated several land grants and in 1879 named the ranch after the geological feature the main residence sits on. A family of professional soldiers and ranchers.
Keep in mind: We didn't come to America; America came to us. That was the arrival of Stephen Watts Kearny in September 22nd 1846.
Nightvisionary
05-10-17, 20:48
I used to be an NRA member. Got fed up with the whole "they're gonna take yer guns!!!" BS and lack of offense legislatively. They're just common scam artists.
So what are you doing now then?
By choosing to serve in my Country's Army for 22 years. By living a reasonable, rational and responsible life. Treating my neighbor the way I want to be treated. Not laying a hand on another, and demand the same from them. By raising my three children to fear God and what love of Country really means. And love of Country also means a love of the land this family has been on since Colonial Spain ruled here.
396 years on old Spanish Land Grant land for one family to survive on is quite an accomplishment, especially in the United States. We were blue-eyed, light skinned Castilian Spanish soldiers first under that flag, arriving here in the Spring of 1621. Then Mexico's flag flew over this land and in 1846 we officially became Americans. We swore allegiance to the American government and have served in almost every war since then, including the Civil War and Indian Wars. We consolidated several land grants and in 1879 named the ranch after the geological feature the main residence sits on. A family of professional soldiers and ranchers.
Keep in mind: We didn't come to America; America came to us. That was the arrival of Stephen Watts Kearny in September 22nd 1846.
I read all that in John Wayne's voice. Like, Shootist era John Wayne.
Brother we are glad to have you. You are home.
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Thank you, Robert! Glad to be home.
Every day? I live life well despite the challenges the government throws at me from several different directions. I open the doors to my business 7 days a week and celebrate the positive effects it has on me, my family, and my employees.
On top of running a business and managing a busy family I find time to volunteer as a hunter education instructor, chairman of the local Friends of NRA committee (raised over $120K in four years for the shootings sports and ranges), and serve on the board of directors of our local rifle range.
Want to make this country a better place? Volunteer towards something that teaches others some facet of freedom.
I live my life how I want. I pursue becoming the man I want to be tomorrow, every day.
I feel this thread warrants a theme song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PZxhOtO01g
Also to homeboy teaching kids, you deserve a medal
ETA. for me, I wont tout public service. Thats a privilege. I will say that giving back, I try to be excellent to one another.
I can be, for several good reasons, a dysthymic Debbie Downer, but I try to be positive and spread the gospel (so to speak) about Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
I am also glad Alex is chilling here enjoying tge Red White and Blue instead of BS Eastern Bloc crap
I voluntarily "go on the list" by owning machine guns, and as any non machine gun person can tell you, that is a big deal.
Occasionally I will grill in nothing but my boxers just to piss off the n
I would be careful with that, knew a guy who used to cook in his boxers, one day his dick fell out onto the fry pan. His sausage got sizzled with his bacon.
Anyway, on topic, I celebrate freedom by living my own life, I try not to tell others how to live theirs, I don't act like the media wishes I would, me being a gun owner, conservative, ect, I educate myself with the actual facts of history, what is actually going on, I don't buy into the spin that the mainstream would like me to believe, I don't partake of mainstream music, or movies, or books, and I stay aware of my surroundings, and I prepare for the day that we hope never comes.
RobertTheTexan
05-10-17, 22:56
I feel this thread warrants a theme song
Also to homeboy teaching kids, you deserve a medal
Truth. Most teachers today aren't even teaching - much less one as treasured as the Bill of Rights.
ETA. for me, I wont tout public service. Thats a privilege. I will say that giving back, I try to be excellent to one another.
I thank you for serving. I've never said that to ya but I did know you were an LEO.
I am also glad Alex is chilling here enjoying tge Red White and Blue instead of BS Eastern Bloc crap
I cannot relate to living like Alex lived, but I did spend some time on the other side of the wall when The Wall as alive and kicking. It was mind blowing when you got on the East side to look back to the West and see the total transformation. Completely different than when you were in the west looking east... It looked very similar in fact. But once you were on the other side, you were exposed to the truth of communism. I too am glad that Alex is in America now raising his family, contributing, happy and safe, and that his kids are growing up as free people. I'm happy for anyone who has made it out of those places and came here seeking a better life and freedom.
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While I prefer not to double post I will do so to add this.
I frequent here because I see a lot of men, warriors even, who would stand and fight against odds far beyond their means, beyond even their skill, to protect those who do not have the means or skill to protect themselves. Men who have devoted their lives to war so that others would not need to. Willing to fight to their last breath, to enter into the land of death for that final purpose, for that last mission to protect what is good, and just, and right, even at the cost of their own lives. And not hesitate a second. And embrace it willingly for their brothers, for those who can't protect themselves. We wrap sarcasm, pessimistic, cynicism around ourselves as a shield so that our souls are not poisoned by the lies, the hate, and waste that is around us and precious few understand this, even those closest to use. And yet, we stand, ready to fight, ready to die, for a hope, a dream, a glimmer that those that follow will reap the reward, will look back and learn, and forge a better day, forge something lasting, a world where petty differences are not cause for death. We may be the cynics, the pessimists, but in the end, perhaps we are the greatest optimistic of them all.
A quote from a song, that always spoke to me, perhaps because I always saw myself as winterborn.
And in the fury of this darkest hour
I will be your light
A lifetime for this destiny
For I am Winter born
And in this moment..I will not run
It is my place to stand
We few shall carry hope
Within our bloodied hands
And in our Dying, we're more alive-than we have ever been
I've lived for these few seconds
For I am Winter born
I'd like to think that the act of putting on a badge and carrying a firearm every day (literally everyday because days off don't exist) whilst doing my best to uphold my oath is sufficient, the reality is it's not and as firefly pointed out it's really a privilege and therefore doesn't count.
I need to strive for and do better....
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I show my appreciation by exercising my rights. Freedom of religion and the right to bear arms are my 2 favorite ones.
And let me say publicly - to everyone that has served in our armed forces protecting my freedoms, thank you. I have the utmost respect for what you did. Serving in the military wasn't in me so I didn't join but I try to do my part in my little corner.
You know what, not everybody can be military or police due to health age or just being a different person now than in their youth.
Red Cross is doing God's work and are always looking for volunteers or blood.
If you are a member of a church/synagogue: pool money and get a homeless family a room for a week, the man some clothes, and help them find work and get their kids a doctor visit. Or help elderly with yardwork.
Special Olympics is always looking for people and even though the kids are differently abled, they will never forget you. Ever.
If you ever feel like paying it back, there is always a way. That's being an American. Helping others because you want to, not because "Big Brother" forces you to.
While I prefer not to double post I will do so to add this.
I frequent here because I see a lot of men, warriors even, who would stand and fight against odds far beyond their means, beyond even their skill, to protect those who do not have the means or skill to protect themselves. Men who have devoted their lives to war so that others would not need to. Willing to fight to their last breath, to enter into the land of death for that final purpose, for that last mission to protect what is good, and just, and right, even at the cost of their own lives. And not hesitate a second. And embrace it willingly for their brothers, for those who can't protect themselves. We wrap sarcasm, pessimistic, cynicism around ourselves as a shield so that our souls are not poisoned by the lies, the hate, and waste that is around us and precious few understand this, even those closest to use. And yet, we stand, ready to fight, ready to die, for a hope, a dream, a glimmer that those that follow will reap the reward, will look back and learn, and forge a better day, forge something lasting, a world where petty differences are not cause for death. We may be the cynics, the pessimists, but in the end, perhaps we are the greatest optimistic of them all.
A quote from a song, that always spoke to me, perhaps because I always saw myself as winterborn.
And in the fury of this darkest hour
I will be your light
A lifetime for this destiny
For I am Winter born
And in this moment..I will not run
It is my place to stand
We few shall carry hope
Within our bloodied hands
And in our Dying, we're more alive-than we have ever been
I've lived for these few seconds
For I am Winter born
***I found something similar a while back; I have my own take on it, but it makes a point***
With chilling care, my hardships
Have managed to implant a spirit within me
One that impels me to point out
Injustice and wrongdoing
Sp while many strive to have a toil free life
I spend my time criticizing tyrants,
And so the spirit of subversion
Was quickly established within me
Now all I can do is calmly wait
For cold death to seize me
--Alcaeus of Mytilene 612 BC--
RobertTheTexan
05-11-17, 02:56
I've always wondered what makes this forum so different from the others. If I was to say that hypothetically the difference is the "type" of individual - that frequents here and posts here - at the core differences. Not differences in branding. Not even different job description. But that there seems to be a lot of the sheep dog core belief system, that exists regardless of profession. We have IT people who feel the same as LEO's and soldiers (granted we do have a lot of veterans here.). And it seems to me, that every other difference is driven from that in the gut, from the heart "who we are."
Or is that just a stupid musing st 0300, when I should be asleep?
@Kain and @Dienekes - good posts gents.
Moose-Knuckle
05-11-17, 04:37
Chatting with a co-worker today. He lives in Canada. Loves guns. He told me he was working on some dry fire drills with his 1911, with holster. Gets a knock at the door. It's the cops. His next door neighbor saw him practicing through the window and called the cops. He was "cleaning" and decided to "play" a little and so the cop let him off. It's illegal for him to do that. He can only do that sort of thing at the range. His pistol has to be locked up away from the ammo, and only gotten out when at the range. (as he explained it.)
This type of communist backstabbing, neighbor-spying and reporting stuff isn't new. It is invariably creeping closer and closer to our doorstep.
And their is my daily reminder of why I am a misanthropist.
What a twat waffle.
Moose-Knuckle
05-11-17, 04:47
I teach high school students what the Bill of Rights means.
When I was in high school our senior year the government class was all year long while most others were half the year (bloc program) and was the one class that hurt most student's GPAs and or kept them from walking the stage.
Our government teacher was independently wealthy and didn't need to work. He taught government at both our high school and the local community college. Among other things he was a Veteran Naval Aviator and was close friends with then House Majority Leader Dick Armey and would work for his campaign.
He told me that he taught government to students as way to give back to this great nation that had given him so much. We were close, I really admired that man.
By living a life worth the names on the bracelet I wear every day.
I feel this thread warrants a theme song
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PZxhOtO01g
Also to homeboy teaching kids, you deserve a medal
ETA. for me, I wont tout public service. Thats a privilege. I will say that giving back, I try to be excellent to one another.
I can be, for several good reasons, a dysthymic Debbie Downer, but I try to be positive and spread the gospel (so to speak) about Truth, Justice, and the American Way.
I am also glad Alex is chilling here enjoying tge Red White and Blue instead of BS Eastern Bloc crap
You seem very "Andy Griffith" in your approach to LE. More "policeman" than "LEO".
I hope you'll get the reference and understand it as the compliment it's intended to be.
IMO, the country NEEDS more policemen.
OT...
I celebrate freedom by doing what I want, but I respect my neighbors. I try to be a producer, not a taker.
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I am also glad Alex is chilling here enjoying tge Red White and Blue instead of BS Eastern Bloc crap
Thank you sir!
Rayrevolver
05-11-17, 09:08
By 2008 I was living the high life, single, downtown, working on the commercial side of the house. My good college buddy had just come back from Afghanistan and I assumed he was going to get out. I was trying to connect him so he could get a good gig and we were game planning.
When he told me he was going to stay in and go back to fight it definitely made me question my own path. I guess I felt guilty, kinda like Virgil Earp in Tombstone... Shortly thereafter I left that job and moved across the country to work on a DOD program. Just trying to do my part and hope I can continue until I retire. Merica!
ramairthree
05-11-17, 10:05
I've always wondered what makes this forum so different from the others. If I was to say that hypothetically the difference is the "type" of individual - that frequents here and posts here - at the core differences. Not differences in branding. Not even different job description. But that there seems to be a lot of the sheep dog core belief system, that exists regardless of profession. We have IT people who feel the same as LEO's and soldiers (granted we do have a lot of veterans here.). And it seems to me, that every other difference is driven from that in the gut, from the heart "who we are."
Or is that just a stupid musing st 0300, when I should be asleep?
@Kain and @Dienekes - good posts gents.
I get what you are saying.
Although I hate the sheepdog analogy.
It is more complicated. Yes, there are sheep, sheepdogs, and wolves.
There are also coyotes, feral dogs, jackals, etc.
Many of the people referred to as sheepdogs,
Are in fact wolves who have chosen to hunt wolves, coyotes, and jackals instead of eating sheep.
Outlander Systems
05-11-17, 11:09
I generally classify myself under the heading of Ass Jackal. Not sure where I fall in the spectrum.
I get what you are saying.
Although I hate the sheepdog analogy.
It is more complicated. Yes, there are sheep, sheepdogs, and wolves.
There are also coyotes, feral dogs, jackals, etc.
Many of the people referred to as sheepdogs,
Are in fact wolves who have chosen to hunt wolves, coyotes, and jackals instead of eating sheep.
RobertTheTexan
05-11-17, 15:43
Yeah I know it's played out, especially after American Sniper. And I've seen pictures of plenty of chest rigs with sheep dog patches. But I'm not really talking about those guys.
Col. Grossman wrote in his book: "Kn Combat
"If you have no capacity for violence then you are a healthy productive citizen: a sheep. If you have a capacity for violence and no empathy for your fellow citizens, then you have defined an aggressive sociopath—a wolf. But what if you have a capacity for violence, and a deep love for your fellow citizens? Then you are a sheepdog, a warrior, someone who is walking the hero’s path.
I was just trying to draw a distinction, at least with the guys from this forum I have interacted with who are not AR or firearm owners because it's cool. They own weapons because they take defense of self, family, friend, neighbor (unless he's spying on you and reporting you.) and I believe it extends to people they do not know but have a sense or responsibility to protect them whom others, wolves would prey upon.
I know the wolf. A wolf took my mom, in the most violent way possible when I was 12. From when I found her until about 30 years later I perversely carried the guilt. Somehow as nothing more than a kid, I blamed myself for it. As a result I've got some issues that have made me way hyper vigilant. While I have never seen combat, I have the gut feeling in the deepest part of me that I will NEVER, EVER, carry guilt like that around again. And I would do absolutely whatever is necessary to ensure a son or daughter doesn't experience what I have had to experience because of a wolf. So for me, the term is plausible and applicable even though it's worn out. I'll be a sheep dog. A honey badger, or just one of the good guys. (however no sheep dog patches allowed.)
And the cool thing is that I came here to M4C. Made some amazing friends and found more men who are like-minded in that way. Our guns aren't something to decorate with pretty with shiny parts from SI., or skull shaped lowers with 10 attachments on the rail. Our weapons are tools. Either purchased or built to perform a task or tasks that are related to protecting our own. And we realize that "our own" extends much further then the walls of or home. Those who have this as a job description, from what I have seen or read, take it much further than just a job. But a privilege and responsibility. I also consider them brothers whether they served in the military or not. And those who have the heart and mind to protect and serve but are called to a different daily grind. I have met them and I consider them my brothers. And of course my Brother brothers who have served, well you know that bond that is almost instantaneous. I don't have to speak to that. Different backgrounds, some different upbringings, but we share a common cause and a common responsibility.
Robert, that was an incredible post
Indeed. Damn....
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I showed my appreciation by working me ass off at one of my two full-time jobs and even paid my taxes to support those that don't work.
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citizensoldier16
05-12-17, 01:40
What or how do you celebrate freedom daily?
I leave the house and pass by the Stars and Stripes on my front porch waving gently in the breeze with a Glock on my hip and a prayer in my heart.
Moose-Knuckle
05-12-17, 03:12
Robert, I'm sorry to hear about your mother and the cross you bear from being the one to discover her. There are just no words.
Things that happen to us make us who we are, for better or worse.
My dad raised me the way he did because one sunny day when he was working as a cashier at a grocers in college a wolf entered into his world. Before that he was like most people asleep at the wheel. After living through the experience he swore that he would never be a victim again or his children.
I have a cousin who was sexually assaulted in her own home during a home invasion on the first night back from leaving the hospital after giving birth to her first child. An aunt of mine was robbed at gun point in the bakery she was working. My ex-wife worked as a bank teller while she was going to college, one day it was robbed, the robber went to her window.
Your last post was spot on.
I know the wolf. A wolf took my mom, in the most violent way possible when I was 12.
Guy tried to take my mother's life. Father out of town. Guy breaks down front door even with GSD going nuts. He had been casing the house and knew only us boys were there with my mother. He had previously been on property before and ran off. One time he started to break in a back door while we were there with a baby sitter. We ran out the front door and happenstance put a deputy driving by. Didn't catch guy.
When he came through the front door at 3am, the dog ended up being a deterrent. The dog backed up from him but was still growling and going crazy; it was one of those times when you just can't be sure if the dog is aggressive and will attack or is just all bark and no bite. Many of my father's friends were vets that had seen combat. They had instructed us on a fatal funnel. Which we were set up in waiting for him to turn a corner and he would have been the target in a shooting gallery.
The crystallization of becoming a person willing to sacrifice life for someone else happened right there. My mother had a .38 and was shaking so bad she was basically non-functional. She looked at me and said, "****, you are going to have to do this." My little brother , all of 8, was right there and I can remember the look of sheer terror and knew that he thought he was going to die and watch all of us die. I was calm. Logic, religion, life, values, whatever; all made me know that killing this person was the right thing to do. I looked at my mom and just said, "Ok." That was it. I had changed.
Hard to put into words; really.
Luckily, the dog combo and me yelling I was going to kill him changed his mind and he left. The main prob. was we never found out who it was. So, for several yrs. before we could move, life was strained. We all knew it could happen again. Living that way also makes one change. Can't be helped.
RobertTheTexan
05-12-17, 10:37
Robert, I'm sorry to hear about your mother and the cross you bear from being the one to discover her. There are just no words.
Things that happen to us make us who we are, for better or worse.
My dad raised me the way he did because one sunny day when he was working as a cashier at a grocers in college a wolf entered into his world. Before that he was like most people asleep at the wheel. After living through the experience he swore that he would never be a victim again or his children.
I have a cousin who was sexually assaulted in her own home during a home invasion on the first night back from leaving the hospital after giving birth to her first child. An aunt of mine was robbed at gun point in the bakery she was working. My ex-wife worked as a bank teller while she was going to college, one day it was robbed, the robber went to her window.
Your last post was spot on.
Brother thank you. I have tried to be a good "evangelist" of the life-changing lessons I've learned. Awareness, vigilance, preparedness, those things. Thank God my wife understands me, and doesn't say anything when she hears me get out of bed 2-3 times every single night to go clear all the rooms in my house and make a perimeter check. Or when we returned from being out and I make them wait in the foyer while I clear the house. Every single time.i also encourage people to leave nothing unsaid. Don't let anger fester so long that it breaks comms with your loved one. There are so many things I wish I had said to my mom. My sister was at great odds and did not speak to our mom for years. She had gotten pregnant and finally her and her husband started to talk to my mom and dad. Then my mom was taken. My sister was so filled with regret, over the things that were spoken, but even more so by what had not been spoken. . My wife and I may have a knock down drag out fight (usually before I'm due to travel) but I NEVER leave the house without saying the words that need to be said. Even if it's the rare moment I was right and she was wrong. I leave nothing unspoken.
I have so many things that I have had to fight through and figure out. The best advice I got when I returned to school after it happened was, "Robby, you just have to put this behind you and move on. You have to get over it." Like a good little soldier I said "yes sir" and tried to put it behind me. What I didn't know then was there are some things that are forever etched in your mind and soul. That was one of those events. So I did my best to drink and drug it away. Women became a drug. The Army became a drug. In the end, there was only One who came in and healed my heart and set me free from all those chains. He even gave me the ability to forgive the man who ravaged and murdered my sweet mom. Now my desire to defend my fellow man, the sheep, isn't born out of hatred for the wolf, but out of love for others. Sounds cheesy. May sound weak, but I have found more strength in that than in hatred. The gas for hatred WILL wane some day. And then where is my purpose and will? But if I'm driven to protect and defend out of love and that love isn't really my own, but the One who loved me while I still hated Him? Then I am strong to the end. Strong to finish the fight in whatever front or situation. I can never forget what happened, but after carrying hatred around for so many years, I know the absolute distinct difference between being a slave to something and being free. I am a free man. And so thankful.
I'm rambling and I don't mean to preach to anyone, but the topic is in fact "freedom"
Good thing this is my own thread, maybe I'm allowed to ramble. :) But I do appreciate your kind words brother and thankful for knowing you.
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ramairthree
05-12-17, 11:31
Yep.
Some of you truly get it.
So many spout off about being sheepdogs when they are really just sheep that are proud of themselves.
Nothing wrong with true sheepdogs though.
And a wolf with a code of ethics and honor that hunts dangerous wolves, coyotes, and jackals.
I praise and worship my God.
I make sure to thank those who have sacrificed for me or who have helped me.
I serve the less fortunate.
I try to live by and for truth.
I try to open others' eyes to the freedoms that they enjoy. I emphasize how easily it can vanish, if they aren't wary.
Official Kremlin Transmission
RobertTheTexan
05-12-17, 23:14
Guy tried to take my mother's life. Father out of town. Guy breaks down front door even with GSD going nuts. He had been casing the house and knew only us boys were there with my mother. He had previously been on property before and ran off. One time he started to break in a back door while we were there with a baby sitter. We ran out the front door and happenstance put a deputy driving by. Didn't catch guy.
When he came through the front door at 3am, the dog ended up being a deterrent. The dog backed up from him but was still growling and going crazy; it was one of those times when you just can't be sure if the dog is aggressive and will attack or is just all bark and no bite. Many of my father's friends were vets that had seen combat. They had instructed us on a fatal funnel. Which we were set up in waiting for him to turn a corner and he would have been the target in a shooting gallery.
The crystallization of becoming a person willing to sacrifice life for someone else happened right there. My mother had a .38 and was shaking so bad she was basically non-functional. She looked at me and said, "****, you are going to have to do this." My little brother , all of 8, was right there and I can remember the look of sheer terror and knew that he thought he was going to die and watch all of us die. I was calm. Logic, religion, life, values, whatever; all made me know that killing this person was the right thing to do. I looked at my mom and just said, "Ok." That was it. I had changed.
Hard to put into words; really.
Luckily, the dog combo and me yelling I was going to kill him changed his mind and he left. The main prob. was we never found out who it was. So, for several yrs. before we could move, life was strained. We all knew it could happen again. Living that way also makes one change. Can't be helped.
I've read your post several times. There is a lot to process in that situation and the things you've said. I've played a thousand different scenarios that I wish had worked out, but it's not how it worked out for me. I'm sure your dad and your mom were incredibly proud of you. No young person should have to make that decision, but when it comes down between "yours" and him, you made the only choice in my mind hat you could make. It sounds like you have the resolve to do whatever was necessary. I can identity with dealing with the unknown, the guy being on the loose and not even knowing who he was had to be rough. They caught the wolf who took my moms life. He was just passing though. The local law enforcement said that he should have been locked up in CA, but instead was escorted out of their jurisdiction and warned not to come back. So he came to Texas. I had to testify against him. Showed me all these pictures. In the end a woman said that she could not be responsible for taking another man's life. So he didn't get the death penalty. He got life without parole. So I knew he was no longer a threat to me or my family. But my mind didn't process it that way. I had a hard time sleeping. Then a worthless democrat governor did a mass release in Texas prisons. The guy who did those horrible things to her spent less than 20 years in prison. Texas may do well with death row convicts but there are obviously many who got away.
I wanted to ask you, what do you think the biggest changes this event brought about in you and your family? Did you guys, your dad or yourself do anything different after the front door incident? In terms of security?
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Some of what you guys have been through...damn.
Glad it resulted in vigilance, just wish the process had been a little kinder. I went through some rough ones, but thankfully I was much older and actually had been prepared a little bit so when it happened I knew what to do, just had to actually do it. Can't imagine doing it as a kid, can't imagine starting from a point of incredible loss.
Moose-Knuckle
05-13-17, 03:38
Guy tried to take my mother's life. Father out of town. Guy breaks down front door even with GSD going nuts. He had been casing the house and knew only us boys were there with my mother. He had previously been on property before and ran off. One time he started to break in a back door while we were there with a baby sitter. We ran out the front door and happenstance put a deputy driving by. Didn't catch guy.
When he came through the front door at 3am, the dog ended up being a deterrent. The dog backed up from him but was still growling and going crazy; it was one of those times when you just can't be sure if the dog is aggressive and will attack or is just all bark and no bite. Many of my father's friends were vets that had seen combat. They had instructed us on a fatal funnel. Which we were set up in waiting for him to turn a corner and he would have been the target in a shooting gallery.
The crystallization of becoming a person willing to sacrifice life for someone else happened right there. My mother had a .38 and was shaking so bad she was basically non-functional. She looked at me and said, "****, you are going to have to do this." My little brother , all of 8, was right there and I can remember the look of sheer terror and knew that he thought he was going to die and watch all of us die. I was calm. Logic, religion, life, values, whatever; all made me know that killing this person was the right thing to do. I looked at my mom and just said, "Ok." That was it. I had changed.
Hard to put into words; really.
Luckily, the dog combo and me yelling I was going to kill him changed his mind and he left. The main prob. was we never found out who it was. So, for several yrs. before we could move, life was strained. We all knew it could happen again. Living that way also makes one change. Can't be helped.
Talk about a "baptism by fire". This speaks volumes as to your intestinal fortitude at such a young age.
Glad that you, your mother, and your little brother were not physically injured or worse during that ordeal.
Moose-Knuckle
05-13-17, 03:42
Brother thank you. I have tried to be a good "evangelist" of the life-changing lessons I've learned. Awareness, vigilance, preparedness, those things. Thank God my wife understands me, and doesn't say anything when she hears me get out of bed 2-3 times every single night to go clear all the rooms in my house and make a perimeter check. Or when we returned from being out and I make them wait in the foyer while I clear the house. Every single time.i also encourage people to leave nothing unsaid. Don't let anger fester so long that it breaks comms with your loved one. There are so many things I wish I had said to my mom. My sister was at great odds and did not speak to our mom for years. She had gotten pregnant and finally her and her husband started to talk to my mom and dad. Then my mom was taken. My sister was so filled with regret, over the things that were spoken, but even more so by what had not been spoken. . My wife and I may have a knock down drag out fight (usually before I'm due to travel) but I NEVER leave the house without saying the words that need to be said. Even if it's the rare moment I was right and she was wrong. I leave nothing unspoken.
I have so many things that I have had to fight through and figure out. The best advice I got when I returned to school after it happened was, "Robby, you just have to put this behind you and move on. You have to get over it." Like a good little soldier I said "yes sir" and tried to put it behind me. What I didn't know then was there are some things that are forever etched in your mind and soul. That was one of those events. So I did my best to drink and drug it away. Women became a drug. The Army became a drug. In the end, there was only One who came in and healed my heart and set me free from all those chains. He even gave me the ability to forgive the man who ravaged and murdered my sweet mom. Now my desire to defend my fellow man, the sheep, isn't born out of hatred for the wolf, but out of love for others. Sounds cheesy. May sound weak, but I have found more strength in that than in hatred. The gas for hatred WILL wane some day. And then where is my purpose and will? But if I'm driven to protect and defend out of love and that love isn't really my own, but the One who loved me while I still hated Him? Then I am strong to the end. Strong to finish the fight in whatever front or situation. I can never forget what happened, but after carrying hatred around for so many years, I know the absolute distinct difference between being a slave to something and being free. I am a free man. And so thankful.
I'm rambling and I don't mean to preach to anyone, but the topic is in fact "freedom"
Good thing this is my own thread, maybe I'm allowed to ramble. :) But I do appreciate your kind words brother and thankful for knowing you.
No, not weak or cheesy in the least.
Sage wisdom and advice.
I appreciate you sharing your story with all of us to learn from and it is I who am thankful to know men such as yourself.
Everybody wants to celebrate it. Almost nobody is willing to defend it.
Almost everybody states they would die for it, but how many are willing to kill for it?
To be honest, probably more than are willing to die for freedom. Ask the guys who never served.
To be honest, probably more than are willing to die for freedom. Ask the guys who never served.
Yeah, if I feel like I might get killed, I'll do my best to send as many people ahead of me as possible. At that point, very few things matter beyond trying to protect those I care about.
Currently rereading my dog eared, highlighted, underlined and tattered 40 year old copy of "Man's Search for Meaning". The alternate title should be "How to Survive Damn Near Anything And Keep Going".
Good thing to have in my toolbox.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080701429X/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
RobertTheTexan
05-14-17, 11:53
Almost everybody states they would die for it, but how many are willing to kill for it?
Considering that we live in a society where people are willing to kill life for a a matter of convenience, I fail to see the logic behind your statement.
I agree with 26 Inf and SteyrAug finding people who are willing to sacrifice status quo, comforts of life, family or friends? That's what we may be in short supply of.
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RobertTheTexan
05-14-17, 15:01
Deleted - I created duplicate post. Which is weird in itself. Must have been something I said.
I've had an American flag flying for as long as I've had a house, an American flag sticker on the back of my Jeep for as long as I've had it (and on the back of the BMW before that), VA's DTOM license plates, a colonial flag sign in my office, an M1 Garand, a Colt 1911, several ARs, and its also the only velcro patch I ever really use. I want a tattoo but haven't found a design that I really like yet. I'm also happy to be able to wear it on my right sleeve almost every single day, which is probably the only one that really matters.
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