She's starting to nag me...

Just freakin' great!

The wife got on me for deciding to carry down to the local chicken wing restuarant tonight. I only went to get us some dinner and she started in on me when she saw Roscoe tucked away in his new CTAC.

She is afraid I am getting too attached to the gun and may suffer from an irreconcilable dependency on being armed. Her argument is that I should not be armed for a 'quick trip' down to the corner store, or to the Whataburger drive-thru. She honestly believes that nothing is gonna happen in a crowded place like the grocery store. I am beginning to wonder if she is not paying attention some of the stuff on the news.

I am afraid that I may have to start asking, "By your leave, ma'am."

Yes, there is some validity to her claim. And even I think that some of what she said is right. I don't think that there is any reason, though, to give up carrying because it is just a quick trip to the store. Wives become widows for that type of thinking. What is the proper proportion of preparation versus paranoia? The missus honestly thinks that I am beginning to go overboard with the CHL and it bugs the hell outta me.

If my two readers remember, there was an incident shortly after I started Parallax Adjustment in the drive thru of a burger joint...approximately two miles from the house! Remember the tweaky sunuvabitch who stuck his head in my driver's side window while I was at the take out window? You also remember that I was pre-CHL and coming from the range? Thankfully, it ended without any problems.

Not many people know this, and the wife just heard about it for the first time today (so she states), but I was followed from the bank one night after work. I didn't give her the full story, but as I left the bank, a car started to follow me out of the garage. It was near dark, and he followed me through a couple of turns. I got a funny feeling and made a 'clearing' turn down a side street. He followed. After a couple more turns, I believed I was being followed. Thankfully, a police station was very close by, and I called over there from my cell. The dispatcher had a unit waiting out front as I rolled by. Turns out, the dumbass was only following me to get to the freeway, LESS THAN A BLOCK FROM THE FREAKIN' BANK!!!!!!!!!!! Of course, now the wife thinks it is a bad idea for me to carry to and from work. Point of Order: As long as I am not carrying while on Bank Property (the bank is leasing space from the building) I am okay. The parking structure is not bank property, therefore, is safe from repercussions. I don't tell anyone at work, and they know not to ask. If I have to work at a branch that is all bank property, I will respect company wishes and park off-site.

What I didn't scare my wife with was that this happened a few weeks after my branch had been robbed by an armed gunman. The less I freak her out with, the better.

Other things happen from time to time that cause me to take notice. The meth/crack freaks that sit on the corner and panhandle for a fix by The Range. The BMV's that occur in our complex parking lot (Burglary of Motor Vehicle). The peeping tom reports that we get mailed to us every other month by the apartment managers don't help me either. Sure, we live in a well-heeled and groomed neighborhood. Bigwigs and Richie Riches live there in their million dollar homes with fences, security patrols and alarms. We get the knowledge that crime is down and incidents of personal attacks are rare. Stranger things have happened, and I WILL NOT LET MYSELF BECOME A VICTIM.

Take for instance, Fourth of July. My parents also chided me for carrying out to the fireworks celebration in Downtown Houston. They always put on a good show, and the wife and I like to sit outside the festival where there is a good view (Jackson Hill). I get razzed for being a CHL, and Mom, ever scolding, states that is not the place where I should be carrying a gun around kids and families. I would get in trouble. Gee, mom, nothing illegal about carrying in a park, while on my bike, making my way back to home with Wife Shooter in tow around several hundred drunks and punks. I think that is the perfect time to carry. Roscoe and two extra mags were stuffed in the back of my Camelbak MULE. No problems, and No worries!

Did anything happen? Yes, I heard one gunshot from an estimated two or three blocks away. Was it a danger? Probably. Unlike last year's gun fight between rival gangs at the park across the bayou from us, that was probably just some dipshit yuppie firing his little Kel-Tec in the air to be a moron. I hope the bullet penetrated the engine block on his neighbor's Beemer.

I see a need to be armed almost everywhere I go. The grocery store, to and from work, the Fourth, out to dinner, wherever. Maybe not when I am cycling, or visiting the parentals. Yeah, I will obey all laws to the letter, and I will be prudent in my selection of places to carry, and places where I will leave in the car.

I enjoy my interest in guns and think it is a valuable tool in my aresenal of survival knowledge. I carry, and hunt, and attend Tac Tuesday because it is who I believe I am. I support the 2A completely, and will fight for my liberties and rights. I will also fight for my family and friends and my personal well-being. This is not some passing fancy that is getting out of hand. I take it very seriously. I practice constantly, and remain well-read on news and events that affect me and my interests.

This discussion isn't over between the wife and I. I hope to make her understand that I believe in protection and intend to keep doing as I am already doing. In the meantime, I will bring this up at the next Tac Tuesday class and get some reinforcements on this matter. We are doing a kind of Open House Tac Tuesday for our friends, wives, whathaveyou to teach basic gun safety and handling. If we can get a little word in edgewise about some of our personal need to carry, then I think she will see that the need is there in our family.

Shooter out.