To the thoughtful Webmaster...
I didn't know where else to put this, so will put it here for all the world to see.
My birthday was on Jan. 26th. I was 59 yrs. young. And the Webmaster sent me a nice "Happy Birthday" notice. That's a real nice touch. Thank you, Webmaster!
Something else might be worth mentioning. All last summer I kept visiting a hardware store in Miles City, Mt. whenever I got to town. That's where my lady friend, Joyce, lives, and where I can do some shopping. Where I live is a real small rural community of only 400 souls.
After Joyce and I started dating she got into shooting. Now she's as bad as I am. She's got her own .22's, a .38 revolver, a buffalo rifle, and a deer rifle. She also competed in last fall's local buffalo shoot (silhouettes) and beat all the local club except me. And I only beat her by one shot! She's good!
Anyway, she's been with me when I'd go to Ace and drool over a particular Marlin 1894 Cowboy in .44 mag. One day the gun was no longer to be found on their shelf. I knew I'd never be able to afford it on my retirement but I'd miss seeing it there and dreaming of one day owning it.
Joyce invited me to come to town for my birthday. She'd baked my favorite chocolate cake. She and I value these little things we do for each other. So I drove the 120 miles to town. We went out and ate Chinese food then went to her house for cake. It was nice.
Then she lured me to the hardware store "to look at a new door lock for her house". We looked at all the locks then wandered around looking at "stuff". She's as bad as us guys when it comes to looking at power tools and things. I think she can imagine them humming away as they fix things around the house.
After a while we wound up walking through the gun dept., as usual. We looked at some varmint calls and holsters. She looked at a fanny pack for her .38. All the while she kept a straight face. Don't ever play poker with this gal. You can't believe how composed she can be. When we finally came to the rifle rack I began doing my usual "touch and feel" routine. Then I froze. I think it shocked me so much I couldn't even speak. That's not like me! There was that Marlin I'd looked at all summer long. But now it had a big ribbon and bow on it, along with a tag that said, "SOLD... to Mike". I made myself a promise to not get married again, but I may have to rethink this. This gal may be a keeper. We've got a great Webmaster but whoever he/she is he doesn't hold a candle to Joyce. After I clean this gun up and work with it I'll let you all know how it's doing.
Best Regards to All, Mike
