David came home from the army for the weekend with his rifle - it's a Tavor...or a Mini-Tavor...don't ask me, I really don't know. It looks huge to me, so maybe it's not a Mini, but then again, I think my definition might not be the one that counts here.
For the first time ever, I was shocked to see how dirty the gun was. I mean here, coated with sand, dust, something. "Three days in the sand," was his response.
"You smell terrible," Elie said a few minutes later as he was speaking to his younger brother and got a bit closer. He stepped away.
A few minutes later, Elie's wife, Lauren, came upstairs and stood next to her husband on one side, her youngest brother-in-law, on the other. "You smell terrible," she said.
Davidi has been "out there" for the better part of two weeks. He did indeed smell terrible and couldn't wait to shower. What about your friend here, the Tavor, I asked him.
He took a towel, spread it on the dining room table, took some pieces off the rifle and did something and then put it back. Honestly, it looked just as dirty, and I said so.
"It's clean; it will fire fine." That wasn't really what I was thinking - it's DIRTY! Aren't you going to clean it?
It's just going to get dirty again, he answered. I volunteered to clean it - and he said fine. I took a diaper wife and wiped where I could - reach. The gun was still not particularly clean but it looked better and apparently its dignity was not damaged by my cleaning it.
I asked David about a friend of his. He'd gotten himself into some trouble and so the army's punishment was to "demote" him down from a full combat soldier to one that works as in a combat support role. Part of the put-down, which the unit is still hoping is only temporary, was to take away his rifle and they will re-issue him a different model.
Only, it turns out the kid is left-handed. Now, as a left-handed person all my life, I happen to know that we face tremendous discrimination. Desk builders, scissor makers, can opener manufacturers, people in banks who put a paper down in front of you, tell you to sign on the line, and you know that you couldn't sign that paper at that angle to save your life!
But it turns out, the army doesn't have a left-handed gun to give this poor soldier. I'm still not completely sure that there is really a big difference. One Facebook friend suggested it was because of how the casing flies when you shoot; another suggested it had to do with the placing of the safety.
It just goes to show - you learn something new every day. Left-handed guns? Whoda thunk?
What this means is that if I ever contemplated learning how to shoot and get a gun, it's just become that much more complicated.
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| Not his... |
For the first time ever, I was shocked to see how dirty the gun was. I mean here, coated with sand, dust, something. "Three days in the sand," was his response.
"You smell terrible," Elie said a few minutes later as he was speaking to his younger brother and got a bit closer. He stepped away.
A few minutes later, Elie's wife, Lauren, came upstairs and stood next to her husband on one side, her youngest brother-in-law, on the other. "You smell terrible," she said.
Davidi has been "out there" for the better part of two weeks. He did indeed smell terrible and couldn't wait to shower. What about your friend here, the Tavor, I asked him.
He took a towel, spread it on the dining room table, took some pieces off the rifle and did something and then put it back. Honestly, it looked just as dirty, and I said so.
"It's clean; it will fire fine." That wasn't really what I was thinking - it's DIRTY! Aren't you going to clean it?
It's just going to get dirty again, he answered. I volunteered to clean it - and he said fine. I took a diaper wife and wiped where I could - reach. The gun was still not particularly clean but it looked better and apparently its dignity was not damaged by my cleaning it.
I asked David about a friend of his. He'd gotten himself into some trouble and so the army's punishment was to "demote" him down from a full combat soldier to one that works as in a combat support role. Part of the put-down, which the unit is still hoping is only temporary, was to take away his rifle and they will re-issue him a different model.
Only, it turns out the kid is left-handed. Now, as a left-handed person all my life, I happen to know that we face tremendous discrimination. Desk builders, scissor makers, can opener manufacturers, people in banks who put a paper down in front of you, tell you to sign on the line, and you know that you couldn't sign that paper at that angle to save your life!
But it turns out, the army doesn't have a left-handed gun to give this poor soldier. I'm still not completely sure that there is really a big difference. One Facebook friend suggested it was because of how the casing flies when you shoot; another suggested it had to do with the placing of the safety.
It just goes to show - you learn something new every day. Left-handed guns? Whoda thunk?
What this means is that if I ever contemplated learning how to shoot and get a gun, it's just become that much more complicated.
I'm left handed, but I didn't realize there was a left-handed gun either! Huh.
ReplyDeleteBe abi...learn to shoot off either shoulder. works
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