I took some exchange students we have from Japan to a local IPSC/IDPA "Combat" match.*
They were very excited.
Afterwards, we went across the range and I gave them some intro with .22 semis and revolvers. of course they really wanted to shoot my M1911 (they did) and my .44 mag (some of them did).
They were very pleasant to work with, and we had great discussions.
A week later I got called into the Dean's office . . .
[* one of the young ladies found a shooting web page with my information on it and wanted to know if it was "really me" and well, I offered to take them to see some shooting matches.]
Hmmm . . . therein lies a tale! So I'll start at the beginning. This may be a multi-parter.
So I retire after 24 years in the military (1978-2004; reservists will understand the math). Well, o.k., my son (USA military intelligence) puts it this way: "My dad always wanted to join the military . . . but at the last minute chickened out and joined the Air Force instead!"
So I chose to take a position at a university in Texas (had to be south of the Mason-Dixon line; anyhow) and as a damnyankeecarpetbagger felt a little trepidation when the president of my homeowner's association stopped by. Conversation started a little awkwardly:
"So, welcome to the neighborhood . . . what are you going to bring to the scrap?"
[Moment of cognitivc dissonance- apparently someone in the neighborhood watch had already inventoried "2 lg gun safes, 23 long guns, indefinite number of short guns, 2 pallets ammunition" when I moved in.]
Apparently I had not yet applied for my CHL and had not yet attended my first neighborhood "Watch" (militia) meeting!
I felt right at home. Welcome to Freakin Texas!
Anyhow
I'm teaching International Supply Chain Management my first semester and had a significant number of, well, "international" students. One of the japanese students googled me up and found some shooting related stuff (at the time I was "in the hunt;" 5th MAP and 6th FP at nationals) and wanted to know if that was "really me?"
Well we started talking and decided that I would take a group of students to the range . . . had 6 Japanese, 1 Austrian, 1 American student take me up on it.
So Saturday we show up at the North Texas Shooters Association. Come to find out, our PPC club was having their monthly shoot. O.k., so we'll watch a little combat shooting before moving over for some 1-1 coaching.
Picture this: Duallies, Resistols, Cammo, Big-Haired Ladies, Impromptu chili cook off, barbeque (noun AND verb) in full throated Texas roar. Horse trailers. Lariats and roping. And guns. Lots of guns.
The chairman of the Chamber of Commerce brought his new AR-50 to shoot; the county sherriff and chief of police decided to hold an LE falling plate shoot-off; the local congressional representative showed up to grip and grin . . .
. . . you know, just another Saturday at the local gun club in Texas.
By the way- ya know most cell phones have cameras nowadays?
Gotta run- cooking dinner for the kids and some friends- will pick it up tommorrow morning.
Anyhow, I was having a great time- the students were having a great time- we were ROCKIN!
(slightly awkward moment when the local VFW commander (Jimmy Ray) made some comment about fighting in the Pacific and "innocently" mispronounced JAP-Oh-Nese. The senior student (young man about 25; they were alll over 21 [this is important later] remarked about how his grandfather always talked respectfully about the courage and honor of the american soldiers on Saipan. Then he bowed respectfully and waited 2 heartbeats before winking at Jimmy Ray. You could have heard a pin drop. His buddy Charlie started roaring with laughter and, calling the student one "stone cold silver tongued son-of-a-bitch" planted a Lone Star in his hand and we all moved on from there. Jimmy Ray later challenged the kid to a "best of 5" falling plate contest and the kid graciously hit 4/5 to Jimmy's 5/5. Yeah, that kid will be running his country some day.]
So we watched the "Combat Guys" shoot for a while, then went over to another part of the range and did some introductory stuff. The young ladies at first were a little hesitant, but warmed up quickly when they saw that a) nobody was getting hurt; b) the guys looked like they were having fun; and c) the guys didn't seem to be doing anything that looked particularly difficult! Basic two-hands, isosceles/Weaver stuff focused on front sight focus, sight alignment, and trigger control.
.22 revolver, .22 semi-auto.
Ball and dummy drills were a real hoot. I don't speak any Japanese, but whenever one of the students dipped their front sight on a dummy round, there was certainly an awful lot of hee-hawing around and smack talking. Pretty universal in any language!
Started out with blank targets, then moved to silhouette. Took about 2 hours and worked up to some basic recovery and second shot delivery.
Then they all had to try my M1911 and Ruger Redhawk for a bit.
So we packed up, cleaned up, and by this time the festivities on the main range were beginning to heat up a bit. Impromptu Monster Truck/tractor pulls . . . various domesticated farm animals rotating over open flames . . . couple of guys with guitars . . . etc.
Jimmy Ray's nephew (6'5", 320 or so; camoflage pattern cowboy hat, could pose in ZZ Top look-alike contests) of course had to pose with all three girls in his arms- picked them all right off the ground. Had a pair of Buntline Specials crossed in front of them.
I think that was the picture that started the firestorm.
Back in Kyoto, emails with pictures from the shindig were arriving in various friends mailboxes. The next morning, kids were looking at (and sharing) the pictures and emails with friends and family members.
About 24 hours later phone lines lit up.
So it took about four tries before my "letter of apology" was accepted and forwarded to the parents of the kids.
The first draft had some unfortunate language about not sending your kids to school in Texas if, well, you get the idea. I had to attach various credentials about my military service, coaching credentials, and competition background etc.
Not quite an "International Incident" mind you. And most of the administration here actually thought it was quite funny.
The kids, of course, were absolutely mortified. Apparently it was the mom of one of the girls who was the only one who was actually upset by the whole thing. She actually missed class for a week she was so embarrassed by her mom's reaction.
Anyhow, that was a while back and I don't come up for tenure for another year or so. The whole thing was 2 deans, 2 provosts, adn a couple of department chairs ago so I think I'll be o.k.
Oh- bottom line- apparently I was supposed to get some kind of "hold harmless" agreement signed by the kids parents (they were all over 21) before "exposing them to such a hazardous activity."
Apparently it was the exposure to Billy Bobs Hot Sauce that created all the fuss . . . =;^)
And the darned thing was I never even got copies of any of the pictures.
I did pick up a prize from the falling plates though (bottle of Jack Daniels for third place).
[ps no alcohol ws even displayed until long after all the guns were put away; just in case anyone thinks our pirvate gun club is made up of a bunch of yahoos.]
