May 2010 - McGillespie

. . . is helping another become one.

A reader I haven’t met became a Rifleman on Sunday and credits my essay with finding out about Appleseed. Hearing the news truly made my week!

Though working on a few candidates at home they’ve yet to attend an Appleseed. But, America’s latest Rifleman, Mark Hudson, went a step further and managed the feat of documenting his training while mastering it. I hope it’s not too long before Mark receives word that the next Rifleman found Appleseed through his article (Which contains excellent checklists and pictures to inspire and assist in preparing for the event)!

Of course, not everyone writes. Just telling folks what you’ve been up to is enough. Those inclined to listen pay more attention to actions than words, anyway; something Appleseed founder Fred knew from the start, no doubt.

All week I’ve been thinking about the popular notion that everyone on the planet is only six degrees of separation away from each other. I think it’s only two degrees for Rifleman. After posting on a favorite forum about Mark’s success one of the Appleseed instructors who worked with Mark, last weekend, actually saw and commented on the post!

To Those Who Have Ears

There’s no way around the looks you’ll get when recommending Rifle training over another trip to Disneyland. Guns are provocative by nature like a beautiful woman. Speaking of which, my wife was concerned watching me gear up for Appleseed. It was fun to return home and burst her bubble with pictures of families, father-daughter teams and boyscouts right along side the warriors she was expecting.

It wasn’t long after that Isabel was dropping hints that she’d be willing to learn if she had her own rifle (Of course!). So, I bought her the one she picked to go with her outfits, in black & silver.

[Photo taken just after Isabel’s promise to attend the next Appleseed with her husband. She is holding the bribe it took to extract that promise.

What a natural and relaxed stance for a gal who’s never picked up a rifle. Now, if that elbow was vertical under the stock and . . .]

Isabel says she always wanted to learn to shoot and my enthusiasm made her speak up. Make that zero degrees of separation in the Gillespie household.

I planned to make this a longer article by mapping out ways to overcome common objections to the innumerable benefits of Rifle training. However, I’m learning from experience that it’s best to save words for those who have ears:

If you don’t see the Liberty aspects of the training then go to learn about your Heritage.
If you don’t care about the Heritage aspects then go for the Marksmanship.
if you don’t care about the marksmanship aspects then go for Precision.
If you don’t care about precision then go to spend time with family members that do.
If you don’t think they need the company then go to meet quality people who are passionate about any one of the above.
If none of these things motivate you then volunteer to babysit for someone who does. . .

Which brings me to something else I learned from Mark that will serve to keep future articles more brief and to the point. As with so much worldly wisdom the Greeks said it first in Latin, “Verbum sat sapienti” or

“A word is sufficient to a wise man”.

After reading some of Mark Hudson’s views on Life, God and Family I think we get a rare glimpse of one, below.