Absintheur
Banned
- Joined
- Jan 31, 2008
- Messages
- 3,280
It is time for my 30th high school reunion the last weekend of this month and I am going. Normally I avoid things like this but I spent my high school years in a military academy, St. Johns MA to be precise, and unlike normal high schools, I lived there and these guys are more like family than classmates. If you didn't attend a boarding school you won't understand but for 3 years I lived with these guys for 75% of the year, spending more time with them than I did my biological family. When that happens you do form some deep bonds of brotherhood. Yep...I used to be a shining, clean cut, respectable example of American youth...I have slipped a bit since then...lol.
My problem is leaving the free zone of Indiana and heading into the dark country of Illinois and Wisconsin. These two states are just about the last holdouts as far as granting CCWs, mine will not be honored in either state which means I cannot carry for self-defense. It has been several years since I placed myself in the same condition and I already know how naked I am going to feel. There will be a handgun in the car, I can transport one and be within the rules but getting it into action will be deadly slow. I use a locking box to hold an unloaded Kel-Tec PF-9 with the magazine in my pocket. This box will be in the rear of the car to make it unaccessible to me as I drive to meet with state law of the dark country I will be in. It will take me about 30 seconds to access it if I do everything perfectly but in a gunfight 30 seconds is a lifetime.
I will carry several knives on my person however but will try to comply with state law doing so. I am going to push the three inch rule slightly, my Laguiole is 3 1/4 inch but seeing as it doubles as a cigar cutter, and I will pick some winners from the humidor for the trip, shouldn't really raise eyebrows even tho the blade shape is somewhat aggressive. I will also take along a AG Russell folding spear point which does meet the three inch rule. And, of course, wouldn't be right not to have a Barlow in attendance.
With all luck this will be an uneventful fun trip to reunite with my brothers (and rub in the fact my SO is still the youngest wife/gf in the bunch...lol), some memories will be shared and I am sure the weather forecast is calling for a drunk front to roll in. We are hoping for 20 members of the class of 78 to be there, a small number but we only graduated 42 that year and they are spread all over the world. A couple of evenings talking about the days of the fun times...such as managing to get one of the howitzers from around the flagpole and getting it into the Commandants house so it greeted him when he opened his front door to the simpler things like sneaking away on a Saturday night for an evening with the local girls and beer. There will be time to remember those who are not with us anymore and I hope some of the class of 49 will be in attendance so I can pass along my father's greetings to his classmates.
My problem is leaving the free zone of Indiana and heading into the dark country of Illinois and Wisconsin. These two states are just about the last holdouts as far as granting CCWs, mine will not be honored in either state which means I cannot carry for self-defense. It has been several years since I placed myself in the same condition and I already know how naked I am going to feel. There will be a handgun in the car, I can transport one and be within the rules but getting it into action will be deadly slow. I use a locking box to hold an unloaded Kel-Tec PF-9 with the magazine in my pocket. This box will be in the rear of the car to make it unaccessible to me as I drive to meet with state law of the dark country I will be in. It will take me about 30 seconds to access it if I do everything perfectly but in a gunfight 30 seconds is a lifetime.
I will carry several knives on my person however but will try to comply with state law doing so. I am going to push the three inch rule slightly, my Laguiole is 3 1/4 inch but seeing as it doubles as a cigar cutter, and I will pick some winners from the humidor for the trip, shouldn't really raise eyebrows even tho the blade shape is somewhat aggressive. I will also take along a AG Russell folding spear point which does meet the three inch rule. And, of course, wouldn't be right not to have a Barlow in attendance.
With all luck this will be an uneventful fun trip to reunite with my brothers (and rub in the fact my SO is still the youngest wife/gf in the bunch...lol), some memories will be shared and I am sure the weather forecast is calling for a drunk front to roll in. We are hoping for 20 members of the class of 78 to be there, a small number but we only graduated 42 that year and they are spread all over the world. A couple of evenings talking about the days of the fun times...such as managing to get one of the howitzers from around the flagpole and getting it into the Commandants house so it greeted him when he opened his front door to the simpler things like sneaking away on a Saturday night for an evening with the local girls and beer. There will be time to remember those who are not with us anymore and I hope some of the class of 49 will be in attendance so I can pass along my father's greetings to his classmates.
