I'll be waiting with a gun and pack of sandwiches

My new neighbor was held up at gunpoint getting out of her car on New Year's Eve and it got me to thinking:

1) I definitely need to be more vigilant than I have been - especially getting in and out of my car.

2) I think its really important for women to learn ways to empower themselves. And I don't mean this in a penis-envy, macho sort of way - quite the contrary. I think one of womens' greatest faults is that we does not know our own strength and don't trust ourselves, our intuitions and our ability to perform under extreme duress. It got me to thinking about all the emotions I had the first time I went to the shooting range. I was nervous and scared... not because I expected some basketcase to decide I would make a nice target, but because I didn't trust myself. "Will I be able to handle the kickback? Will I drop the gun? Will I accidentally shoot myself?". I think these are all very reasonable and appropriate thoughts to entertain the first time you handle a killing machine (which is what a gun is). There's a gravity to it that must be respected. But it was a pivotal moment for me when I picked up that gun, squeezed off a couple rounds and realized that I had nothing to be afraid of. There was no crazy kickback. I didn't drop the gun. My hands firmly enveloped the handle and my finger squeezed the trigger and a nice little hole appeared on the pristine target for which I was aiming. I was no longer a victim to my own fear.

Back to my neighbor - poor thing was just so upset. The guy got away with everything: keys, wallet, cellphone. She refused to come back to the house until the locks were changed and she had gone and gotten herself a rottweiler/german shepherd mix.

It got me to thinking: how can I be a help to the women in my community? How can I make them feel more empowered and less like victims? They say a predator takes note of the way a women carries herself and will not try to subdue one who looks confident and self-assured, but only ones who look like they won't put up a fight.

So I organized a trip to the shooting range and put in on Facebook and invited some of my lady friends. I went and bought a couple boxes of bullets and arranged for my friend David to come along as an instructor and we made a trip to the FOP range in Pleasant Grove this afternoon. Elisa, Liza, Krys, and Nicole had all never shot a pistol before so we started off with .22's and .25's and moved up calibers as everyone was comfortable.









As you can see from the targets below - everyone did great. I'm hoping to organize another trip for the spring.