Feels like summer

The good news is that whatever the infection that seemed to have parked itself under my eyebrow and spread through my eye seems to be in full retreat.  A few days of antibiotics seem to have done the trick.  Phew.  It's 95% done - just a small, not-so-red bump where it all seems to have rooted itself.

Yesterday was a long day.  I was up early and drove the 300 miles to Raleigh.  I had a big afternoon meeting and had originally planned to spend the night and drive back after work today.

But the words "Winter Storm Alert" are enough to cause me to revert to Plan B.  The forecast called for falling temperatures, and rain turning to sleet turning into - possibly - snow.  If I never see another single snow-flake fall that'll be fine by me.  I talked with a friend who was in Minnesota yesterday, and the temperature there was zero, and another who lives near Denver who said the nighttime temperature there was 15 below zero earlier in the week.  Oy.

In Charleston, it's supposed to get to 78 degrees today.  So, after considering the options after work yesterday I cancelled my hotel, got back into my truck, and drove the 300 miles back to Charleston.  It made for a long day with more road time than I expected, but I'm fine with it.

If I'm driving during "news hour" I'll often spend some time listening to the news on NPR.  Yesterday, the big story was President Obama's gun control efforts.

I'm not going to wade into the gun control debate.  Each of us has opinions, and I've said in the past that I have found it fascinating the strong feelings that people have on guns.  Regardless, part of living in this country involves freedoms of all kinds....

All I'll say is that, if those proposals were sent for a vote as a package, and I had a vote, I'd vote against them. Some of them are good, common-sense things that seem like no-brainers.  But some of the others....well, let me just say that I don't think these things would have or are going to make a significant change in violent acts involving guns in this country.  They just make some people feel safer.

I far more support his efforts to ensure "responsible" firearm ownership.  Buying them.  How to use them.  How to store them.  In my opinion that would have a much greater impact on safety than telling me that you're going to limit the number of bullets in the clip of my .45 to 10.  You may ask why I "need" more than 10.  Well, as far as I'm concerned that's not the right question.  And the answer is - because I can.

Anyway, that's more than I planned to say.  I'm a handgun owner, and my guns are loaded with ammunition designed to inflict maximum damage when it hits its target.  I have passed my state's fairly stringent requirements that permit me to carry and conceal it out in public.  Have no doubt that if I get accosted in a parking lot somewhere or my car breaks down in the middle of nowhere and someone tries to take advantage of the situation I've come to peace with the fact that I may need to use it. 

I'm not a member of the NRA, and I don't support their recent ad about the President and his daughters.  But I also don't support some of these knee-jerk reactions, or the name-calling of anyone who doesn't support these things as a "gun nut".

Well - I didn't mean to say all that.  But there you have it....

I'm already looking forward to the weekend.