Sunday, July 29, 2007
The 12-year-old boy watched excitedly as his father, uncle and friends fired off explosive rounds from the behemoth revolver.
The .454 Casull had earned an accurate reputation for being the ultimate magnum handgun ever, eclipsing the mighty legendary Dirty Harry .44 magnum by substantial foot pounds of energy.
The Freedom's Arms single-action revolver had a legion of followers, and each and every one of the firearm consumers bought this fine gun specifically for its well-publicized extreme power.
Anybody buying one or shooting one could not possibly be surprised by the incredibly loud bang and mule-kicking recoil. That's what the whole thing is about, and everybody knows it.
But the young lad, taking a break from his beloved family dove-hunting annual, kept begging to touch off a few rounds from the cool handgun.
The big men in the group were sure having fun when the handsome gun punched back hard into their hands. Much laughter and joyous shooting celebration ensued.
The adults continued to decline the boy's repeated requests to shoot the gun, fearful of the violent recoil in a youngster's small hands and fragile frame.
But alas, the boy was an old hand at gun fun. He'd fired his share of magnum loads from other handguns. Why not?
Why not, indeed.
With the writing on the proverbial wall, the heavy handgun was handed to the young man. He thumbed back the hammer, took aim and rocked his world.
It would be the last rocking he would do, for the incredible kick of the gun jettisoned the revolver straight back into his forehead, smashing his skull and killing him instantly.
Whodathunk?
Idathunk, that's who.
Drinking and driving. Driving while talking on a cell phone. Smoking dope or crack. Manufacturing methamphetamine. Trying to kiss a bucking bronco's butt. Wrapping your speeding truck around a tree.
These are not accidents.
As with this boy's death, they are examples of pure, stupid, predictable negligence.
So-called "accidents" resulting in death and serious injury are increasing across America.
When all is said and done, it is a matter of people not paying attention, really.
Who on God's good green earth doesn't know that drinking and driving kills more Americans every week than the Taliban and al-Qaida combined?
Who doesn't know that leaving young children unattended at swimming pools and bathtubs is surefire tragedy?
Who doesn't know that cooking meth is insane?
Who doesn't know this stuff?
Skiing, boating, surfing, camping, cutting the grass, painting the house, everyday sports like basketball, football, baseball, hockey, even golf are the most dangerous arenas of ever-increasing "accidents."
For the record, the shooting sports, including hunting, have had the safest years on record for the past 20 years or so.
A person is much more likely to be seriously injured or killed playing golf than when deer hunting, where 100 percent of participants are armed with high-powered firearms, for example. Go figure.
I call it radar. Level of awareness. Focus. Good old paying attention. Turn up the radar, America. Accidents don't happen. They are caused.
Be careful out there. Live long and healthy. Think.
Ted Nugent is a Waco-based musician and television show host.
Comments
By Go Go Gopher
Aug 20, 2007 5:24 PM | Link to this
Accidents? Hmmmmm.... I suppose Mr Nugent is not going to tell us about the time an unlocked gun case in his home was occupied by a loaded firearm which was accessed by one of his small children as they played unattended... result? Firearm discharged... no one was hurt.. thankfully. Tell us all about accidents, huh? Whodathunk? Yeah.. thats right, not you.
By Susanna
Aug 12, 2007 12:24 PM | Link to this
Well said! How sad it is that "common sense" has left so many people. Judging from the comments below, so has common courtesy.
By Becka H
Aug 5, 2007 10:07 AM | Link to this
I have a question about the chubacabra(?)(I hope I spelt that right.)Is this just a freak of nature are did this woman really find a chubacabra?I find this really interesting.I am 57yrs,an have always heard of this thing.I was born in Corpus Christi,Tx.
I always heard of a chubacabra?
Thank You,Becka
By LBkitty
Aug 3, 2007 8:10 PM | Link to this
"Accidents don't happen. They are caused." And we needed YOU to tell us this? I want your job, does the paper say write about this and you just put something together that everybody already knows. Did you stay up all night thinking about that little gem of information? Nice little guilt trip you just threw to that family. So how about the bridge that just fell down, I can't wait to see who you blame for that.
By bart
Aug 3, 2007 10:51 AM | Link to this
Poor, poor, Dan. The more he writes, the dumber he sounds.
By Dan
Aug 2, 2007 12:59 PM | Link to this
I think you guys should get your facts straight. I still beg the question how many of you are perfect, and have not exercised that whole "learning from your mistakes" thing about life. Oh yes, I forgot. That's how our society does things these days. Never learn, never forget. For the record, I do not always agree with Ted Nugent, nor do I personally like his delivery style, but I have educated myself enough to know that when you desire to learn, sometimes you have to look passed the delivery, and aim straight at the point if you want the information.
I find it also somewhat disappointing that Mr. Nugent is being grilled over educating people about gun safety, but we are just supposed to forget and "let sleeping dogs lie" when it comes to the blatant irresponsibility of an idiot parent, resulting in the death of a child. Give me a break. It's that same sort of "forget a tragedy" attitude that is popular among the lefties. Hey, if we don't talk about it, maybe it will just go away....Bunk.
The last time I checked, we are all Americans, and our opinions and inputs are what guide this country. Every one is allowed to have one and speak it. If you don't like it, form a better one (staying on topic of course, which is apparently hard with the Nugent Haters) and present it for review and maybe even implementation.
Hey, Bart..Really man..When you graduate high school in your mind, step on back over.
By bart
Aug 2, 2007 9:59 AM | Link to this
I wondered what kind of idiot enjoyed Nugent's column...now I know...one like Dan. I'm not sure which of you is worse.
By Ted
Aug 2, 2007 6:03 AM | Link to this
Obviously, you don't even know what Bilderberg or the CFR is. If you did, you would be freaking out and wanting to know what Ted Nugent's friends are doing in these secret meetings, and also wanting to know whether or not Ted Nugent himself has anything to do with these criminal organizations. Instead, you avoid real issues, like Bilderberg and CFR, and talk about a dead child that is none of your business to begin with.
You've never thought about the feelings of the parents who lost this boy. You never stopped to think that they already know that they had made an obvious mistake and that there is nothing that can be done to bring the boy back. The mistake was made, the boy is dead, and no one is happy about it. I think the parents of the boy and the extended family feel rotten enough already, let alone having to take a lecture about gun safety and how to raise children from a man who was too busy trying to be a rock star and was never around to raise his own children; or to properly reward those who worked for him and helped him get to where he is now; who had a child out of wedlock with another woman - while he was married to his current wife; who beat the draft buy crapping his pants and snorting drugs up his nose - but now claims to be an expert on war and how to fight it; who failed to secure his own family through all his rambunctious behavior - but now claims to know how to secure our borders; who completely ignores important questions and sticks to talking about nothing, and trying to keep his audience and his followers as dumb as he is.
Ted Nugent is a stupid idiot and ought to shut his lying mouth about things he knows absolutely nothing about - and so should you.
By Dan
Aug 2, 2007 5:28 AM | Link to this
Well Ted (below), I think that children handling firearms is a pretty real issue. Maybe not important to you, and it's obvious because you deny the basic social issues that concern us all which lead to serious problems in this nation. I think it is fairly obvious that irresponsible parents with their firearms placed carelessly in the hands of children can cause a serious tragedy within the family or, god help us, outside of the family such as in a school. Rick Perry's travels really have nothing to do with the matter at hand. I wonder if Ted Nugent sits down before he writes and figures out how to form an opinion on everything that is wrong with the world in 1000 words or less, just to please everyone. I shudder to think that the argumentative styles of some of the people on here are representative of a nation. It is no wonder nothing gets accomplished, the wrong people are placed in power, and the government is so overgrown that the basic power of the constitution is overlooked because people fear being attacked by over emotional idiots who couldn't hold an argument on topic if it meant saving their momma's life. Educate yourselves people. Get the facts, read up on your falacies, hear all sides, then form an opinion. Basic as basic gets. I learned that in English class for crying out loud.
By ted
Aug 2, 2007 1:25 AM | Link to this
Why not talk about some real issues, Ted? Instead of using the horrible death of this youngster as a sounding board for your nonsense, let's talk instead about your buddy, Rick Perry's visit to the Bilderberg meeting in Instanbul, Turkey this past spring, 2007.
Let's talk instead about the Council On Foreign Relations (CFR), the New World Order think tank that is helping to destory this country and ring in the North American Union, which your friend, Fred Thompson is a member, along with Dick Cheney, the Clintons, and Newt Gingrich, just for a few quick examples.
How 'bout it, Ted? When are you going to talk about some real issues - things that you might even know about?
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