by Texas Sheepdawg » Fri Oct 12, 2012 10:29 pm
Hoot, I share your burden just from a different perspective. I grew up with parents who loathed firearms. My dad, though he did begrudgingly accept my love of firearms, hunting, outdoorsman lifestyle and the right to self defense, refused to participate in my activities. I had to either teach myself or seek out mentors. He never went hunting with me. He would drop me off at a bayou in Shreveport so I could fish and he would then go back to work. (Something that would be extremely dangerous to do today). In the years that I had a TX 17 bass boat, he never went to the lake with me and never even rode in it. It really saddens me to think of all the missed opportunities. But there is nothing we can do about it. Mom who is now 81, still despises firearms. My parents were horrified when they learned that I had a Handgun carry permit in TN. As dad got older, he did realize the right to self defense and accepted my choice. The older he got, I believe, the more he realized the importance of the second amendment, but I think it wasn't me who opened his eyes, it was a few of his deacons who were Memphis Police Officers and another friend of his who is an outdoors editor for the Commercial Appeal in Memphis. I also think that towards the end of the 1990s, Dad was listening to Rush Limbaugh a lot more. But in the end, I never got to share the love of hunting and fishing with him.
-Texas Sheepdawg
http://youtube.com/c/TexasSheepdawg21
NRA Life Member