Now that Friday the 13th has come and gone once again, it should be safe to talk about, right? No cause for alarm or panic, the world didn't come to an end.
For most.
But for many in a Denver, Colorado, neighborhood, the world may as well have come to an end, because it has been changed forever. It was changed by a student gunman who -- surprise, surprise -- one day before the Sandyhook anniversary and just ten miles from Columbine added his name to the history books. God be with the people of Arapahoe.
But what do we do about this senseless school violence? How do we put a stop to this parade of young killers shooting up theaters, high schools, colleges, churches? What cost is too high, what measures to extreme to protect our children?
Gun Control. Is that the answer? Ask anyone with anything more than just an opinion on the matter and they'll tell you that taking guns away from honest Americans doesn't take them away from criminals. It only prevents those honest Americans from defending themselves.
Concealed Carry. Do we institute and enforce concealed carry laws nationwide? And if so, how do you enforce them? Would Police have the right to do random checks for firearms or permits? I'm sure the ACLU would have a field day with that. And what of the first strange looking individual walking down the sidewalk with what looks like a gun bulging beneath his jacket? With all the craziness lately, you may as well shout "Fire" in a crowded theater.
My family was in a mall earlier this week in suburban Louisville, Kentucky, when a fire alarm started going off inexplicably. While several people reacted as if they didn't hear it, others responded by saying, "It does that all the time lately." Most people in the mall were numb to it. Most. But not all. My wife passed one woman who was quickly shuffling to the exit while her companion tried to keep up. The companion asked the shuffling woman where she was going, and my wife heard her respond, "There's a man back there with a gun. There's a man with a gun."
Of course, there wasn't. But there could have been (as there was in an Arapahoe High School two days later). And there was no panic invited by the shuffler's proclamation. But there could have been. And in either case people could have died.
And as shocked as we are every time that this happens, we should not be surprised. Because nothing has really been done to prevent it. Which brings me back to my earlier question: how do we put a stop to it? I have an idea that would make some people happy, others not so much, but would likely make any would be shooter think twice before opening fire.
Open Carry. Let me first say that I think concealed carry laws are stupid. The only people who need to secretly carry a gun probably shouldn't be carrying one in the first place. It may make them feel safe, but what of everyone around them who either (a) doesn't know that they have a gun until it needs to be drawn -- which is already you too late, or (b) sees a suspicious bulge and becomes fearful of what they suspect is a gun.
My argument for Open Carry laws is simple.
(1) A gun carried openly by an honest citizen would likely deter a shooter who doesn't want to be shot before doing his damage.
(2) If guns were carried openly there would be less cause for concern when one is seen in public.
(3) If guns were carried openly, Police could easily check for permits without random targeting -- or profiling.
(4) If concealed carry was illegal, as soon as someone withdrew a concealed weapon they would be identifying themselves as law breakers.
Think about it, aren't you more concerned about someone who has something to hide?
If you have a better idea, I would love to hear it. Share it in the comments below.
Another day of unused vacation ... used.
After breakfast it was time for a little fun with the kids. The kind of fun I used to have as a child. We played a few games of 
(remember that game?) and 
. Tip It was a new one for me, but proved to be quite fun, as my three and six year old kids tried to remove the little discs without causing the whole tower to tip over and spill onto the table. When we got their mother into the game, well, she proved to have the most difficulty at the game. 
Today was our little Nacho's three month birthday. We didn't really do anything special for him -- kind of jokingly sang "Happy Birthday" to him while he sat on my lap -- it's just hard to believe that the little booger is already three months old. And for the most part, he is already housebroken and behaves quite well (for a puppy) most of the time.
which might explain some of the scores in this picture, but we got the four of us together playing Wii Sports tonight (after the kids finished fighting over 
). I cannot believe how good both of my kids are at games like Wii Bowling. My six year old son dominated the competition, winning every game of bowling, but my three year old daughter was incredibly good at the game. I simply cannot imagine being so good at such games when I was her age. Unfortunately, the fun came to an end when my hyper-competitive son got upset at my daughter for getting in his way and hit her in the back with his Wii remote. He was sent to bed and banned from the Wii for an indeterminate length of time -- which will probably mean the whole day tomorrow, which is okay as I want to watch the 
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
Yesterday, just before we began setting up our Christmas trees (yes, trees this year, plural, as in more than one), my wife turned on the Christmas music channel on Comcast, and my crazy kids started dancing around the room to it.
This evening, we carved the kids Halloween pumpkins. It's an annual tradition for us, following our 
Every October, we take the kids to a local pumpkin patch to pick out the pumpkins they will carve into Halloween Jack-o-Lanterns. Since moving to Indianapolis two years ago, we have had to find a place to do our pumpkin hunting, and I think that this year we have finally found just the place.
This morning we got the kids up and ready and headed out to 
After checking in and paying the modest admission (a total of $10 for our family of four), we started off in our traditional way: letting my son guide us through the corn maze. Posted throughout the maze -- something that Tuttle Orchards does differently from other places we've gone to in the past -- were signs with short multiple choice apple trivia questions. Choosing the correct answer would point us down the correct path, while choosing the wrong answer would send us off in the wrong direction.
After successfully navigating the corn maze, we grabbed a wagon and headed out into the pumpkin patch to let the children choose their own pumpkins. Sure, we could run over to Meijer, Walmart, or Kroger and get our pumpkins -- and they might even cost less -- but there's just something special about trudging through the tractor tracks to the back of the pumpkin patch and trying to find just the right pumpkin that makes the whole thing worth it.
We've picked out our pumpkins this way for every year of my son's young life (except the first, when he would have been only two months old), and have continued the tradition since my daughter was born, and they both look forward to it with great anticipation -- "Are we there yet?" the entire trip from the house to the farm.
Of course, my daughter is always the first one to select a pumpkin. I don't know if it's because she's better at spotting the perfect pumpkin, less picky than my son, or just more eager to choose her pumpkin and get on with other activities. As she's enjoying her ride in the wagon through the pumpkin patch, she'll suddenly pipe up with "I want that one," and the whole caravan will come to a stop for her to jump out and run to her pumpkin choice.
Our number one pumpkin hunting rule is that the kids cannot select a pumpkin that is too heavy for them to pick up. It's just that simple. It can sometimes be more of a challenge for my son than my daughter, as she likes the little dainty looking pumpkins and, like most boys, my son wants the biggest one he can wrap his little arms around. So to ensure the rule is followed, they have to heft up their pumpkins and load them into the wagon by themselves. My stubborn son, of course, always finds some way to get the biggest possible pumpkin he can without breaking the rule.
Something new this year, since we were at an orchard and not just a pumpkin farm, was apple picking. Tuttle Orchards has a large apple orchard with over twenty-two different varieties of apples -- meaning there is almost always something in season. Best of all, they give you a basket and let you head off into the orchard to pick your own apples for just seventy-five cents a pound. Again, at the grocery store you can often find apples for forty-nine cents a pound, but grocery store apples have been picked by someone else, waxed, and shipped around the world to reach the grocery store -- likely picked early and artificially ripened, as well.
Again, there's just something special about going into the orchard and picking your own apples straight from the tree. We picked Golden Delicious, Red Delicious, Ida Red, and Jonathon apples. I ate three apples before even leaving the place, and they were by far some of the most delicious apples I have ever eaten! I only hope we get such delicious apples from the two trees we planted in our yard this year.
After letting our kids run through the sunflower maze and play in the kids area, and a visit to the farm store (where I picked out some good peanut butter fudge) and the greenhouse, it was finally time to load the kids up and head home. 
The seventh and final day of our Walt Disney World vacation was spent at Disney's Epcot Center. It was probably my favorite of all the parks. I was eagerly anticipating Epcot Center, mostly for the World Showcase -- where countries from around the world are are showcased, including food, gifts, and even street shows. My hope was to get some schnitzel in Germany, but that didn't quite pan out, for several reasons. I'm quite regretful that it didn't, but my wife has promised to make up for it by taking me to one of Indy's German restaurants.
We started the day at Epcot by riding Soarin', clearly the most popular ride at Disney's Epcot Center, as the cast members responsible for the ride meet the crowd at rope drop and guide them directly to the ride (those who wish to go, which was the majority of the crowd). The ride simulates a hang-glider soaring over the earth. It is quite realistic and an understandably popular ride, but not the best ride at Epcot, by any stretch of the imagination.
In my opinion, the best ride at Epcot -- and possibly the best ride of all the Florida Disney parks -- was Mission Space. Four riders join forces as the Commander, Navigator, Engineer, and Pilot of a space ship that is destined for the red soil of Mars. Each rider has his/her responsibilities in order to achieve mission success. The ride is very realistic (coming from someone who has never been to space, much less Mars), even simulating the G-force of take off. My son, who was quite hesitant to ride most of the rides during our vacation, enjoyed this ride -- twice, first riding the tame version of the ride with my wife, then the intense version of it with me. It was a blast, riding Mission Space with my son (no pun intended).
Of course, like every Disney park, there was the usual compliment of characters that my daughter just had to meet, starting with Snow White, 
and followed by Moulon in the World Showcase. it was especially fun to meet Moulon, as she spent quite a bit of time talking with my little girl and even trying to get my son involved in the whole character thing. She almost succeeded.
Posts
