2159 Now that was a big deal

A hunter carelessly getting in the way of another hunter. It's unfortunate, but I don't consider that a big deal. People get careless, particularly when they are older and have done something hundreds of times. Or when they are very young. Or just being a guy will do it.

When I was 13, I had a really cute, tall boyfriend--small town, you know. He had a number of brothers. One of them found a gun their father had hidden under the bed, the kids were goofing off as kids will do, and the one brother accidentally shot and killed the other. Now, that was a big deal. If I remember it after all these years, I'm sure the family does too.

When I was about 14 I used to babysit for a poor family that had a number of runny nose children. Having sausage for supper was a big deal for them--the mother would spend a lot of time talking about it because I don't think they had meat very often (at that time sausage was much cheaper than hamburger, although it isn't now, and it was also much fatter). One of the boys had only one arm because the other had been severed by a corn picker. Now that was a big deal.

When I was about 15, my girl friend's 17 year old brother was killed in an auto accident a few miles out of town. Now that was a big deal.

Accidents. Youth. Testosterone. It's a volatile, sometimes leathal combination.

Anyone trying to make political hay out of V.P. Cheney's gun accident, doesn't know much about the accident rate for young boys and men.