Why would anyone want to shoot up Pop’s Place?
The Old Men of the Mountain met on Tuesday, Dec. 4, at Pop’s Place in Preston Hollow. The OMOTM had a first-hand look at the damage done to Pop’s Place by the idiots that used the restaurant for target practice.
This incident was of course the major topic of conversation as all the OFs arrived in the morning. None of the OFs could understand why anyone would do something like this. They must have been high on alcohol or drugs, and to think these people that do such stupid things can legally carry guns. That is scary. One OF mentioned it is the occasional nut case that makes it hard for the rest of us that enjoy hunting, or sport shooting.
One OF said, “A lot of people do not think shooting is a sport. Boy, would I like to challenge them to a taste of sport shooting. It is the same as golf except in golf you are trying to hit a little white ball in a cup. The goal in sport shooting is to send a bullet through a bullseye, or hit a flying object with shot or a slug instead of a bat.”
Further research shows that the clay pigeon is traveling around 60 miles per hour, a shotgun slug is traveling about 1,100 miles per hour, and birdshot travels about 800 miles per hour. Everything starts in an instant so try making the projectile and the clay pigeon meet.
The sport is no different than any other sport; it requires skill, concentration, effort, and practice. The OMOTM did not have any turkey which they personally shot.
9/11 changed travel
With Thanksgiving behind us and the “holidays” coming up, the OF talked about families getting together and traveling to get there, or here, whichever the case may be, by air. The OFs compared pre-9/11 to post-9/11 travel and how much flying has changed.
One OF said it used to fun to plan and go to the airport and just breeze through and sometimes running to catch a plane. Now it is really, really different, and it isn’t fun anymore. Another OF said he feels like he is some sort of criminal, and would much rather drive than fly.
Still another OF said that he was on a business trip to Michigan years ago when metal detectors were first introduced at airports. The OF said he had on his safety shoes. Safety shoes had a metal cup over the toes that would protect a worker’s feet from industrial accidents.
At this time, it was not necessary to remove your shoes when you were flying somewhere. To compound the issue, the OF and his boss were making a connection at O’Hare in Chicago and were late for the connection.
The metal detector kept dinging, and the OF kept going through. Finally the guard (at that time because there was no TSA) said, “To H--- with it, go on.” Ah, it was a different time.
A Kodak moment
As we have mentioned the OMOTM is loaded with OM. Tuesday morning, the oldest OMOTM (in his nineties) showed up at the door of Pop’s Place and was struggling with the door.
In the restaurant already seated was the second oldest OMOTM and he was facing the door and saw the oldest one struggle to get in with his cane, so the second oldest got up, went and helped the oldest through the door. A Kodak moment but it happened in just a few seconds; no time to retrieve the camera and take a shot.
Stents galore
There was a discussion that is frequent among the OFs and that is on medicine and the newer medical procedures. The OF who made this report was a recipient of this new technology.
The OF has had leg problems for a while and the pain in one leg was becoming very bad. The doctors did some tests and found that the blood was not flowing through the leg. They did some more tests and located where the blood was being stopped.
They then inserted a stent into where the stricture was and the OF said he watched the whole thing. The OF claimed he was in and out the same day, and the leg is fine — no pain.
The OFs seemed to agree the doctors are sticking these stents in all over the place. One OF said, “The doctors can stick one in my brain if it would make me any smarter.”
To which another OF said, “To make you any smarter they would have to stick it in your butt.”
OFs can run but can’t hide
One of the OFs who is in frequent contract with an OF who winters in the South reported that this OF woke up one morning and had a six- or seven-foot alligator on his back porch. Then another OF mentioned that recently in the news there was a report on how one guy (with help) got away from an alligator but not before the alligator grabbed him by the leg.
So another OF said, “Is that any different than finding a bear on your back porch up here, or finding one prowling around the backyard?
To this OF it is the same situation only a different critter. The OF said he wouldn’t want to mess with either one of them.
Take snakes. We have our copperheads, and rattlers; they have their coral and boas, and a few others. The OF said again, let those suckers be — whether here or there.
The Old Men of the Mountain have the following as part of their philosophy — they can run but can’t hide. There is something out there that’ll getcha no matter where you are — animal, bug, or the weather.
The OMOTM who espouse this philosophy and were at Pop’s Place in Preston Hollow were: Roger Chapman, Wally Guest, Bill Lichliter, George Washburn, John Rossmann, Robie Osterman, Harold Guest, Roger Shafer, Chuck Aelesio, Richard Frank, Glenn Patterson, Mark Traver, Joe Rack, Otis Lawyer, Gerry Irwin, Lou Schenck, Mace Porter, Mike Willsey, Warren Willsey, Elwood Vanderbilt, Harold Grippen, and me.