Firearms Friday: An Olympic Record

History was made today as Kim Rhode received a bronze medal for her extraordinary efforts which was her sixth consecutive summer Olympics in which she has stood on the podium dating back to the Atlanta games in 1996. She is the first athlete, man or woman, in any sport, to do so at the summer games. She is one of the athletes that you can count on to add to the United States’ total every four years. Unfortunately, there is little fanfare for her accomplishment as there is a tremendous stigma associated with her chosen specialty which she has mastered… skeet.

Rhode, who lives in California, has always been a firm proponent of second amendment rights and, following her recent victory, let her thoughts be known regarding the recently proposed legislation in her home state:

“I shoot 500 to 1,000 rounds a day, so having to do a background check every time I purchase ammo, or every time I want to bring ammo in or out of a competition or a match, those are very challenging for me,” said Rhode. “Also, I’ve had guns in my family for generations that have been passed down, and now I’m going to register them as assault weapons. And they will not be passed on to my son, or to me from my father. It definitely does effect me and give me a reason to speak out more.”

This is why the media doesn’t mention her dominance at the Olympic games and even downplays her significant accomplishment as was the case on the NBC Olympics homepage where the ‘reporter’ states: “Many would argue that a shooter doing this is far less impressive than, say, a gymnast or a swimmer. The act of shooting requires fewer physical attributes, extending Olympic lifespans...” Other outlets chose to focus on mass shootings and, as noted by Bloomberg News, “Olympics Sponsors Want Nothing to Do With Team USA Shooters”. Of course, this is why you won’t see this particular group of Olympians in any of the advertising spots flooding the television stations every night.

It truly is a sad state of affairs when our country refuses to support our Olympians especially those as distinguished and decorated at Rhode. It is sad but it is not surprising given the segregationist stance that the media has taken in recent years… after all we now have Olympians and “those other Olympians”. But, for me, I would like to convey my congratulations to Kim Rhode and to all of the other members of USA Shooting Team both for their performances and for representing themselves, our country, and our sport the way and Olympian should represent the best of us.

Let The Games Begin

Every couple of years there is something a little different that we usually watch on the television at the end of the day… the Olympics. While I usually prefer the winter games, the summer event has also had plenty to offer in recent years with some dominant performances by many United States athletes. Of course, there are also many other countries well represented, especially this year, that are providing some great competitions and surprising finishes.

However, before the games get underway, the opening ceremonies usually set the tone for the two week marathon. The last summer games provided us with an evening of entertainment from London that, when all was said and done, it let many with the feeling of how is Rio going to top this in 2016? Well, simply put, they didn’t. The opening ceremonies left most of us wanting and, for me, cause the channel to be changed in search of something that would at least provide some entertainment. Thankfully it was only one night.

Per the usual order of things, gymnastics and swimming were the highlighted categories for the prime time lineup to start the games. These are also the two concentrations that pique my wife’s interest so there really wasn’t a question as to whether or not we would be watching them. As the qualifiers and medal rounds continued, the dominance by the United States was unexpected even by their own lofty standards and watching Michael Phelps continue to add to his medal count is something that many of us, whether you like him or not, have to stand back and admire.

In both disciplines, there were both close competitions and moments of sheer domination. This is what I consider to be the perfect mix that you want to see at the Olympics. Congratulations to the teams and the individuals from all countries that put everything into their performances. Because of them, I am actually looking forward to the rest of the competitions.

Of course, there have also been a few moments of unpleasantness behind the scenes as well. Prior to the opening ceremonies, countries boarded on their assigned buses to the stadium in preparation for the celebration. All of the teams were able to follow these instructions with the exception of Israel who was prevented from boarding their assigned bus by the Lebanese delegation. Of course, with Yarden Gerbi winning the bronze medal in the women’s 63kg weight class in Judo, Israel can say that they have an Olympic Champion at the Rio games while Lebanon is still trying to find their way to the podium... maybe their bus got lost.

Gluttonous Appliance Adds To Errand List

My wife and I headed out today to take care of a few errands which we had been putting off for the past couple of weekends. Obviously, nothing that was urgent but it needed to be taken care of at some point and today was the day. Our first stop was somewhere that used to not bother me much but, over the years, it has started to get a bit rundown. It is not the same place, and I am not the same person, that it used to be so I no longer look forward to entering the mall. The fact that there are aspects of the building that are starting to deteriorate doesn’t do anything for the overall appeal either.

Not surprisingly, this stop was so my wife could stop at a few places that are only found in various malls throughout the area. One thing that I did notice about one of the stores was that if you really want to increase your sales you might want to think about coordinating the prices you have in your store location with the one listed on the website. These people refused to honor the online price despite it being their own website. And we’re not talking about a few dollars, this was more like twice the price in person. Nice salesperson but the company needs a little work. Oh well, I guess you really didn’t want my sale. Fortunately, there were no such issues at the second store.

From there we drove down the street to take care of one of my least favorite activities… clothes shopping. It wasn’t for any big purchase, it was Wal-Mart after all, but it is still a less than desirable activity made worse by the fact that these crazy people had almost exclusively shorts out in the workout gear. I had to dig to find a freaking pair of workout pants. Thankfully, socks are much easier to find.

Of course, this trip wouldn’t be necessary if our dryer didn’t have an eating disorder. Like many of its elk, it consumes socks on a regular basis. Only one from the pair as I assume it doesn’t want to be seen as gluttonous. However, our particular dryer has a hankering for draw strings. Because it only eats half a pair, it has plenty of room for the countless draw strings that help to keep our pants up and our sweatshirts closed. Well, my workout pants were the victim of the latest nibbling and so I had to swim among the shorts to find something that would go past my knees at the store.

So, it didn’t take long before all the small tasks were taken care of and we were on our way to dinner. It wasn’t the best place to stop with the goals that we each have but we were actually pretty good and stuck with the healthier options on the menu. And so concluded our day. From there we made our way home in the Sunday traffic on the Schuylkill Expressway. No accidents, just highway congestion that seems to be ever-present on that particular stretch of highway.

And what was my thought when we finally got home. Was it that I was looking forward to relaxing on the couch and not watching the Olympics closing ceremony? No, it was a night of trying to get things done on the computer and the sense of dread when I looked into the direction of the dishes piled in the sink. Oh well, it has to get done at some point and tonight was the time to do it. At least the dishwasher doesn’t eat my socks.