Firearms Friday: Time To Ban Trucks!

During what should have been a joyous Bastille Day celebration in Nice, France, the horrors of terrorism were front and center as 84 people were killed and dozens injuries when a truck plowed through the crowd of revelers. Now the second deadliest act of terrorism in the country’s history, this puts, front and center, the real issue that we have in the world and it has nothing to do with firearms. In fact, it was the police on hand that ended the rampage when the 31 year old Tunisian immigrant was shot and killed before he could continue blazing his deadly trail. Of course, that won’t stop some from making that nonexistent connection.

This is a tragedy and we should all mourn the loss of innocent lives but many should also consider this a wake up call as to the real dangers that lurk in this world. Terrorism as well as radicalized and mentally unstable individuals are the cause of these killings. They have nothing to do with the law abiding people in these countries. In saying this I refer to those of the Muslim faith who denounce these acts of rage as well as those law abiding gun owners whose stomachs turn when they hear of such killings. Two very different groups that seem to be shouldered with the blame of these mass murders.

Mental health is lacking in this country in particular and around the world in general. Additionally, politically correct security measures are putting us all in harm’s way. Finally, in the United States, the pervasiveness of a false sense of security (i.e. gun free zones) is doing nothing but leaving people ill equipped to protect themselves and, in fact, is offering those with evil intentions the opportunity to fulfill their twisted objectives. We need to empower people to speak up and stand up for themselves without the false accusations of racism or fanaticism.

The United States needs to wake up and the world needs to face reality. Guns are not the problem. Islam is not the problem. People are the problem. People on both sides of this equation… those who commit these acts and those who refuse to address the real cause of their actions. We cannot strip people of their rights, we cannot ban firearms, we cannot ban knives, we cannot ban trucks, and we cannot put a halt to immigration. Unless we change the distorted perspectives that have infected millions of people, these horrific events will continue to plague us. We must empower the law abiding people of this country and this world and learn to fear knee jerk political and social castration as much as we do the actions of deranged individuals.  

Three Men, A Truck, And A Fast Move

I woke up on Friday morning a little earlier than I usually do during the week despite not falling asleep until well after 2am that morning. It wasn’t because I had a meeting, call, or had to get something done for the office but because I had movers which were scheduled to arrive sometime between 8 and 9. Unfortunately, there was still a lot that I had to get done before they arrived so I rolled out of bed, sore and half asleep, picked up a box and continued packing until I heard a truck pull into the parking lot.

After negotiating with a resident to move their car out of the way (they have a bad habit of shuffling their cars in the morning so that they perpetually occupy a space in front of our apartment), I blocked off the spot just as the truck was turning the corner. Shortly after 8 a truck pulled in, parked along the side of the entrance across from the apartment, opened the doors, and walked through the apartment to see what needed to be moved into the truck and off to the townhouse.

Within a few minutes of their arrival, the three movers from Two Men And A Truck, were already grabbing boxes and stacking them neatly into the truck. They wasted little time and had me scrambling to finish up the few things that I needed to get done and ready for the move. A little over two hours later and they had wrapped, packed, and cleared out the space which we had occupied for a little over three years (including the last minute boxes that I had thrown together).

So off we went to the new place about 45 minutes away. While I waited for the truck to pull in, I started unpacking the contents of my car (I cleaned it out at the office the day before to make more room). About halfway through the truck backed into the parking spot in front of the townhouse. After walking through and letting them know where everything goes, they didn’t wait a second before beginning the offload.

About an hour and a half later and everything was moved in! 4.5 hours after they arrived at the apartment, the move was done and we went over the bill in which they only charged us for 4 hours rather than the 5-6 that they originally estimated over the phone the week prior (they also deducted a 30 minute break during their travel). This was, by far, the fastest and easiest move that I have ever experienced and it was about the same price as U-Haul. I am glad that my boss recommended this moving company and that everything (well, almost everything) is now done.

My wife was able to leave for work from the apartment and drive the 50 minutes to work and come home to the townhouse about 5 minutes away. Now all we have to do is unpack everything. What a fun experience that is going to be!