Ijits.

[kv0925]

Today's Thing I Just Don't Get: firing guns into the air as a celebratory practice. What's the deal there? Are you expressing how glad you are to have a gun? Is it just about making as much noise as humanly possible? I just don't get the thought pattern there--whee, it's New Year's Eve, let's shoot guns! If it were harmless, at least it would be harmless--but it ain't. "What goes up must come down" is a thought that never seems to cross the minds of these people, which is why 2 people were struck by falling bullets around here Saturday night. One of them was hit in the face and reportedly lost an eye. The other is likely brain dead, because the bullet pierced his skull. Last year a man was hit in the chest and died. In El Salvador this year, apparently 22 of 33 New Year's Eve deaths are attributed to celebratory gunfire. In Puerto Rico, authorities estimate one million shots were fired into the air on 12/31/2004, resulting in 2 deaths and 25 injuries. The chances are slim, naturally, but obviously not slim enough--yet the idiocy continues. Sigh. I guess it just means you'll never find me or my family roaming outdoors in a populated area near midnight on New Year's Eve, eh?

EDIT: Thanks, thegameiam! Shoulda known The Onion had tackled this subject admirably, back in 2003: Iraq, Kentucky Vie For World Shooting-Into-The-Air Supremacy. Choice quote: "Expressing one's feelings and emotions via the firing of guns into the air is an ancient and noble artform," said Henri St. Germain, president of the Federation Internationale des Discharges-Aeriales (FIDA), the sport's governing body. "In fact, it may even predate the practice of expressing one's feelings and emotions by shooting into other humans. And nowhere on Earth does this tradition continue to thrive more than in Iraq and Kentucky. It is a vital part of these two unique cultures."

Anyway. Hope everyone's 2006 is off to a great start (if you didn't get shot first thing, that should qualify!). Yesterday we headed to Deland, where we roamed the campus of Stetson University for a bit, and then went to Hontoon Island State Park. Not a bad little place--going to have to remember that one. Today I think we're about to head to SeaWorld for a little bit, in hopes that most of the Christmas-New Year crowds have started to thin. We'd do Disney, of course, but it's still a blackout date for Heather. Later I think we'll play around here, clean up the garage a bit.

Okay, better go get ready. Have a good day! :)

Comments

[cp.livejournal.com]

Nah, we're pretty easygoing, we don't call the cops on many people. :) We were tempted to do something last year, because we were in an apartment then and those morons were setting fireworks off literally right outside our bedroom window until like 3am. That was ridiculous. Now we're in a rental house instead, so naturally we heard a lot of fireworks all around, but it wasn't so bad since it wrapped up shortly after midnight and no children (of all ages) were screaming their heads off right outside our bedroom. Whew. :)