Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2013/10/20

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Subject: [Leica] "Tea Party" reunion
From: kanner at acm.org (Herbert Kanner)
Date: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 19:26:57 -0700
References: <8D09A7B4B9DAE73-6C8-12847@webmail-d231.sysops.aol.com>

I too was a gun nut at one time. It started during WWII, when the University 
of Chicago had a target range under the famous West Stands. I bought a .22 
caliber revolver for target practice. I forgot the brand name--it was an off 
brand--but it theoretically had a safety that said it couldn't fire if the 
trigger wasn't pulled. Well, once on the target range, the pistol pointed in 
the general direction of the targets, my thumb slipped off the hammer while 
cocking the pistol and the damn thing went off, scaring the hell out of me. 
I should have destroyed the f--g thing, but I think I sold it. I replaced it 
with a Colt Woodsman, a most elegant target pistol.

Oh, as an afterthought, I must tell you how I financed the Colt Woodsman. In 
the very "student" house in which I lived was a fellow employee of the Met 
Lab (Manhattan Project, Chicago Branch), a Ph.D. chemist who was an utter 
idiot. As an example of his intellectual powers, wanting to know the 
probability of getting various poker hands, he spent hours dealing out hands 
and collecting statistics. He happened to own a Luger which I coveter. He 
actually traded it to me for a fluorescent desk lamp!. After months of 
enjoying stripping and reassembling it, I finally fold it to Marshal Fiels 
(THE Chicago department store). That financed my Woodsman.

Over the years, I slowly acquired a collection of handguns of varying 
calibers and enjoyed taking them down, putting them back together, and 
firing on target ranges. I even, sharing with a friend, jointly bought some 
reloading equipment to reduce the cost of ammunition.

Many years later, a different time and place, I had no longer been using 
this collection and my wife grew nervous about them being stored in our 
basement with workmen having access. I gave them all away through a friend 
to his gun-nut son.

I nevertheless hate the NRA.

Herbert Kanner
kanner at acm.org
650-326-8204

Question authority and the authorities will question you.




On Oct 18, 2013, at 5:43 PM, lrzeitlin at aol.com wrote:

> Rabs, check this URL. The one I put in my post was too long. This one is 
> better. There is better engineering in many guns than there is is most 
> Leicas. The fact that they can be used to kill people is incidental. My 
> one time mentor, Life photographer Yale Joel, told me that a camera swung 
> around on a neck strap makes a dandy mace to fight your way out of unruly 
> crowds. By the way Rabe, my rantings pale in comparison to yours. You are 
> truly the rant meister of the LUG.
> http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/family.asp?webflag_=022B
> 
> I respect Tina's position. I, too would have been furious at people who 
> treated weapons so casually and would have left the room myself. I stand 
> by my opinion that Tina' picture does not measure up to her usual 
> excellent standards. Given her emotional state I'm surprised that she 
> managed to press the shutter at all. Owning a gun is a great 
> responsibility. Like getting behind the wheel of a much more lethal 
> automobile and driving it at speeds of over 100 kph. As for many of the 
> rest of you, I am appalled that you let your political position get in the 
> way of your esthetic and rational judgment. Stick to photography guys.
> 
> Larry Z
> 
> 
> 
> _______________________________________________
> Leica Users Group.
> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information



In reply to: Message from lrzeitlin at aol.com (lrzeitlin at aol.com) ([Leica] "Tea Party" reunion)