F
Departments
From the
SIDELINES
April 16, 2008
|
F
Departments
|
|
|
|
|
‘Three Piles’ . . . is the name of one of the layouts—one of the harder ones to clear—in my home computer’s Mahjong solitaire game. It’s also a puzzle I confront every morning on my desk, whose available surface area seems to be shrinking and collapsing in on itself like a black hole. The three piles are “Priority,” “Soon,” and “Put It Back Where It Belongs.” I guess in the interest of honesty, I should say that there are many more stacks in my office, but these are the ones on my desk that I am trying to shrink down to a manageable size (or dare I hope, to eliminate?) before I am forced to rename them “Later,” “Even Later” and “Much Later.” One piece of paper I’m happy to be moving to the “done pile” is a note from a recent phone call informing us of a handicap shootoff which should have been included in Record Round-ups in the July and December ’07 issues of Trap & Field. Should have, except for the fact that the info, while it appeared in T&F when it was reported in 1973, never got transferred to our record files. One of the shootoff participants, Milton Palasota, called to fill us in on the omission. At this point he couldn’t remember the exact date but could narrow it down to a three-year window. I found it in the first year I checked, and now, more than 30 years later, it’s been added in its rightful place in T&F’s records. Thanks, Milt! Readers like you help keep the record straight. You can read about the two 200-target handicap shootoffs—the ATA record, according to T&F’s files—in the upcoming May issue, which went to the printer this week. “Sidelines” Sandy Tidwell |
|
|
|
March 14, 2008
|
“My wife Candy and I have amassed a sizeable quantity of T-shirts in our trapshooting travels,” said Harold. “What better way to display them than in a ‘trapshooting theme quilt’? Mrs. Jesse (Sharon) Franklin Jr. transformed some of our shirts into a beautifully handcrafted quilt. The hand-stitching is not only ornate and decorative, but also functional. The resulting quilt is a masterful piece of art, suitable for hanging.” We agree—it’s so nice to be able to have a commemorative item like this to display rather than storing the original pieces away in a drawer or closet, all but forgotten. Thanks for sharing! * * * Another of my favorite writers in the detective/mystery genre is Sue Grafton, author of the “alphabet” series (A is for Alibi, etc.) I just finished re-reading “Fugitive,” in which some shotshells loaded with rock salt played a significant part in the plot. (The book was written in 1989, so today’s lead prices didn’t have anything to do with the choice. These loads didn’t work well in the book, and I would guess that rock salt wouldn’t have much breaking power at clay-target distances either.) The revelatory scene has Grafton’s detective, Kinsey Millhone, discovering the whodunit’s reloading bench, complete with Ponsness/Warren reloader. |
|
|
Orphaned at age 5, the Kinsey character was raised by her aunt, who taught her to shoot and bequeathed her her handgun. In the latest book in the series (T is for Trespass), Millhone’s pursuit of the bad guy—or gal, in this case—is complicated when the manipulative sociopath manages to get a restraining order against the detective, thereby rendering her gun-less. One of Grafton’s many assistants in research, a retired detective sergeant with the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department (Millhone’s fictional hometown of Santa Teresa is based on Santa Barbara), has a good anecdote about the author’s real-life shooting skills. On firearm issues and portrayal, I’d put Grafton nearly even with fellow detective novelist Robert B. Parker (see June 1, 2007 post): let’s say a 9.85, with points off only because of Sue’s occasional use of an absent gun as a plot device. I don’t mean “Trespass”—that was handled neatly—but rather a couple of other novels (for example, “Corpse”) where Kinsey’s gun is in her briefcase or in her car or stored in her office when she really needs it—and it’s always at the point she should know she might need it, because she’s pursuing a killer of unknown identity who may present him/herself any time now. (I mean, come on—it’s Page 300, already!) This apparent foolishness is akin to that of those characters in scary movies who always do go into the creepy house instead of sensibly running as quickly as possible in the other direction. True fans are really picky, aren’t they (we)? |
|
|
|
February 29, 2008 “As the Tornado Spins,” continued After some freak warm weather here and accompanying tornadoes which hit 1) an apartment complex in west Indianapolis where I lived until recently, and 2) Bloomfield, the town where I grew up, about a week later, I started thinking about a) the old saying about trouble always coming in threes; b) the significance of my recurring tornado nightmares; and c) when we were going to get back to normal Indiana winter weather. I was relieved that the tornadoes which touched down near me and my loved ones were “weak” (i.e., no serious injuries and only siding/windows/doors blown off and parked cars “rearranged”). This wasn’t the case for those in the path of destruction in Arkansas in early February, however. Thirteen fatalities were reported, and T&F Advertising Manager Val Kinsey checked in with our friends Nancy and Doyne Williams to see if they were okay. Nancy responded with the following e-mail (longtime T&F readers will no doubt recognize the distinctive writing style of the “Queen of Dimes”): |
Nancy’s photo of shooters going hard at it in the foreground, with a twister on the ground in the background (she darkened the photo slightly to get the tornado to show up better). This was at the 1990 Texas State Shoot in Amarillo. |
|
|
“It was a little bit windy(!) a couple of days ago, but we are fine down here. Little Rock did not get hit as hard as just north of here—it pretty well clobbered several small towns. . . . “I remember one year at the Louisiana state shoot, a tornado came through. Our bus was heavy enough that we did not get completely blown away—just lifted and moved a bit(!)—but the wind snapped off our awning and drove it through the side/top roof of our bus, just like a spear. I could not complain about the damage because just across the highway, at the big airport in Shreveport, it had destroyed millions of dollars’ worth of jets. “One year on the way home from the Oklahoma state shoot, we were trying to outdrive several tornadoes. Finally we just gave up fighting the wind and pulled into a KOA at Sallisaw. Seven tornadoes touched down all around us, missing us completely. We had been trying to get to the KOA in Alma, Ark., and had we made it, we would have been killed. The tornado that went on to Arkansas was over five miles wide and did unbelievable damage.” Wow! While those of us who live outside “Tornado Alley” might not immediately think of Arkansas as being in it, I found one website www.tornadochaser.net/tornalley.html which presents a good case for it. This site contains some discussion about exactly what does make up Tornado Alley. (I guess it just goes to show that anything can be controversial as long as there’s at least one soul—and with the Internet, one is all it takes—who cares enough to hold forth on the issue.) Nancy continued with a “fond”
memory from one of her neighbor states: “Sidelines” Sandy Tidwell |
|
|
|
February 18, 2008 My thanks to designated hitter (and fellow book enthusiast) Sally Telfer
for posting her news from Michigan. Sally and Larry are great
ambassadors for our sport and always a joy to talk to when I’m on the
sidelines at a shoot. |
|
|
|
Another bonus which came in with the survey responses is from
Doug Jerabek, last year’s senior vet captain. The photos shown here were
stamped 2/11/08 and are a vivid illustration of why Doug had plenty of
time to fill out his questionnaire—although taking the envelope to the
mailbox couldn’t have been much fun. His captions, penned on the back,
are as follows: “Wind 35 mph, temp 31 below zero” (photo 1); “Warm
inside, ‘wish you were here’ ” (photo 2). Note slippered feet in the
foreground. Doug is a real character and has struggled with back
problems this year. Hope your chair is just what the doctor ordered,
Doug! When I search-engined (trademark-neutral verb) Doug’s hometown of Oakfield to see just where in Wisconsin it is (about an hour’s drive north of Milwaukee), I read that this small town was all but destroyed by a powerful tornado in July 1996. It was an F5 on the Fujita scale, classed as violent and, for practical purposes, the strongest tornado which can be measured with any accuracy. This all reminds me of another tornado story I just heard recently. . . but that will have to wait for another day. “Sidelines” Sandy Tidwell |
|
 |
|
|
February 7, 2008
Hello, Trap & Field readers, I know Sandy has been busy working with the ATA on All-American standings, and I know she’s too busy to update her fun blog page, so I thought I’d help out. Sandy has definitely been working on the “Sidelines” with much T&F stuff. I know when we’re out trapshooting on weekends, Sandy and many of the T&F gang are working at the office getting our Trap & Field magazine ready for us. Winter is here. This is not my favorite time of year. My shooting friends will tell you they rarely, if ever, see me with my gun out unless the thermometer is well above freezing. Hope all you snow birds in Florida and Arizona are enjoying your warm weather. We’re busy planning the Scholastic Clay Target Program 2008 season here in Michigan. (Yes, Larry and I have moved back to Michigan.) Dowagiac SCTP team has scheduled a SCTP competition at Howard Township Conservation Club in Niles, for Saturday, May 10. Huron Pointe Sportsman’s Association will host a SCTP shoot on Saturday, May 17. The Michigan Trapshooting Association will host a shoot to raise funds for the Ronald McDonald House on June 15, 2008 at the home grounds in Mason. This shoot will include a SCTP competition. This happens to be Father’s Day—a great opportunity for Dad to take the kids shooting and support a worthwhile organization. I was notified of two NRA Women on Target programs in southern Michigan scheduled for this summer—Munith Gun Club on May 17 and Howell Gun Club on June 14. As I fill my calendar with these shoot dates, I’m reminded of all the opportunities we have to give back to the sport we love and to our local community. |
|
|
|
June 27, 2007 The Cardinal Center facility near Marengo was looking good
for its second hosting of the Ohio State Shoot last weekend. Owner Jack Fishburn and crew once again outdid themselves—camping, parking and
other amenities just get better and better, and the entire line was
looking lush and green. There were lots of fun drawings, options and
other goodies incorporated into the program courtesy of OSTA and the
shoot’s many sponsors. |
|
|
|
For the main course, the traditional apple garnish was abandoned in favor of one “targeted” for the occasion.
|
Seventeen-year-old Ryan W. Miller had the
only in-state 100 and won the doubles championship, while 16-year-old
Nick Sattler broke 99 and prevailed in a two-round, four-way shootoff
for the handicap title. Then the second-year shooter turned around and
won an 80-target overtime for Class D all-around honors. |
|
|
June 1, 2007 A few years back, I got interested in detective novels and have since become a fan of several authors in particular. My usual M.O. is to read everything I can find by an author I like before moving on to another. My job being what it is, I’m always interested in how firearms and firearms owners are presented in the novels—the expertise and attitudes of the characters and, by extension, the author(s). Near or at the top of my list is Robert B. Parker, creator of the Spenser, Jesse Stone and Sunny Randall characters. All three are comfortable and competent with their firearms and matter-of-fact about the need for them in their professions of detective, police chief and detective, respectively. Which is not to say that they are cavalier about the use of force when it becomes necessary; complex, human reactions—if not exactly ambivalence—are skillfully rendered by the author. And there was even an accomplished trap/skeet shooter in the first Sunny Randall book, Family Honor. Sorry to say he turned out to be one of the second-tier bad guys, but I don’t think his hobbies had anything to do with that. At the beginning of the book, he "tests" Sunny by throwing a clay target for her to try to hit with her short-barreled handgun. She managed to sidestep that obvious trap (no pun intended), and he hired her anyway. On a scale of 1 to 10, I give Mr. Parker a 9.999, deducting .001 for a repeated misspelling of Beretta (two r’s) in one edition of another of his novels. (Yes, editors are strict spelling Nazis—sometimes forgiving but rarely forgetful!) "Sidelines" Sandy Tidwell |
|
|
It’s starting! Winter’s freeze inevitably leads to thaw—and a late-spring avalanche of shoot reports to Trap & Field. While talk of the price of gasoline (on the west side of Indianapolis this morning, it was "down" to $3.299 a gallon) and other items essential to the pursuit of the ATA experience occupies us all, so far some early-season major shoots have shown encouraging trends. In the just-out June issue (mailed May 25), the Arizona and Georgia state shoots showed increases on some days and/or overall. Singles seems to be gaining popularity. At Arizona, the class and championship events grew by 84; at Georgia, 19 SCTP squads helped boost the title 16s to a record for the third straight year. Other examples of still-growing shoots are two that are coming up in the July issue. The Hoppie Memorial started as the spring shoot for the Missoula (Mont.) Trap & Skeet Club more than 40 years ago, and this year was the 25th anniversary of the renaming of the tournament. For four years now, it has been large enough to be an All-American Points shoot. (This year the Competition Factor—based on total entries in the main singles, handicap and doubles—jumped to 3.) The 1,000-bird program was shot over 18 automatic traps, and there were lots of extra events, shooting and otherwise, to keep everyone occupied. Over eight events and three days, the 17th Keystone Open in Elysburg, Pa., was up almost 100 entries to a total of just over 1,900, an increase of 5.1% from 2006. * * * Another statistic that’s holding its own this year so far is lots of shootoff targets. During production time for the June issue, the Southwestern Grand Doubles Championship shootoff caught our attention—was it, perhaps, the longest twin-bird shootoff at a Satellite Grand? Some random checking proved that is not the case. Another marathon tie-breaker, for the top non-resident doubles championship trophy, took place at the 2007 ATA season’s largest state shoot so far. See the upcoming July issue for that story as well as a list of some of the longest shootoffs in ATA history. "Sidelines" Sandy Tidwell
|
|
|
TRAP & FIELD Magazine, 1000 Waterway Blvd., Indianapolis IN 46202 (C) Copyright 05/08/2008, Curtis Magazine Group, Inc.
|
