Will Power

I played organized baseball until I was nearly 21 and I was good. I was an excellent infielder and a for average hitter. 

A couple of days ago I saw something I hadn't seen before--a man carrying a pistol on his hip in the grocery store. I couldn't help myself because I broke out laughing right behind him. 

This man was shorter than me and appeared to be in worse shape than me. I couldn't stop laughing. As much as I tried to fight off dark thoughts, they came anyway. 

I wanted so badly to hit him in the back of his head with a baseball bat. He'd never see it coming and his pistol would still be holstered as I beat him to death and took his gun.  You better be wearing rear view mirrors when you show what you have and where it is.

The license to carry a concealed weapon is certainly much more effective thwarting possible attacks simply because no one knows if you are carrying a weapon. Still, I couldn't get this man off my mind. 

I ended up walking behind him to the parking lot chuckling all the way to my car. As I drove away, I wondered if he knew how vulnerable he made himself with a visible weapon. 

Playing in a band took me to unsavory places. Too often, I heard someone announce they were going to get their gun and then proceed to get their ass whipped to the ground. Of course, nowadays the shooting would have started immediately. 

Bad guys always figure it out and find ways to impose their will. I've always believed to know an enemy's plans by their behavior and take appropriate action to nullify it. As Machiavelli said, "If you must stab someone, be sensible about it and stab them in the back."

REVIEW: THE HATEFUL EIGHT

Already nominated for three Academy Awards, The Hateful Eight, directed by Quentin Tarantino, is a nominee for Best Cinematography, Best Actress in a Supporting Role and Best Original Score. “In The Hateful Eight, a few years after the Civil War, a bounty hunter is taking in a female outlaw in Wyoming when their stagecoach is stopped by a former Union officer and a Southerner. The quartet is then forced to seek shelter from a blizzard at a waystation, where four more travelers greet them, and as tensions rise, the eight realize that they may not all survive.” That’s all that needs to be said.

If you're not familiar with Quentin Tarantino movies, this might not be the best trainer, but for those familiar with his style this movie will not disappoint. First, there isn't a single character in the movie worthy of the label human. That’s only a small point considering the underlying plot.

The movie brings Tarantino’s dark humor tied together with graphic violence leaving the viewer unsure of who to cheer for if anyone at all. Of course, I cheered for Samuel L. Jackson, but he was just as rotten as the rest.

I’ll leave it at that and say, if you like Tarantino movies you’ll love this one. For those unfamiliar with his work—stay home and wait for it on pay-for-view or pick it up at Wal-Mart.