when did you first hold a gun?

The post and discussion on Inn of the Last Home reminded me of a funny/disturbing story of my childhood. The first time I held a gun, I was four years old. We were living in a somewhat secluded area and my whole family was out in the driveway. I remember begging and pleading to hold the BB gun my dad had. "Puh-leeeeeeeeeease????!!!!! I PROMISE I won't pull the trigger." (By the way I don't think four year-olds should know what a trigger is.) So, finally, to shut me up, my dad showed me how to hold it and showed me what NOT to touch. Of course, that made the trigger a mentally excruciating magnet. I remember thinking, I'll just touch it, but I won't pull it.

BAM! I shatter my dad's driver-side car window. I had the classic dropped jaw, "I didn't mean to" look that all kids have perfected. He furiously jerked the gun out of my hands. I'm thankful I didn't shoot someone in the face. It was classic that he paid for it with his car window. God works in mysterious ways.

Last year, my dad tried to recruit me into the NRA. "Um, no?"