Bell1945's blog

Getting published

When I retired the first time, I had a set of 3-month projects lined up to keep me focused.  One of them was completing a screenplay on Richard III.  The notion of writing something for publication has been around for a long while.  Now that I think about it, a very long while.

About 1986, I decided to submit some poems for publication.  I picked the most prestigious U.S. Journal, Poetry.  They gave as an example of a first-time publication "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock."  In case I catch on, thought I, having Poetry as my first venue seemed good.  I submitted.  They declined.  I didn't submit again.

About 1988, I found myself writing sketches autobiographical about a suddenly-single guy, eking by and being lonely. I know, wildly innovative.  I even showed them to friends, to some encouragement.  I also planned a longer novel and collected a lot of background and other material.  Blocked out a short story of revenge gone awry.  An historical novel about the sudden emergence of democracy in ancient Greece.  But nothing resulted.

On first retirement, unexpected things intruded -- life and death things -- so my schedule for writing was pushed back. After the attacks, I went back to work, and spent no time on writing.  When I retired again, I had other bright ideas.  One about my experience of school desegregation in high school.  Another about going deer hunting for the first time after I started receiving Social Security.   Bright ideas that faded with the passage of time.

So what am I to learn from this?  I could give up the idea of actually writing something for publication.  I could change my habits so I can finish things.  Is there a third option?  Maybe I could start writing in my journal again.  Just to shake off the rust.....

What honeymoon?

During the election, I had to provide an email to see information on a lot of sites.  So I created an email especially for that purpose, the better to cut off unwanted mail after the election.

Some of those sites sent me hard-over R announcements and news flashes.  After the election, they immediately started a stream of anti-Obama links.  Will there be an audit of Obama's finances, since there is one of McCain's finances (and McCain's folks had set aside money for that purpose)?  Is Obama going to do the odious and re-instate the Fairness Doctrine (whose airways are they, anyway?)?  Is Obama planning to take away hunting rifles?  Is Obama beholden to foreign and secret contributors?

Arriving at my shooting range, I was greeted by their sign:  Obama, what are you hiding?  I turned paranoid to hide my Obama books in the car, lest I become noticeable.   While preparing my rifle, I overheard the pistoleros next to me (couldn't not hear them).  The one with the ginormous pearl-handled revolver assured his 38-wielding friend "Obama has already authorized home invasions."  Gulp.

And this in an atmosphere where those like McConnell blast Emmanuel as partisan (as if none of Bush's intimates were) and urge a bi-partisanship that he never exhibited himself.

Based on Obama's steady navigation through the election, I have hopes he'll keep his eye on his goals, keep realistic in his schedule, and show rather than just say.  'Though I think he's going to be very good at the American Cheerleader role.

But a bi-partisan honeymoon would have been nice.  He's not even been inaugurated, after all...........

Applied ballistics

When I was up in Wisconsin in mid-October, my father-in-law George and I went to the range to sight in the rifle.  And to shoot my Glock.  I was feeling pretty cocky after we'd shot the rifle from 25 yards.  We moved back to 100 yds, and I couldn't even hit the paper reliably.   I was humiliated.  He eventually was able to hit the target reasonably well, but I still couldn't.  He pointed out that I was moving the rifle all around while aiming.  [Ed.  I didn't think to tell him that that was the same way I play pool.  Also unsteady.]  

I want to shoot well enough not to embarrass him:  he seems to take pleasure when I do well in the family competitions -- driving a golf ball across the pond, deer hunting.

First time I went to the local range, I was 'way off at 25 yards.  I adjusted to deadeye status, but my shots at 100 yds were so far off I shot below the paper most of the time.  Not humiliation, but confusion.

I started thinking about the ballistics of it all.  When a thought came to me.  Maybe my scope was massively misaimed.   

Here's the idea.  A bullet flies along a parabola, falling under the pull of gravity.  The whole idea of "sighting in a rifle" is to make the scope's straight-line view intersect with the bullet's flight on the way up.  For my 30-06, that shorter distance is 25 yards.  Shooting farther away, the bullet continues to rise for a little while, then it starts to sink.  The idea is to have the bullet hit the target you see (straight-line) both at the near point (e.g., 25 yards) going up and at the far point (in my case, 100 yards) going down.

My conjecture was that I was hitting the 25-yard target on the way down.  If that was true, the bullet would continue to fall another 75 yds, missing the aim-point 'way low, sometimes off the paper altogether.

Like a mathematician, I began trying to devise formulas that would confirm my conjecture by estimating the amount low my shot would be at 100 yards.  That didn't work out.  I couldn't find the right approach on which to bend my formerly considerable mathematical talent.  But I thought of another plan.

I went back to the range (very busy this close to deer hunting season).  I began at 100 yards and assumed I was hitting 'way low.  7 of my first 8 shots missed the paper altogether.  I cranked the scope up and up and up.  Eventually, I got my shots onto the paper reliably.  I then tried to refine my settings at 25 yards, but there was no room to shoot there, so I used 50 yards.  There I was shooting low, confusing me since I should be high at 50 yards.  But I polished the aim, then went back shooting at 100 yards.  

Success!  my shots were within 5 inches of the bull's eye.  I adjusted twice, then put the last 3 shots inside the center circle, one touching the red dot.

Beyond the accomplishment (I did this!), now I feel like I won't be an embarrassment to George.  

[Still wish I could figure out the equations for how much a shot will change by changing the scope a quarter of a degree......]

Life Events

On 28 June, my niece Jenny Hipp got married to Chris French.  It was also the 50th wedding anniversary of her grandparents.  Kind of like the god Janus......

Intimations of mortality and priorities

When someone you love suddenly faces a serious medical problem, smaller irritants retreat to their proper perspective.  Not Kate.  Not children or grandchildren.  But still family.

In reluctant praise of James Baker....

In the promo for American Experience's episode on George H. W. Bush, James Baker says "People used to ask me why we didn't go on to Baghdad.  You know what?  People don't ask me that anymore."

North Carolina Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the NC primary.  It was never important while I lived there.  And here it is.  Wish I were back there to participate.  Just have to watch to see how it plays out.