Sunday and what better way to spend the day in bed right? Well that is what I did although I should have been at a gun show with my brother and friend Roy. Still, choosing to laze around was not all bad. I got pizza with my friend Anna and then met up with the boys who went to a gun show showcasing all the latest technology. Obviously I missed the show but was told they had pretty much every gun known to man there including what was described as a custom made 'elephant gun' which could barely be lifted and sold for $35,000.
i get asked alot about guns and America, from people who are curious as to how trigger happy the Yanks really are. It is a difficult topic to understand and explain. I taught some riflery up in Wisconsin and handing a gun to an 8yr old and watching him fire it always did seem a little odd to me but then most of my friends in the States have never even fired a gun. Many Americans retort that they carry a gun to protect themselves from other people with guns and then the catch 22 of whether they would lay down their guns if the other person would comes into play. Do i personally believe in guns? No. They scare the S**t out of me most of the time. Do I enjoy firing them for recreational purposes? Yes I do. I think reform will take a long time in America before they are banned, if it might ever happen at all.
So the rest of the day....well, Anna has a mum who is from South Carolina. This always seemed interesting to me since I have never been to the South yet studied so much about it.
So Anna's mum (Marge) decided to cook us English guys a Southern themed meal. What initially turned out to be me, James, and Andy (my brother) turned into about 10 people. This turned out to be much more fun since there was lots of stories to be shared even though mostly everyone was waiting for Marge to talk since she has so many stories.
We all sat down around a table and the first thing we noticed was newspaper on the table, no biggie we though until Marge produced a huge cooking pot that had been boiling potatos, Shrimp and sausages. This was all placed on the newspaper on the table. Obviously most of us were not used to this but the whole thing worked a treat and we handpicked what we wanted from the middle. The shrimp looked like it had been caught in some waters near Chernobyl since it was so big! I ate so much Shrimp that i created a mini mountain my end of the table.
Conversation was flowing and I asked Marge what it was like to grow up during the civil rights era in the South. Marge described some of it but noted that despite it being exploding in some parts of the country, when it was all around you it was as though life was normal and so hard to see what was going on. Marge mentioned that this was part of the reason she moved away as well as stories about the KKK, being friends with African Americans etc. Being an American studies student, this was something very interesting to me so thanks Marge you lovely person you.
Well after causing a shortage of shrimp in Indy after my epic dinner, we all went to a bar (of course) for a couple of beers. I'm not even sure there has been a day in this trip where we have not had a drink? Oh well. When in Rome...
i get asked alot about guns and America, from people who are curious as to how trigger happy the Yanks really are. It is a difficult topic to understand and explain. I taught some riflery up in Wisconsin and handing a gun to an 8yr old and watching him fire it always did seem a little odd to me but then most of my friends in the States have never even fired a gun. Many Americans retort that they carry a gun to protect themselves from other people with guns and then the catch 22 of whether they would lay down their guns if the other person would comes into play. Do i personally believe in guns? No. They scare the S**t out of me most of the time. Do I enjoy firing them for recreational purposes? Yes I do. I think reform will take a long time in America before they are banned, if it might ever happen at all.
So the rest of the day....well, Anna has a mum who is from South Carolina. This always seemed interesting to me since I have never been to the South yet studied so much about it.
So Anna's mum (Marge) decided to cook us English guys a Southern themed meal. What initially turned out to be me, James, and Andy (my brother) turned into about 10 people. This turned out to be much more fun since there was lots of stories to be shared even though mostly everyone was waiting for Marge to talk since she has so many stories.
We all sat down around a table and the first thing we noticed was newspaper on the table, no biggie we though until Marge produced a huge cooking pot that had been boiling potatos, Shrimp and sausages. This was all placed on the newspaper on the table. Obviously most of us were not used to this but the whole thing worked a treat and we handpicked what we wanted from the middle. The shrimp looked like it had been caught in some waters near Chernobyl since it was so big! I ate so much Shrimp that i created a mini mountain my end of the table.
Conversation was flowing and I asked Marge what it was like to grow up during the civil rights era in the South. Marge described some of it but noted that despite it being exploding in some parts of the country, when it was all around you it was as though life was normal and so hard to see what was going on. Marge mentioned that this was part of the reason she moved away as well as stories about the KKK, being friends with African Americans etc. Being an American studies student, this was something very interesting to me so thanks Marge you lovely person you.
Well after causing a shortage of shrimp in Indy after my epic dinner, we all went to a bar (of course) for a couple of beers. I'm not even sure there has been a day in this trip where we have not had a drink? Oh well. When in Rome...
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