Bang bang.

Hey...I know the Alec Baldwin/Rust thing has been hashed over...and over.
Now everyone involved is pointing fingers, trying to dump responsibility for the completely avoidable death on set.
As probably one of the only (or very few) gun guys (except for Barry Powell and Lyle Linares) all y'all will ever see on your feed, there are some lessons here.
The iron clad rule among gun folk is that....if anyone hands you a weapon and says it is "cold" or "unloaded", you never believe them. Not only that, you look down the barrel and make sure that there is nothing in the barrel....pistol, rifle, shotgun...doesn't matter.
If you don't know how to open the weapon, ask.
Trust, but verify.
Brandon Lee was killed....not from a live round as seems to have happened last week....but by a fragment in the barrel left by a previous discharge.
Anyone hands you a weapon....even your best friend, dad, mom, boss.....you check.
Not to doubt them....but shit happens.
If there are rounds visible...you take them out and check to make sure they are blanks or whatever they are supposed to be.
You can not only kill someone in front of you, but you can kill yourself.
You can shoot your balls off. It happens all the time.
Even if there are no rounds in whatever chamber, you still look down the barrel.
It is like passing a knife in the kitchen: all of us would agree that you never hand anyone a knife blade first.
It is not polite, and is not safe.
Anyone from that set who tries to pass blame downhill is an asshole.
Never, ever, ever take a weapon from anyone whoever without checking yourself to make sure it is safe.
And.....even so....never, ever, ever point a weapon at anyone you don't want to actually kill.
Right now.
Gun folk take a lot of heat for being retro assholes.
No one I know involved in guns would ever have accepted a weapon and pointed it at a human or animal without checking to make it safe.
Drunk or sober.
So...fuck a whole lot of Alec Baldwin.

Life in the Fun Zone

Quick update on our various Glove Box projects.
Our houseless friend....we grabbed her new leggings, a new backpack, a new down vest. Socks from Costco, of course.
Still haven't managed an actual private shower for her since July....and no more daily coffee funding. Oh, well!
A little trickle for our "on the spectrum" genius kid, ditto a trickle for our food folks and our ex Cachagua single mom who just needs to pay the PG&E.
I worry about our house-less friend. I don't know if any of y'all have ever had to apply for help from the state, but it is seriously demeaning, complicated and invasive.
At one point when we owned the Cachagua Store, our income was so low that Amanda qualified for food stamps, etc. The County sent a form, un invited....and still send forms.
On the form, she was supposed to even declare the value of her wedding rings.....which we still haven't got around to, by the way.
The process is so complicated, and so degrading (probably by intent) that folks turn away.
Like our houseless friend.
She lost her phone service....because her dickhead son (Army colonel) never followed through with the promised phone.
Her iPhone is in my Glove Box......but he promised her. so she is still waiting.
She lost her EBT card because because she is now past the point of being able to deal with bureaucracy....and they can't contact her because she has no phone.
It is winter now....and she can't stay in her place between 7am and 9pm. She doesn't want to have to ask for help, because.....she has pride. She is our neighbor.
Her physical health seems to be spiraling down, along with her mental health.
No public transport to health services (it takes three or four hours to get to Natividad from the Village...each way), and then there is all that paperwork.
Our lady has lived and worked in the Village for 30 years....steady.
Amanda and I do what we can.....but in the end, we are daily watching our friend die by degrees.
My 14 year old, cherished dog is also dying by degrees......His friends have all passed, and we are preparing ourselves for that sad,sad day.
Every day we also wonder.....how and when will Mary die? Who will find her?
Will she get more respect and concern than my dog?
As if......

What is fun.

We might whine a little bit at the prospect, but in the end our favorite favorite food service experience this past year or so has been....private dinner for two or four or six in the garden here at Massa.
It makes no economic sense...but no one still left in the restaurant world has economic sense as a driver of why they go to work each day.
I love small dinners because it is just me and a few guests. No menu, no pricing....we just work it out on the spot.
I get to cook what is super fresh....and easy (I am cook, waiter, busser, etc) and the interaction is direct between us all.
One of the worst things about our business is that all the chefs you know fret and worry coming up with menus that try to predict what all y'all might think about ordering.....two or three days hence.
It's a nightmare with no end.
In little dinners, we are all in control....guests and cooks.
As I said...there is no money in it....but there is a huge amount of satisfaction.
Enough to remind us all about why we actually go out to eat, and why we folks in the back actually work all day to make food to please people.