[email protected]

I've just discovered how truly difficult it is to acquire an assault weapon
in Southern California.

A toy one, I mean.

Sam (12) wants to be a "Terror-tubby" for Halloween. (His idea. Like a
terrorist Teletubby.)

Abby and I went looking today at Big Lots, 99 Cents Only, Toys 'R' Us and
Dollar Tree. Yesterday Sam and I checked Target and Walmart. Nada. Zip. (We
had some time to kill while Sam was at a nearby skateboard competition...I
don't usually cruise six stores for one item. Well, sometimes.)

You can get a plastic Ninja knife. Or a lightsaber. A Wild West cowboy or
pirate flintlock pistol. Or a gladiator kit. Or get this, Toys 'R' Us sells
an "electronic soldier kit," complete with helmet with working flashlight,
interactive belt, vest, binoculars, goggles, shovel, dog tags, walkie talkie,
compass, medal and a whistle, but NO gun.

I mean, I get the idea. Everybody's afraid that some nine-year old kid is
going to walk into 7-11 with one of these things and freak out the clerk who
thinks it's real and shoots the kid whose parents then sue the toy company, or
whatever variation of that. But I just figured there'd be *some*
socially-apathetic manufacturer somewhere in China importing the things to some cheap store
and that they wouldn't be so hard to find.

They're available on ebay, so they must be selling them somewhere. I know
I've seen them before. But we didn't start soon enough because I thought it'd
be easy to get. (Perhaps I was thinking of *real* guns.)

I just feel so SAFE now, though. LOL

Sam was very appreciative of our efforts, and was fine settling for a pirate
knife and a camouflage hat and glove set I picked up at Dollar Tree, which
he'll wear with a red hoodie sweat suit with a tv test pattern taped to his
tummy. We're going to attach the red "Po" circle made out of pipecleaners to the
top of the hat.

We plan to keep him out of 7-11 on Halloween though, just to be on the safe
side. <g>

Patty







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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sandra Dodd

-=-They're available on ebay, so they must be selling them somewhere.
I know
I've seen them before.-=-

Thrift stores!
Or maybe go onto FreeCycle and ask to have or borrow one.

Sandra

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sandra Dodd

I just thought of costume shops, special Halloween stores... They
might have.

Or buy one online and pay a little extra to get it in time?

Sandra

Silvia Barrett

My son�s birthday was this month and the local party supplies store had
quite a selection of toy guns and all the other weapons as well.



Silvia

From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
On Behalf Of Sandra Dodd
Sent: Sunday, October 28, 2007 8:19 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [AlwaysLearning] guns



I just thought of costume shops, special Halloween stores... They
might have.

Or buy one online and pay a little extra to get it in time?

Sandra





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Robyn L. Coburn

If it were me, trying and failing to find the right prop gun, I would
probably head to the hardware store and visit the plumbing and electrical
supplies sections for pipes of various lengths, and buy some spray paint. It
should be possible to make something that gives the idea, but is clearly not
real. The butt or handle part (whatever it's called) could be carved from
styrofoam. It is really easy to paint styrofoam if you first cover it with
that plaster bandage (soak, place and then it air drys) that is available by
the roll in craft stores. (Cut it to about 6-8" lengths or you will drive
yourself crazy.) Yeah I've been a theater prop maker.

Robyn L. Coburn

jenstarc4

>
> If it were me, trying and failing to find the right prop gun, I would
> probably head to the hardware store and visit the plumbing and
electrical
> supplies sections for pipes of various lengths, and buy some spray
paint.

From what I understand about toy guns is that they all have a red tip
where the bullet would come out if it were a real gun. It's what
police officers and others use to identify a real one from a fake one
quickly. So, if you make one that ends up looking real, put a red end
on it and 7-11 employees won't be scared!

Emile Snyder

Sorry, couldn't resist ;)

Sandra Dodd

lawyers, was Re: guns, Re: money


http://lyricsgame.blogspot.com/


Come play!

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pattywithawhy1

Thanks for all the ideas, y'all. It's so good know I have such
support in our seminal efforts to stockpile weapons. <g>

In our ebay search we came across sniper rifles and M16's in an
airsoft version. Upon hearing this, dh got involved and started
looking into what the local sporting goods stores might have in stock.
We quickly moved beyond the Halloween costume budget, but once Sam
discovered we'd support him in an airsoft gun purchase he was more
than willing to chip in with his own money.

So again, thanks everybody, for pushing me a bit further in this. I'd
have stopped at the knife and then I wouldn't have such a happy kid
running around the backyard shooting holes in cardboard boxes with an
M16 (complete with the red tip at the end of the barrel.)

Patty

Sandra Dodd

-=-Thanks for all the ideas, y'all. It's so good know I have such
support in our seminal efforts to stockpile weapons. <g>-=-

Marty and Holly told us this afternoon they need waterguns for their
costumes. Not super-soaker types, but little traditional ones. I
knew where one was and went and got it. They each found another kind
of toy gun in their own rooms, but they might still go out tonight
because they want a red one and a blue one that match. Keith and I
pointed out that it's a bad time of year to try to get water toys,
and that grocery stores might be better for old-time toys, too.

Holly has usually been some form of witch or princess or gypsy or a
peacock, and this year she needs a gun.



Sandra

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MrsStranahan

We got a bag of three old-time water pistols at CVS (the drugstore) not too
long ago for $1. (orange, yellow, and green though)

Here in Los Angeles you can get real looking guns at prop houses for some
kinda serious money (I don't remember exactly, $60-ish maybe) but you can
also get them at flea markets for about $12.

There's also this site - www.realistic*toy**guns*.com/ not in time for
Halloween unfortunately.



On 10/29/07, Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
>
> -=-Thanks for all the ideas, y'all. It's so good know I have such
> support in our seminal efforts to stockpile weapons. <g>-=-
>
> Marty and Holly told us this afternoon they need waterguns for their
> costumes. Not super-soaker types, but little traditional ones. I
> knew where one was and went and got it. They each found another kind
> of toy gun in their own rooms, but they might still go out tonight
> because they want a red one and a blue one that match. Keith and I
> pointed out that it's a bad time of year to try to get water toys,
> and that grocery stores might be better for old-time toys, too.
>
> Holly has usually been some form of witch or princess or gypsy or a
> peacock, and this year she needs a gun.
>
> Sandra
>
> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
>
>
>


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

<<The butt or handle part (whatever it's called) could be carved from
styrofoam. It is really easy to paint styrofoam if you first cover it with
that plaster bandage (soak, place and then it air drys) that is available by
the roll in craft stores. (Cut it to about 6-8" lengths or you will drive
yourself crazy.) Yeah I've been a theater prop maker.>>

I meant to comment on this before. This is so great, I'm almost sorry I
didn't get a chance to try it.

Don't go anywhere Robyn, I'm sure I'm going to need to tap into your
expertise at some point. Still got a lot of Halloweens to go. :-)

Patty




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olga o

The "handle part" is called the stock. =) sorry, the target shooter over
here couldn't let this go.

I was also thinking that if he is a terrorist, you could use PVC pipe to
make fake dynamite or a fake "suicide bomb". Not sure what kind of
terrorist he is going for but this jumped to my mind.

Oh, and I also wanted to say that this is a really awesome idea for
a Halloween costume. Your son must be a blast to hang around. =D

olga*
--
877 4 LA LECHE
La Leche League's Breastfeeding Helpline - US
Breastfeeding Help 24 Hours a day


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pattywithawhy1

--- In [email protected], "olga o" <ottermoon74@...> wrote:
>
> I was also thinking that if he is a terrorist, you could use PVC pipe to
> make fake dynamite or a fake "suicide bomb". Not sure what kind of
> terrorist he is going for but this jumped to my mind.

Cool thought! He got a good laugh out of your idea, but pointed out
that his gun-free 8 year-old cousin who goes trick-or-treating with us
is already going to be flipping out with jealousy over the airsoft
gun, and "he may try to kill me," says Sam.
>
> Oh, and I also wanted to say that this is a really awesome idea for
> a Halloween costume. Your son must be a blast to hang around. =D

Thanks. He is!

Patty

pattywithawhy1

--- In [email protected], Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:
>

> Holly has usually been some form of witch or princess or gypsy or a
> peacock, and this year she needs a gun.
>
>
So don't keep us in suspense...what's she dressing up as? Or are you
being kept in suspense too?

Patty

Sandra Dodd

-=-Cool thought! He got a good laugh out of your idea, but pointed out
that his gun-free 8 year-old cousin who goes trick-or-treating with us
is already going to be flipping out with jealousy over the airsoft
gun, and "he may try to kill me," says Sam.-=-

Y'see?

THERE's the cause of violence--neediness and desire.

Our dog went to the vet. I was out of town, but Keith and Marty took
her. She hadn't been to the vet for years, and other than the
physical questions and some kind of skin tumor thing they removed,
she was good, at nearly ten years old. So the vet asked what she
eats. Keith said dry dog food, people scraps, cat food... We leave
food down for her and the cats all the time.

The vet started to give the speech about it being bad, I guess, but
here was this dog that's fine and fit. So what she said was she was
surprised the dog wasn't overweight.

Because there's food down, the dog eats when she's hungry. Sometimes
she eats the cats' food. We could get mad about it, but we just put
down more cat food. She doesn't take it away from the cats, she eats
what they leave. The cats don't eat fast, or all, because they know
there will be more.

Sometimes the dog hasn't had anything special or interesting, so I
put down the cat food I know she like best. <g>

Sandra

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Sandra Dodd

-=-So don't keep us in suspense...what's she dressing up as? Or are you
being kept in suspense too?-=-

It's obscure.
They're being the main characters of a Super Nintendo game called
Zombies Ate My Neighbors.

They only figure three or four of their own closest friends will get
it, but they're very happy. Unfortunately, there's no party to go
to, but they're going to go hang out with friends and maybe visit
other friends.

Marty made a pair of 3D classes. We had real ones, but he wanted
something more substantial. He asked if we had colored plastic, and
I did have a packet of colored plastic folders, like the kind people
put sets of papers in into a file cabinet. He was happy, and I was
happy to be able to open a drawer and produce the thing. But the red
was kind of orange. So I went into my filing cabinet, into some
years when I was using such things, and traded his out for a redder one.

He used cardstock from a carton and painted it white. It took a few
coats because he used the printed side. I asked why he didn't turn
it inside, but there were two good reasons The existing folds fit
his face, and he worked on those, and he wanted them to look good
inside and outside.

I had suggested he make two layers and glue them so the "lenses"
would be held in like a frame, but he really wanted the plastic to be
fastened. "Will Elmer's glue work?" No, I said. Then a few hours
later I remembered suddenly how I used to glue wall paper samples as
covers on the dictionaries I used as textbooks when I taught Jr.
High. The covers were glossy and the glue wouldn't stick, so I put
masking tape strips on the edges and the glue would stick to the
inside of the vinyl wallpaper and to the outside of the masking
tape. So I called him (he was out) and told him and he came home and
did that.

When I was teaching, I would figure out how to get American Heritage
paperback dictionaries in bulk as inexpensively as I could (one year
a dollar a copy through Scholastic books) and the dad of a friend of
mine owned a hardware store and would give me sample books of
wallpaper. Each large page would cover two books. So I'd put the
paper down and kids would choose one and put their names inside. I'd
glue the covers on and then the books lasted longer, the kids could
find their own easily in the pile (we left them in lockers sorted by
classes in the classroom), and I wish I had photos, because these
were all the best of flocked and textured and metallic-sheen vinyl
wall coverings of the early 1970's. I probably do have a few,
falling apart, somewhere.

So Marty's glasses worked great, and Holly has a red cap to run her
pony tail out the back of, but she's not liking the effect. I might
take her to Savers to get a costume wig she can make a ponytail out
of. I have two real human hair braids, but one is Kirby's from when
he was twelve or so, and the other is her dead biker uncle's and she
declines to wear that. I said "HEY, it's Halloween!" But no.

My granny had hair cuttings in a scrap book in a drawer. People I
hadn't known, hair. I think it was common in the 19th century.
People made gifts out of hair, and embroidered it into things, and
there were lockets for hair samples (God, is there a connection
between "locks" of hair and "lockets"? I'm sitting here thinking of
dictionaries...) It creeped me out completely.

This is why I hesitate to tell stories sometimes. (I do! You
couldn't tell? <g>) I don't want to drop off all the connections
they lead to, and I always have to drop some, or leave them all out,
but often that's the best part of the answers to simple questions, is
how it fits into a life of connections.

They found good water guns at Walgreen's.

Sandra

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riasplace3

--- In [email protected], Sandra Dodd <Sandra@...> wrote:

> My granny had hair cuttings in a scrap book in a drawer. People I
> hadn't known, hair. I think it was common in the 19th century.
> People made gifts out of hair, and embroidered it into things, and
> there were lockets for hair samples

I made my husband a bracelet out of a small braid of my hair. He wears
it when we're going to be apart for a while.
Another connection in my life...I was reading a magazine yesterday, and
a woman had her dad's curls (he had his hair cut when he started
school; probably early 1900's)and she had the hair made into a wig for
an antique doll which was her aunts. Two things I thought of when I
read that paragraph... ; )


> This is why I hesitate to tell stories sometimes. (I do! You
> couldn't tell? <g>) I don't want to drop off all the connections
> they lead to, and I always have to drop some, or leave them all out,
> but often that's the best part of the answers to simple questions, is
how it fits into a life of connections.

I LOVE reading about the connections...the way they flow; from 3-D
glasses to wallpaper from the '70's to hair jewelry...it's so cool!
Ria

[email protected]

<<THERE's the cause of violence--neediness and desire.>>

And frustration! When you just can't figure out how to stop something or
someone or make something happen or stop happening... and everything just keeps
getting in your way and nobody's cooperating...and you just don't feel like
you have any good ideas or options left? What else can you do? Start
biting! Hitting! Punching! Shooting! Dropping bombs!

I always find it interesting when I'm watching a movie, and the story's so
well-crafted that even I as the viewer get so frustrated with the lack of
apparent options that I start coaching the character to just shoot the person.

Patty




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Sandra Dodd

-=-I always find it interesting when I'm watching a movie, and the
story's so
well-crafted that even I as the viewer get so frustrated with the
lack of
apparent options that I start coaching the character to just shoot
the person. -=-

I laughed.

My favorite TV show is Boston Legal, and in two different storylines,
two people were killed in the other night's episodes--not shown, but
reported. The reactions of people about it were the main parts of
the stories. I just got off the phone with someone running a series
of discussions with me, and we're going to do a session on Beowulf,
and it's about killings that people celebrate. "Needed killin'"
situations.

And all of those are about the kind of powerlessness described so
well here:

-=-And frustration! When you just can't figure out how to stop
something or
someone or make something happen or stop happening... and everything
just keeps
getting in your way and nobody's cooperating...and you just don't
feel like
you have any good ideas or options left? What else can you do? Start
biting! Hitting! Punching! Shooting! Dropping bombs!-=-

Sandra




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olga o

***I just got off the phone with someone running a series
of discussions with me, and we're going to do a session on Beowulf,
and it's about killings that people celebrate. "Needed killin'"
situations.
***

One of my favorite movies is "Thunderheart" with Val Kilmer and (Potential
SPOILER Alert here!!!) I always want him to shoot Sam Shepard when they are
standing at the stronghold - I want all those Indians to just open fire, as
a matter of fact- but he never does. I have seen it about 150 times now and
he never, never shoots him, no matter how loud I yell at the tv.

That is definitely a case of a response to powerlessness though.

olga*


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Ed Wendell

Our dogs too - we have two 80 lb huskies - we just leave their bowls down (except when I wash them ;) We just fill them up and when they are empty we refill them - they are very fit. They do periodically guard them from each other for some weird dog reason I guess. Just periodically one will decide to lay next to one of the bowls and grrr at the other when he/she gets near. One is male and the other female - out of the same litter. Most often one will eat and then the other out of the same bowl, leaving one bowl untouched.

Lisa W.

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