To say good morning and really mean it

This young lady firing a Glock pistol is not one of my ex-wives or even among my former girlfriends. Rather, she is a good friend from one of my past incarnations. Beyond that, she is someone who I trust to watch my back. She understands the nature of firearms. She knows firearms are tools, and that whether they are used for good or for evil is determined not by them, but by the person holding them. She understands that acquiring knowledge and skill in their use is nothing to fear, and that such knowledge and skill might save her life or the lives of others some day. She realizes -- as not everyone does -- that only tyrants and dictators wish to take guns away from the ordinary citizens of America or of any nation.

Guns, watches, kisses & Manitous

I acquired an old, single-shot, Stevens, .22 caliber rifle a few days ago. There is no way to determine its exact age, but this particular model was made only between 1894 and 1912.

It is, in the least, one hundred years old.

I fell in love with it immediately. Maybe, I even will give it a name. Remember? Davy Crockett named his rifle "Old Betsy."

Is it some manner of sin to be in love with an inanimate object, especially one for which the primary intent is killing? I am not certain if I mean that question to be rhetorical or not.

I have kissed this rifle a few times. I really love it. I wish it could talk and tell me where it has been and who has held it and what it has seen since it was created. I frequently feel the same way about old pocket watches and old coins.

As for being in love with inanimate objects, they do not necessarily have to be old. I bought myself a Rolex Submariner for my birthday in 2011. I kiss it regularly, too. I love it. I never have regretted the thousands of dollars I spent to obtain it.

It was my second Rolex. I had purchased my first a few decades ago. It was sort of stolen, but, it might have saved my life at the same time. That is a story for another day -- a six-drink story.

So, is it a manner of sin to love an inanimate object and to kiss it?

I might remind you that I believe in the concept of Manitous -- that everything, animate and inanimate, has a Manitou, a spirit within it, a personality, if you will, a reasoning, magical, intelligent power. Therefore, it is the Manitous of my Rolex and of my rifle to which (or to whom) I am displaying my love and emotional attachment.

Well, enough for now. Life is as simple or as complicated as each of us wishes to make it -- as earthly and secularly barren or as magical and spiritually active as we individually form ourselves  to be. Personal faith, belief and will power make us what we are, and that has been true since the dawn of time.

So, have you kissed your watch and your rifle today?