A conversation with a coworker from a couple of weeks ago…
PB: Do you play video games?
Me: I don’t. Do you?
PB: Yep. First person shooter games are my favorite, but I find myself playing a lot of kids games with my six year old.
I recently took PB and another coworker out for their first ever attempts at shooting shotguns at clay pigeons. After a few minutes of lessons regarding gun safety, gun handling, shot shell make up and the physics of breaking a flying target we were ready to begin. After squeezing in earplugs, PB took his first shot at a stationary clay pigeon that I’d placed high in the grass. He loaded the gun, mounted it on his shoulder, clicked off the safety, took aim and squeezed the trigger. The clay pigeon evaporated into a puff of smoke and dust. A direct hit. PB smiled.
After loading another shell, taking a deep breath and calling pull, I gently floated an orange target into the blue September sky. His eyes flicked towards the target an instant before swinging the shotgun. After tracking it for a moment he pulled the trigger and hit the clay pigeon with a solid thump.
Then PB pumped the empty hull from the gun, clicked on the safety and turned my way with a smile as he gleefully exclaimed, “Call of Duty, baby!”