From Guns to Guitars -3-

From Guns to Guitars

 

 

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential... these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence.

Confucius

 

 

I've been into guns since childhood. I was born in the sixties and all the tv heroes had guns. The firearm culture was a part of Americana then.  It was accepted that hunting season would cause a few boys to be absent from school as they spent time with their fathers and uncles in the woods.  It was not uncommon to see long guns in the back of pickup trucks. The more rural you were the easier your access to firearms were.  They are tools.  They were collectable items that were passed down in families. They hadn't invented the term gun violence yet.  Guns don't kill people. People kill people.

 

Firearms did not pose the threat of violence that is parroted today.  They were still mechanical devices young men used and received as a rite of passage into manhood. The fear of guns and the manifestation of gun control was always there but not to the status it is today. Common sense was more common before the drug wars of the 90s. Gun control was not a business as it is now.

 

I spent thirty years and sacrificed a career, fighting gun control as a firearms instructor and civil rights activist known as the Black Man With A Gun. As a former US Marine, federal police officer and protective agent that had spent a life time in the Intelligence Community, I knew what I was talking about.  I have protected a US President, and three high ranking government officials. I have traveled to and worked in thirteen hostile countries. I've carried a sidearm for more than half my life.

 

In 1999, I wrote and published Black Man With A Gun, A Responsible Gun Ownership Manual for African Americans, and rewrote it in 2014. I created a firearms consulting business called African American Arms & Instruction, (A3i) in 1992. I have lobbied the US Congress. I have testified in the state legislatures of Virginia, Texas, South Carolina, Michigan, Maryland, and Wisconsin.  I was instrumental in the passing of concealed carry reform in 1992 for Virginia and Texas. I founded the Tenth Cavalry Gun Club, a national pro-gun organization for African Americans. I've failed at more than I have succeeded in. I have tried a lot of things though. I even trademarked Black Man With A Gun (TM).

 

In 2007, I started podcasting and used the connections I had made as activist to interview and share knowledge about firearms, the truth about guns, and its culture. I tried everything on that show. I was a constant on the radio.  I have been in at least four documentaries. I've been the voice of reason called upon immediately after a crisis. The podcast became a pro-gun variety show that I just ended in 2023 after almost 800 episodes. It was a great experience.

 

I have connected with thousands of people and at a time was a household name in the firearms community. Today I pass the torch to the young guns that can more effectively reach others through social media than I did at its infancy.

 

I love gun people. They are the traditional Americans that have the same values as my grandparents. There are not as many of them as it used to be so I cherish the ones I know.  I like the rest that often fall in the middle of the argument and understand it’s about choice and the protection of life, and not politics. They like me back. Some of these traditionalist are still encouraging me like good friends although we have never met.  The internet isn't all bad.

 

These days, I don't debate or post gun pictures.  I stopped responding to queries and calls to help others ratings. I have embrace my creative side, to learn the art of guitar. I use music to help those that can't get around like they used to.

 

In the year 2019, I leaned forward with my guitar goals. I’m not alone. People all over are buying guitars according to Fender, Gibson and my friend and luthier extraordinaire Dean Zelinsky. Younger people are learning, shredding and making music with a guitar like never before. The pandemic increased it. I needed it when my wife got sick.

 

Learning the guitar, is a forward-looking process, kindling hope and optimism. You may not know this but it helps regulate stable mood chemicals like serotonin and dopamine.

 

For me, it gives me joy. I can physically chart my progress. It is cheaper than therapy and doesn’t leave me any bad side effects. I've replaced many of the guns I had with guitars.  Each one allowed me to learn a style or try something new that helps my progress.  I've been buying and selling them so much, I decided to start a side business which also helped me.  I now do minor repairs and set ups for guitars and basses to help others get their sound or favorite instruments back.

 

In 2023, it's all about growth to me.  I now know what life is all about.  I know who I am and what I am not.  I try to get along with most people, the rest I leave alone. I am still working on me.  I am the only one I can control. Life keeps it interesting because it never fails to throw curveballs at you. Even with all that is happening, I am trying to live my best life. That comes easier when you seek to help someone else.

 

 

Get busy living, or get busy dying. - Stephen King

 

 

 

 

Few things in the world are more powerful than a positive push. A smile. A world of optimism and hope. A "you can do it" when things are tough.

~ Richard DeVos