WHAT'S A GIRL LIKE ME DOING AT A SHOOTING RANGE?

This past Thursday night, I went with one of Legacy's clients to a shooting range.  (I always want to - and sometimes do - say 'driving range'...you can tell what was in my life before!)

It is a curious place for me to be, for sure.  The NRA was always a four-letter word to me.  I didn't like their friends in high places and I thought they were a bully organization.  Charlton Heston, for heaven's sake.  I also write this just after the shooting in Aurora, Colorado (I was born in the Army Hospital there, ages ago!) and I know the topic of guns is swirling around all over the country.  I will say that I believe the sale of assault, semi-automatic weapons should be illegal.  No citizens are being denied their right to bear arms if they are not allowed to buy a weapon like that...that is just ridiculous lobby posturing.

In addition, until taking the Navy SEAL hand gun class Legacy offered our clients in June, it never occurred to me that I might be having dinner in a restaurant filled with folks carrying a concealed hand gun.  That's a pretty sobering thought, especially when I see what is being posted on the internet in response to the insanity in Colorado.

Having said all that, there I was with Harriet Langston, at the indoor shooting range.

Legacy had sponsored a day immersion at an outdoor range with Scott Phillips of TacFrog, a former Navy SEAL, who teaches the correct handling of a hand gun and how to shoot "the Navy Seal way".
Having never even touched a gun before that immersion, having never even wanted to, I was surprised at how intriguing shooting a gun was for me.  Once I overcame the concern/fear that I might accidentally shoot someone, I wanted to learn how to shoot "the Navy SEAL way," wanted to see if I could consistently hit the target, wanted to see if I could manage my fear, settle my nerves, learn the technique, enjoy this experience that was so outside my comfort zone.  I left that Saturday, after over six hours of instruction and practice, exhausted but pleased that I had been able to withstand the heat, my lack of skill,  blistered and bruised hands...glad that I had taken advantage of this opportunity to try a new experience.  As a coach of others, it was a good lesson for me...to see how another professional teaches a new skill, to be the student of something foreign for a change, to only have the responsibility to listen, practice, and learn something.

So, there I was at the indoor shooting range!

Harriet is a wonderful 'teacher' herself.  She has been a shooter for quite some time,  a good one at that. She enjoyed the immersion as much if not more than anyone and was so thrilled with Scott and his ability to teach her new things, allowing her to hone her already considerable skill set.

She wanted me to practice what we had been taught by TacFrog, to become more proficient, to love the process and get results.  And I did with her help!  I became better skilled at two things that plagued me during the class:  loading ammo into the cartridge (no, it is NOT a clip) and controlling the kick or recoil so that the next bullet wouldn't jam in the barrel.  Hooray and success in both areas.  Hitting some bull's eyes was really secondary to being able to say I had gotten better in those ways.  Harriet's patience with me and her thrill at being able to help me practice what we had learned several weeks ago was so helpful.  It made all the difference in my level of comfort and success.  Thank you, Harriet!

I will go back to the range and practice again and look forward to the next opportunity I have to work with Scott Phillips through another Legacy day immersion.  I think, especially as we age, attempting to learn something new is just about the most wonderful thing you can do for your brain!

P.S.  This is me holding Harriet's last target...she is a damn fine shot!

EARTH DAY

April 22, 2012 is a day for us to appreciate the unbelievable resources we have on Earth and to pledge to do our best to protect the offerings that nature unfailingly provides us.  The EarthDay Network is encouraging its supporters to pledge 1 billion acts of green.  Sounds like a big undertaking, doesn't it: overwhelming in fact.

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world  Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."  Margaret Mead


What can an ordinary person do to create an "act of green"?

Have a picnic!  The Nature Conservancy, an international conservation nonprofit, is hosting the largest picnic ever by setting up "Picnics for the Planet" events throughout the world.  Even if you are not a part of this vast undertaking, go to a local park with your family and enjoy being outside with an old-fashioned meal outdoors.

Plant a tree!  Green World Campaign restores indigenous ecologies and lessens the climate crisis in environmentally-damaged locations by planting trees in the communities that desperately need them.  Go to your local nursery and buy a sapling to plant in your yard.  Each year add another sapling as an Earth Day celebration.  On an average sized urban lot, it takes ten trees to neutralize the impact of the CO2 that one person living in a house on that lot expels every day.

Enjoy a local trail or walking path!  Legacy Performance and Integrated Wellness Center donates to DORBA, Dallas Off-Road Biking Association.  Our contribution provides the tools and infrastructure used to build trails in Dallas county.  It also lets local municipalities know that we care about and use the trails built and maintained on their properties.  These trails are for off-road bikers and hikers.  As the trails are build in urban forests, DORBA pledges to leave the smallest footprint possible, retaining the natural eco-system with the least human impact.  Certain trees are off-limits for cutting in order to create a trail.  Known nesting grounds are left untouched.  Water areas are kept as pristine as possible.  Trails are created with a reverence for what nature has gifted us.  They become  "sacred places", if you will, bringing people into the out-of-doors in an inter-active way.  DORBA members are charged with maintaining the trails in the spirit in which they are designed and offered to the public for rest and recreation.

Saturday, April 21st., Legacy took a group of hikers to Big Cedar Wilderness Trail for a morning of hiking.  Big Cedar is the best trail in DFW and one of the top in the entire state.  The terrain is varied, going from smooth soft single track, to long sweeping descents, and finally some incredible Texas climbing.  Two years in the making, the Trail has 17 miles of mountain bike and hiking choices.  Once completed, Big Cedar should have over 30 miles of cross country trails.  Our group hiked about 7 miles  with gluten-free snacks, clean water, and a few Myo-fascial Stretches and an ELDOA at the end of the adventure!

The Trail Steward is Shadow Jons, an artist in trail design and construction.  Located atop one of the most breathtaking escarpment areas in North Texas, Big Cedar boasts the highest elevation in the city of Dallas.  Winding through cedar and hardwood forest, trails descend into a valley in dramatic elevation changes.  Bobcat, coyote, abundant bird life, butterflies of all descriptions...hills, meadows, water, trees...dappled sunlight...hugh boulders...there is something for everyone.

Our goal at Legacy is to enlist our clients as volunteers to create and maintain a Legacy Trail at Big Cedar, thereby creating a community of our people involved in creating a legacy for generations to come.