Only fools rush in where angels fear to tread!

[DogTired]

Met a "prospective social group leader" today.
Young guy, full of new outside activities. (Spoiler) It kinda didn't go well.
After his potted history (nowt impressive or even noteworthy), the suggestions for activities started.

1. Wellness walks. Couple of miles. No can do as my legs are FUBAR. Black mark for me apparently.
2. Airsoft. HELL NO. Past history is now a trigger for me shutting down. Second black mark and a shake of his head.
Incidentally that is a HUGE "don't go there" subject. Now feeling "nothing for me", I sat back supping my coffee.

Later, he corners me. Not too hard was that as I move like an arthritic slug nowadays.
"What's your problem?" says he. "Which one" says I?
Him. "It's not like I'm asking for the impossible but, under my remit, physical exercise is to be encouraged".

So, I sat down, rolled up my jogging pants and showed him my scars and damage. "Umm how, when, where"? I said nothing.
Me, "Don't ask". Then I quietly rolled down the joggers and picked up my refilled coffee. He's blushing a bit now.

Him. So what were you in the forces? Me? DM (info- Designated Marksman). He looked blankly.
What was your MOS? (Knowing at best he was a cub scout).
And he walked off to a round of applause from the others present.
Damn I'm good! Just 20 minutes to be added to someone else's 5h1t list.

 

[Rose White]

"What's your problem?" says he. "Which one" says I?

Stealing this!

Also sorry it didn’t go well, but silver lining is you got to the bottom of it quickly—NEXT! (Don’t stop trying to reach out for connection!)

 

[DogTired]

Stealing this!

Also sorry it didn’t go well, but silver lining is you got to the bottom of it quickly—NEXT! (Don’t stop trying to reach out for connection!)

Not likely too but, as the group is vet heavy, it seems reasonable that a sensible group leader would have some military experience/knowledge.
This "gentleman" (Generation Y, Millennials) was paper qualifications heavy but lacking in life skills. That doesn't tend to sit well with some vets.

 

[Rose White]

paper qualifications heavy but lacking in life skills. That doesn't tend to sit well with some vets.

Understandable. Doesn’t sit well with older generations in general (speaking as an older-ish person).

 

[Friday]

If it makes you feel any better? I’ve got an infection hitting my CNS that makes ANY movement lock my muscles up rigamortis hard. Which means, until I can kill this thing, that I can’t fawking mooooove. Not gross motor. Not fine motor. The only thing seeing me through? Tripod & prone. Where you’re 99.999% relaaaaaaxed. And only your own breath & heart f*ck up the shot. (As long as you’ve accounted for wind, distance, etc, which one would assume, you have. So it’s down to remaining preternaturally STILL. Moving. BETWEEN the raindrops.).

99% of my PTSD skills? Have to do with MOOOOOOOVING. Whether it’s blowing off steam before it can build up & explode in unexpected ways, or sparring, or gymnastics, or whatever. Burning off what comes, as it comes, putting shit to good use.

Rescue swimmer, here. USMC, so rifle cert, baseline. Yes, I can drill a silver dollar at a thousand yards. Who can’t? It’s fawking stationary. (Also NGO, later. Which gets… diverse.) But??? The only time I got to play with long distance target acquisition was when we were doing joint-training in the North Sea & the T&A meant I got to play with real rifles & killboxes. Because T&A. Knew it then, know it now. And beautiful boys showing off. IRL I was either m162a, or 240g, or the 30 or 50 they had mounted on the chopper. But for FUN? OMFG. Nothin’ but nothin’ beats long distance. Again, though, that was just me playing. Not IRL. IRL always gets messy. I’ve only spotted IRL. Not acquired.

 

[DogTired]

If it makes you feel any better? I’ve got an infection hitting my CNS that makes ANY movement lock my muscles up rigamortis hard. Which means, until I can kill this thing, that I can’t fawking mooooove. Not gross motor. Not fine motor. The only thing seeing me through? Tripod & prone. Where you’re 99.999% relaaaaaaxed. And only your own breath & heart f*ck up the shot. (As long as you’ve accounted for wind, distance, etc, which one would assume, you have. So it’s down to remaining preternaturally STILL. Moving. BETWEEN the raindrops.).

99% of my PTSD skills? Have to do with MOOOOOOOVING. Whether it’s blowing off steam before it can build up & explode in unexpected ways, or sparring, or gymnastics, or whatever. Burning off what comes, as it comes, putting shit to good use.

Rescue swimmer, here. USMC, so rifle cert, baseline. Yes, I can drill a silver dollar at a thousand yards. Who can’t? It’s fawking stationary. (Also NGO, later. Which gets… diverse.) But??? The only time I got to play with long distance target acquisition was when we were doing joint-training in the North Sea & the T&A meant I got to play with real rifles & killboxes. Because T&A. Knew it then, know it now. And beautiful boys showing off. IRL I was either m162a, or 240g, or the 30 or 50 they had mounted on the chopper. But for FUN? OMFG. Nothin’ but nothin’ beats long distance. Again, though, that was just me playing. Not IRL. IRL always gets messy. I’ve only spotted IRL. Not acquired.

Interesting resume. I never bothered much about 600m+. Owned that and comfortable with that.
Besides, my issue held cmass at that who why worry about a gnats balls at 1000.
Used to have a good crawl and the patience of Job. Slow in, usually slowly out, but that was yesteryear's.
Now it's fun walking to the kitchen to brew coffee and walking back without spilling anything.
But that's not my beef. Children too young to need a razor demanding what they want never sits well with me.
I'm what local folk call a crotchety old vet, soak, or sod. And also comfortable with that.

 

[Friday]

Interesting resume.

Lol. All made sense at the time. One thing naturally followed then next… until the white picket fence, & dog chasing kids in the garden, bit. THAT diverged. Unless you’ve never met a stubborn woman.

 

[arfie]

Damn I'm good! Just 20 minutes to be added to someone else's 5h1t list.

this was once a point of pride for me, as well, especially as a nerd corpsman playing with the grunts. i feel better about myself since i learned how to use my senior life skills to raise people up whenever possible instead of making them feel foolish for being my inferiors. if i can't help the fool, i at least try not to hurt them.

 

[DogTired]

Lol. All made sense at the time. One thing naturally followed then next… until the white picket fence, & dog chasing kids in the garden, bit. THAT diverged. Unless you’ve never met a stubborn woman.

Ah, you must mean my SWMBO.
She who would have made one hell of a front line grunt (with or without a gun).