Life After The Army » life

Firearms Suppressor History

Charlotte — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 21:28:15 +0000

Firearms suppressors, better known as silencers, were invented in 1908 by Hiram P. Maxim. They were invented as a way to not disturb neighbors when he was out hunting as firearms make loud a noise when fired. The National Firearms Act was instituted in 1934 which put a lot of restrictions on the types of firearms and firearms suppressors a person could own legally.

Most states do allow the ownership of silencers but 8 states, including New Jersey, do not allow ownership of suppressors/silencers.

The public is under the mistaken impression that people who use silencers are bad people and are more likely to commit a crime using a firearm or be associated with the mob. Silencers allow increased accuracy because of the reduced muzzle report, reduced recoil, and decreased muzzle flip. Silencers also would protect the hearing of the person firing the gun since the noise, especially in a small room, would be so loud it could cause hearing loss in a situation where you are trying to protect your home and family from an intruder. Silencers would also help when you are hunting so you are not disturbing people who live near the area you are hunting in and again will save your hearing because it cuts down the noise of the gunshot dramatically.

Also if you cannot hear you cannot be aware of your surroundings which could be very dangerous to you and your family if you are trying to protect your home and loved ones. If you were to wear hearing protection (which you would probably not have time to locate if an intruder broke into your home) you would not be able to hear the intruder and locate his/her position in your home.

Brighter New Year?

Charlotte — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:55:07 +0000

I am so hoping that this year is the year that things turn around for me. So far there have been small things that are showing promise for this new year. Andi got a job in the ER of our local hospital (a place she has wanted to work in for the past 2 years). Her fiancee got a job and is doing good.

I’ve been out of work for just over 3 years with not much luck finding anything and had to resort to getting food stamps and public assistance. The good thing that came out of that is I got a lot of help with my electric bill. I was way behind and in serious danger of having my electric shut off. The last amount I had to pay, because of the credits I get, was only $7.00! I can afford that with no problem at all.

Some states have multiple energy companies you can choose from to get your electric, but New Jersey (at least where I live) there is only one company to choose from. I know when Andi lived in Texas she had at least 2 Texas energy companies to choose from. I think we should be able to shop around and compare rates when it comes to utilities just like we do when we go grocery shopping or car shopping.

But I’m feeling confident that things will continue to get better as time goes on and I will have a job sometime this year. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later.

Snuggle Time

Charlotte — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 00:34:17 +0000

Andi got a job as an ER Tech in the local hospital. Her 1st 12 hour shift started today. She’s working 11am to 11pm. I’m babysitting Benton. Drew would be doing that but he works 5pm to 5am at a towing company.

Getting Benton to sleep tonight was so much easier than I thought it would be. We started with snuggle time, which involves a cup of milk, his blankie, binkie and “big blankie”. Usually Andi has to have some piano music ready to play (which puts him out within a song or two) but I didn’t need that because he was out like a light within 5 minutes of starting snuggle time.

Andi works tomorrow and Thursday then she’s off for 3 days. It’s 3 12 hour shifts a week. She’s thrilled to be working in the ER because it’s the closest thing to what she did when she was deployed in Iraq.

Now I have some time to myself before she gets home from work. Benton is sound asleep, Drew and Andi are at work and I can get some posts and other things done. I’ll probably get off the computer after the posts are done and just read and watch TV.

This is going to be nice!!

Did you know?

Charlotte — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 19:49:34 +0000

Did you know that if you are in the Military or are a Veteran you can get discounted cruises? I didn’t know that either until I found a website that offers cruises for military personnel, active, retired and honorably discharged along with their friends and family. Yes… friends and family get the discounts too!

You can go to the Military Cruise Deals website and check it out for yourself. They will get you a discount on every ship and every cabin (this is what it says on their website). There are a lot of cruise lines to choose from also.

Our returning soldiers and their families could use a cruise to help them de-stress and get to know each other again and the discounts will help them enjoy their time together and not worry about the expense of a cruise.

This might be something my daughter and her fiancee could use when they finally get married and go on their honeymoon. I almost wish I had joined the military when I was younger.

My daughter was a medic in the Army for just about 4 years and her fiancee was in the Army too. After the Army my daughter was in the Reserves for a year. Now she’s done with it all and about to start her new career working in the ER at our local hospital.

Wow.. time flies..

Charlotte — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 19:22:20 +0000

Real life has really gotten in the way of my posting here. Actually it’s been very depressing trying to find a job these past 3 years now and I just haven’t felt like posting. But as part of my New Years resolutions I intend to post a lot more often.

I hope all of my readers had a wonderful Christmas and I hope you all have a fantastic New Year.

Has anyone seen my missing ladder?

Charlotte — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 17:15:17 +0000

Well… I’ve finally hit rock bottom and looked around and found out someone stole my ladder.

I went to the county to try to get assistance and found out this morning that they denied me. I was denied because I’m still on a joint checking account with my husband. We’re separated and have been for quite a few years. We get along and decided to keep the checking account together because I take care of the bills for him and he pays the rent for me. He is not computer savvy at all and it’s just easier for me to pay the bills online for him. Yeah.. I know… it’s a strange and complicated situation. We do not live together and I use maybe $50 a week of his money.

I went to the bank to try to get removed from the account and the bank said the only way they can do that is to close the account and open a new one in his name only. That won’t work very well because his paycheck is direct deposited into that account and it would be a royal pain for him to have to change everything at work.

I’ve been looking for a job for well over 2 and a half years now and I’m not having any luck at all finding one. My bills are all behind and in danger of disconnect. Andi has been helping me out the best she can but she is trying to find her own place and needs to save money for the deposit and 1st month’s rent. I feel really bad about taking money from her.

I’ve hit rock bottom now and just don’t know what to do….

Unbelievable

Charlotte — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 16:34:12 +0000

I posted this yesterday and as of last night the guy who was arrested is already out of jail. This is unbelievable!! What’s even more unbelievable is the fact that the man across the hall has the guy staying with him. I would have kicked him to the curb after stealing money from my bank account and stealing my prescription medications that are needed to treat my condition.

I have begun to think there is something more wrong with the man across the hall other than medical issues. I’m seriously thinking he has mental issues too. I was trying to be nice and help him out and stuff but if he doesn’t care about himself or his money and things then I need to just back out of this before I get dragged into something I don’t want to be associated with.

Excitement is the name of the game today

Charlotte — Sun, 12 Jun 2011 16:28:37 +0000

My daughter’s fiancee went to go to the store this morning and was mistaken, by 2 state troopers, for a man whose vehicle they were doing surveillance on. Drew went to back out of the parking space and was told by the troopers to get out of the car. He was asked a bunch of questions and had to show his ID and was let go. Poor guy was scared to death that he had done something wrong he didn’t know about.

The guy they were looking for was across the hall. The troopers knocked on the door and took the guy away. They came back in a little bit with the guy in cuffs in the back of one of the troopers cars. They got a warrant and searched the suburban (it used to be an old police supervisor’s vehicle) and found what looked like bottles and bottles of pills and other things that I couldn’t quite make out.

The man that lives across the hall had money stolen from his bank account by this guy a couple months ago. I can’t believe he let this guy back in his place. The man is lonely and just got out of the hospital a couple days ago. He has kidney failure and is going through dialysis.

The guy they took away had his girlfriend with him and I guess now she has to find another way to get home. I heard the troopers say that either the guys father comes to pick up the suburban or it will be towed away.

So it has been a very exciting day so far. This is a quiet neighborhood and nothing like this ever happens around here.

What’s been going on

Charlotte — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 22:29:47 +0000

I haven’t posted a lot. That’s because I just haven’t felt like it. I don’t know if I’m losing interest in blogging or what.

A lot has been going on in my life and not a lot of it has been good and I don’t want to keep on whining about it here.

I did have a job interview on Monday and was told they would make a decision in the next day or two. Evidently I wasn’t chosen, again, because it’s now Friday at 5:30 PM and I haven’t gotten a call. I still have money problems and really need to get my car registration renewed. It was due the end of December and I haven’t had the cash to get it done yet.

The weather has been so cold and snowy, worse than last year. Today was warm but very, very windy and we had thunderstorms with heavy rain and hail.

Kris came up for a visit, from South Carolina, this past weekend and may be moving back to Jersey soon. He came up to try to find a job in Auto Glass, which is what he does in South Carolina.

My oldest son turned 37 yesterday and that makes me feel really, really old.

Andi and Benton left yesterday for a trip to Texas. Her fiancée is down there in the Army. I just got a text from her and they are in Mississippi right now. She got stuck in traffic in Virginia yesterday and went about 15 in 2 hours time. She stopped for the night in North Carolina and has been driving since 5:30 this morning.

When I was little

Charlotte — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 23:08:05 +0000

We had a big walk-up attic in the house I lived in when I was little. There was a lot of stuff stored up there. There were a couple trunks full of old clothes such as dresses, coats, men’s jackets, Fedoras Hats, shoes and more. My friends and I would play dress-up for hours and hours.

We had a huge basement too. We played in the basement in the summer, because it was cooler, and the attic when it wasn’t too cold or too hot. We had the basement fixed up like a house. We would play school, house and other stuff in the basement. When it was rainy we would even take chalk and make a hopscotch board on the concrete floor and play for hours.

I miss being a kid back in the 50′s and 60′s.