[Az-Geocaching] The OASIS Cache

Sat, 30 Nov 2002 09:59:44 -0800 (PST)

Well, Scott, since you chose to handle this publically on the list, I
will respond in kind.

Scott, BACK OFF. You need to sit down, take a deep breath, and lay off
of the personal attack on me. YES, personal. You were not there and
YOU are judging my account of the events and calling me names (like,
"irresponsible"). NOW, I will get on MY soapbox!

I, too, am a target shooter, I HUNT (elk and deer), I have a CCW
permit and legally carry a concealed semi-automatic weapon. I legally
carry in the field as part of my search and rescue activities. HOW
DARE YOU ASSUME that I am somehow "anti-gun" or that I think it is
"politically incorrect"??? I am about as PRO-GUN (sport and defensive)
as they come. I have even been directly threatened; about 2 years ago,
living as a single mom, I thwarted a break-in (yes, they actually
broke in my house) BECAUSE I had a gun. The police, to whom I made a
rather frantic 911 call, never even showed up! They didn't keep me on
the phone as they are supposed to do, and they were so busy they
"forgot" until I called them again. Thank God I have a weapon to
defend myself and my family.

Need I state the OBVIOUS that you were NOT THERE at the cache, so how
do you know how close the gunfire was??? Are you the only person
capable of judging how close gunfire is?? Since you have been to the
cache, do you remember the old abandoned (shot-up) building closest to
the cache?? (Between the road and the cache) We heard the shot
hit/ricochet off THAT building. IT WAS THAT close. I call that "just
about got shot" as it was that close. Intentional or NOT!!! Our fear
was that those shooting didn't know we were in the area, so we yelled
out "HEY WE ARE HERE" and after two more shots, it stopped. We have no
idea where the people were. Who are you to judge an experience that
you were not even part of??????

I REALLY take personal offense that you would go off on me like that,
calling me "irresponsible", "uncomfortable around guns" and attacking
my ability to assess a situation involving gunfire, when you had NO
IDEA how close the gunfire was to us. Shame on you!!! You need to
publically apologize for being totally out of line and attacking my
story, my views and my credibility.

If you read my log, you would have seen that I said we saw and heard
nothing until we were part way to the cache. Had we seen the shooters
prior to our walking to the cache, like Larry indicated he did, we
would have asked for them to stop for the few minutes it took to do
the cache. 

And, how do you know FOR SURE it was a sport-target shooter? Maybe a
disgruntled mine-owner/land owner/crazy person wants people off his
private property! There was a sign there granting access, but it did
have restrictions on shooting near (OR AT) buildings. OBVIOUSLY this
person who SHOT AT AND HIT the old building NEAR US was violating the
law. Some kind of law-abiding target shooter? Maybe not.

Next time, may I recommend that you keep your mouth shut until you
know more facts about the situation. Free speech and free expression
are fine, but it doesn't mean you are always right.

I'll bet I'll get a whole bunch of negative comments back from this,
but I don't care. ALL of you keep in mind, before you respond, that
Scott brought this up, and  that YOU were not there, and the gunfire
was CLOSE. It was not a "mile off" as Scott the Psychic says. The
building that WE HEARD GET HIT was less than 50 yards from our
position at that time, (on the way to the cache) and about 25 yards
from our vehicle, and we had no idea exactly which direction the
shooter was. (It was so loud, it was hard to assess direction against
that hill) You be the judge, under THOSE conditions, as to whether we
had a right to be concerned. I think anybody attempting this cache
needs to be aware, and careful.

Trisha
Prescott

On Fri, 29 Nov 2002, Scott Wood wrote:

> 
> At 06:49 PM 11/29/2002 -0800, you wrote:
> 
> >I did a cache today north of Wickenberg/Congress called the OASIS
> >cache....just about got SHOT....anyway, I noticed that the last
person
> >to log online, on 11/16, who shall remain nameless (but he goes by
> 
> I have to jump in here.  How can you say that you "just about got
> SHOT" 
> when you just heard gunfire?  As a regular target shooter I take
great 
> offense at the notion that just because a person hears gunshots that
> they 
> are somehow intended to hit the person, or endanger the person that
> hears 
> the shots.  I don't mean this as a personal thing, but what on earth
> would 
> make you think that you were the target of this gunfire?
> 
> As I said, I have been target shooting for a long time, and it is
just
> as 
> legitimate of an outdoor activity as goecahing or hiking.  I am also 
> getting pretty tired of being maligned just because I choose to
engage
> in a 
> hobby that others might find politically incorrect.
> 
> I have been to the cache that you mention, and yes, I did log it, and
> that 
> area is pretty flat with the exception of the hills that the cache
is 
> located in.  Gunshots will be heard there for a very long distance
and 
> could have been over a mile from you, in an entirely different
> direction.
> 
> I realize that there are always going to be people that are
> uncomfortable 
> around those that have guns, but I feel that it was very
irresponsible
> for 
> you to say that you "just about got SHOT" when you have no idea if
the 
> gunfire was anywhere near you.  You actually said that you never saw
> the 
> people shooting, so more than likely you didn't just about get shot.
> 
> Please don't take what I said the wrong way, but I would ask that
you 
> choose your words more carefully, they do actually mean things.
> 
> I hope that your message doesn't scare people off, OASIS is actually
a 
> decent little cache.
> 
> 
> In liberty,
> 
> Scott
> 
> wood@myblueheaven.com
> www.myblueheaven.com
> 
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> 
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