Lately as I’ve been driving it’s occurred to me that most vehicles on the road today are indistinguishable from one another. This is particularly true in the “sport utility vehicle” (SUV) class. If this were a super-popular blog site, I suspect many would accuse me of either posting “click bait,” or of having lost my sense of taste, if not my mind.
But honestly, I have noticed in traffic the outline of a vehicle and thought to myself, “I wonder what make that is?” I suppose the need often influences the design, so when a multi-passenger vehicle with lots of storage room is needed, things like lift gates and such are automatic. Yet, it seems to me that often the only distinguishing feature on a vehicle is its grill or front-end look.
Some brands have iconic grills. BMW, for example, has the “double-kidney” grill.
BMW’s iconic grill design
Mercedes-Benz is recognizable by its three-pointed star, which sometimes makes it to the grill, but is almost always present on the hood of the car.
The Mercedes-Benz star
But the rest of the automotive world is an ever-changing jumble of looks and frills, most of which are forgettable the moment they’re introduced.
Some makers provoke in me a “what were they thinking?” response. Audi, for example, went the way of what I’ve referred to as an “Ox Collar” look.
Audi’s now familiar, but ungainly grill
In personal disclaimer mode, I will confess that nearly every car I’ve purchased has had some type of “distinctive” look to it. My two present cars straddle that line a bit. My yellow smart fortwo electric drive is easy to pick out in any parking lot. My Mercedes-Benz coupe not so much.
My 2015 smart fortwo electric drive (ED)
Sure, it’s opinionated. But this is my blog, where the subtitle is, “Everybody’s entitled to my opinion!” 🙂
I received my Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) degree in the study of Political Science, with a focus on International Affairs (in fact, my major was International Relations until that field of study was folded into the general GVPT curriculum). I credit my interest in affaires politiques to having grown up in a family where Dad was a diplomat.
During my late high school years, the Vietnam War was raging, and I, being of draft age, became more and more disillusioned with the U.S.A.’s lack of commitment to winning that conflict. The media focused on body counts, and the horror of the Mỹ Lai massacre continued to erode my faith in how the U. S. was pursuing that war, seemingly to add to the pockets of industrialists at the expense of American lives. I walked in the Moratorium March on Washington on November 15, 1969. I had graduated high school just months before.
Vietnam faded into memory, as I did not serve in the armed forces, and did not have direct experience with the war. I matriculated college while in Europe, and began my study of International Relations. I saw, first-hand, how communism turned countries into soul-less, grey landscapes, and how the free enterprise system allowed people to succeed. Even though I was no longer marching in protest, my political education continued. I even ran for student body president, and was defeated by less than a half dozen votes.
Then came marriage, a career, and family. I still read, watched and listened to political items; when you live within spitting distance of the nation’s capitol, it’s hard not to. But other than vote in elections, I stayed away from getting involved.
That all changed recently. Virginia, my adopted home, has been becoming more and more tyrannical, in large part supported by anti-American or control-freak types, George Soros, Michael Bloomberg, and others. One of the most successful states in the union one day, seemingly overnight, became another bastion of “progressivism” (I purposely do not capitalize the word). Following the 2019 elections (Virginia holds off-year elections) the entire General Assembly became Democrat-controlled. No sooner had they danced their victory dance, they began putting legislation on the table to reduce the “birthplace of presidents” to the “burial place of human rights.” I won’t go into the numerous bills proposed that will overturn Virginia’s history, increase taxes, and infringe on God-given liberties, but I will say that I’ve awakened to a movement I do not see being beneficial to Virginians.
On Monday, January 20, the official celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, I attended a rally in Virginia’s capital city, Richmond. The rally was a demonstration against the stated proposals that in many peoples’ opinion (mine included) were anti-Constitutional. I was taken back to that day 51 years ago. I wasn’t being rebellious, I wasn’t being threatening, I was being present. I stood up for what I believe.
Maybe this is a turning point. I think it’s too early to tell. What I believe is that if people like me just sit and expect other people to march, demonstrate and attempt to make a point, I will have surrendered my privilege as an American citizen.
“Old Glory,” the flag of the United States of America
I’m not sure why it set me off, but on one run I twice saw the American flag being disrespected. I confess to posting on NextDoor.com last year much of my same agitation over a display of this sort, but here I was (am?) in a location far away from home.
Realizing there is precious little I can do about this, I still felt compelled to do something. Knowing nothing about building ownership and/or management, or the companies (yes both of these were business sites) involved, I reached out to the local media with a letter to the editor. I was polite, and mentioned that as an out-of-town visitor, I was disheartened to see blatant disrespect for the flag being shown in public.
Wait a minute. What disrespect? Having flown the flag at home, I learned about the proper etiquette for displaying the flag, and since I didn’t have 24 hour lighting, I would raise and lower the flag each day, fly it at half staff when appropriate, and would replace it when it got worn. There are laws on the books (4 USC § 1, 36 USC §173-174) that specify how and when the flag should be treated, and even though these laws are mostly pro forma, I use them as my guidelines (as well as to stay legal, in case another busybody like me gets in a snit).
Applying a little research, I found the contact information for the companies I identified as the likely “perpetrators,” and sent them very polite emails. I mentioned I was an out-of-town traveler, and that the display of flags in serious disrepair was likely an oversight, but that I felt it sent a poor impression to travelers like me.
I did receive one reply, thanking me, and saying they would locate the building management and pass on my message. From the appearance of their web page, they seem to be socially conscientious, so their response was in line with that impression. I have not heard from the second.
So, I will likely never see the results of my very modest (but polite) snit. But I feel good about acting upon it rather than just shrug my shoulders, as apparently so many have.
I tend to switch gears among my interests, so it shouldn’t come to me as a surprise that I’ve come back to the issue of firearms.
Currently, the Commonwealth of Virginia is changing hands in its political leadership. The Democrats will control every component of the legislature for the next couple of years, and they have made no secret of the fact that they intend to impose some drastic new measures on the citizenry.
This does not please me, as I have seen the results of this in other areas of the country, and they do not sit well with me. For starters, I believe there is a lot of unconstitutional action being contemplated, and I am well aware of the “law of unintended consequences.” One thing of which I am sure is that a lot of lawyers are going to be making a lot of money.
So, I’m using this as the excuse for my last two purchases, although if I want to be honest, I bought them because I wanted to!
Almost two weeks before Christmas, 2019, I bought a Ruger LCP II pistol. I have a carry permit, and it occurred to me that I might want a smaller handgun than that which I normally carry. The LCP II is chambered in .380 ACP (short for Automatic Colt Pistol, or “Auto”), a caliber which I have not used or owned before. In Europe, this load is also known as a “9mm kurz,” or 9mm short, given that it’s just a bit smaller than a 9mm round. I did a lot of research before settling on the LCP II, and deciding between the different versions was tough. Until I spotted the “Chattanooga Shooters Supply Distributor Exclusive” model. I knew that was the one I wanted!
Ruger LCP II in flag finish
Of course, the next challenge was finding a seller who resells from CSS, as one can’t buy from them directly. After a bit of searching and inquiring, I found one on the Sportsman’s Outdoor Superstore. Followed the usual procedure: order, have the gun sent to my local FFL (Federal Firearms License holder), go and fill out the Form 4473, and bring it home. Done.
But why stop there? Somehow, I came across the name Seecamp. Once again, using Google-fu, I learned a lot of history, and found that this company, founded in 1973, produced what many refer to as the “Rolex” of pocket guns. There’s a lot of interesting (to me) history behind the gun and its company, but I leave it to you to read on their web site.
These are not easy guns to find, even though the company still produces them. Many gun shops don’t carry them, some don’t know about them, and I had one fellow tell me he thought they’d gone out of business.
Well, I know their web site is active, but one can’t buy from them directly, so I started searching online again. I found a few on places like GunBroker, ARMSLIST and GunsAmerica. Some of them older models, which many people deem collectors’ items, but I finally decided I wanted a brand new one. Since they are known to be very finicky guns, I wanted a warranty to cover any first year problems, should they arise.
As fate would have it, I stumbled across a web forum owned by the Seecamp company, and registered to learn more. I found a terrific group of very helpful, knowledgeable people. One of them, Doug Childers, owner of Bear Creek Holsters was extremely helpful in steering me in the right direction, and to make a long story short, I was able to get my local gun shop (Herndon Arms) to obtain one from Seecamp. At a good price, too!
So, as I type this, I’m in California on business. But thanks to the Internet, I was able to get the order in, and my new Seecamp LWS32 should be waiting at Herndon Arms for me when I return. This isn’t the actual gun, but some stock photos to show the size.
