Whoa-oh! The guns of Brixton! (by Matt)

So, tomorrow is the 4th of July and what better way to celebrate our independence from England (which is a thing we still gloat about... not sure why) than to go shoot a bunch of tiny paper circles (who haven't done a thing to anyone, by the way) with big shiny guns... and I don't know if I should punctuate with a question mark or an exclamation point, so I will skirt the issue with a very long sentence so you'll forget that I'm bad at punctuation. Mission accomplished.

Betsy is pretty nervous about the whole thing. She hates guns. I'm pretty nervous, too, but mostly because I'm pretty clumsy and someone will probably lose a toe.

My neighbor has a bunch of guns and tonight he gave me a rundown of each as well as a list of gun safety and shooting range protocol. I don't remember a word he said. I just kept thinking about how every video game I'd ever played had prepared me for what was about to take place. Now, away from the hypnotic magnetism of the guns, I'm not so sure that's the right mind set to have going into this thing.

Anyway, I'll do my best not to embarrass my friend tomorrow. And I'll do my best to come home in one piece.

One thing is certain, though: This doesn't change my opinion that we need stricter gun laws. At the very least, there should be an amendment stating that I shouldn't be allowed to handle guns, and after tomorrow, there probably will be.