Hey fellow pneuma-nuts, been some time since I posted. As with all of us, 2022 was a year of defining moments for me. It began with terrible migrating joint pains that led me to a rheumatologist who confirmed I suffer from rheumatoid arthritis. A month later that expanded to RA and Lupus, two similar yet distinct autoimmune diseases that attack joints, muscles, and select organs. By late Fall I added a left hip replacement to my changing health profile. That surgery led to a severe infection in the hip and three more surgeries in the following five months. I now sit on a new set of hardware emplaced yesterday morning and I pray this is the final phase of this turn in my life.
My thoughts of looking for pesting permissions died a slow death as the full extent of my new limitations has become clear; weakened hips and legs and permanently swollen hands do not lend themselves to rambles around farm yards and standing sessions with shooting sticks.
In the end I've found that my airgun collection needs to be adjusted to focus on internally powered airguns: PCPs and CO2s. Multi-pumps and heavy target guns are beyond me now as are low end plinkers with heavy/non-adjustable triggers. Time and again the vagaries of growing older reorder my priorities, going even so far as choices in which airguns can stay and which have to go. I didn't think these kinds of challenges would come so soon in life, but it's a fallen world we live in.
So on we go, already deep into 2023 and all that life brings. I hope you all are prospering in health, home, and every endeavor you embrace. And of course I hope you are shooting straight and safe. Aim small, miss small...and remember that your foundation, in shooting as in every aspect of life, must be firm and trustworthy. May God bless you all.
