Camp Perry

Just about the time I graduated high school and right before leaving for the Army, my Dad took me to Camp Perry to a shooting competition it was a statewide competition and there was of course an adult competition, a juniors competition and then there was a team competition and it was a father/mother/son/daughter competition. My Dad entered us in this competition and we placed 6th in the state. It was one of those weekends I'll never forget, we had such a good time hanging out and getting to know each other on a different level...before that weekend, it had always been my brother and my Dad or my Mom and me...but my brother and my Mom weren't there to buffer us...it was just the two of us on the range. He taught me to shoot, to load a weapon, and to talk to him. That weekend made me feel so special and so loved. He went out of his way to find something for us to do together, I could have stayed there forever. At the end of that weekend, he said he was so proud of me and he had even snuck off long enough to buy the M-1 Garand we had shot (today it would cost around $500-$1000 if bought through Camp Perry). When Dad passed away, he still had 3 (I think) of these rifles. Because how the will was drawn up, I got one and Lou got the others. At the time, I wasn't quite ready to take my "inheritance" home with me, and when Lou came to pack them up, he took my rifle with him also. No big deal, I can get it back from him...no problem. Until he pawned it. Then this weekend he advertised that he had purchased a $1200 rifle for himself. He owes a large sum of money to someone who shall remain nameless (*cough *my Mom* cough*). I'm hurt. I'm more hurt for my Mom...he continues to choose to hurt her. I will probably never see my M-1 Garand. But I have my memories. I was hoping to pass those memories to my kids...hoping to pass the rifle to one of the boys. I understand this all sounds very selfish and a little shallow. I have not spoken to my Mom to see if Lou got my rifle back from the pawn shop. But my real beef is the money he owes my Mom....$1200 isn't a drop in the bucket. It's significant. And he continues to choose to hurt her.