Skeet Shooting

I went to Montana and shot a gun with a local former Army guy and another guy who had done it before, and I would say I more than held my own.

I don't intend to make a habit of sharing my accomplishments in a public forum. In "Broadcast News," William Hurt asks Albert Brooks, "What do you do when life exceeds your wildest dreams?" The answer: "Keep it to yourself." Under normal circumstances, that would be right. But sometimes you owe it to the world to share a moment that inspires others to push themselves.

One of the guests at this vacation ranch I went to with Mindy was this guy Jeff, who was from Indiana and who kept telling me we had to go shooting together. Initially reluctant, I showed up at our designated meeting place at 8 am and it was misty and I was wearing a slightly MisShapes-y black cardigan Mindy got me and he was like, 'Shooting, Ben?' and my head sort of nodded by itself.

But really? The shooting instructor, Heath, loaded the gun for us, so it was exactly like playing Nintendo with the gun. Pretty soon, I was making clay pigeons not just split in two but fucking explode.

"He powdered that thing," said Jeff to Heath, after one fucking exploded.

Then I stripped off the cardigan because it got hot, revealing an Army t-shirt, and Heath was like, good man, because he thought I had been in the army, and I had to say I hadn't been. Then I asked him if he was in Vietnam because I honestly thought maybe that was the appropriate conversation shifter and he said yes and there was an awkward silence.

All in all, highly recommended. They called me "Duck Hunt" because of the Nintendo thing, which I mentioned.