Sometimes it depends on the lenses you’re looking through “C

alm is contagious, confidence is contagious.” That was the first thing the instructor said after lunch. I wrote that down on my notepad and put a star beside it.

Right before lunch I had just shot about as poorly as I could have possibly shot. I was in a threeday course for work. Before we are allowed to add a new tool to our tool belt, we must first qualify with that tool.

I was trying to qualify with a tool I had never used before. Four hours in the classroom and four hours on the range each day, leading up to a written test, then a course in which a certain score had to be met within a certain time. TOBY NIX

I went to lunch on day No. 2 assuming I was going to fail the course on the final day. When I say I shot badly, I mean I shot really badly. While I am rarely over-confident, I can’t recall a time when I went into a test thinking I was going to fail. Until Day 2.

But calm is contagious, confidence is contagious. If I have learned nothing else in the past few years, I have learned to remain calm when my mind and body are telling me to be anything but calm. I had a newfound fighting chance on this test.

I stayed late on day No. 2 and watched some other guys who had been shooting better than I was. I watched as one took an exaggerated breath before his shot. I reminded myself I had to breathe. I watched as another was told to kick his elbows out further to get his body lower to the ground. I reminded myself to do the same.

I went home on night No. 2 and tried to recreate everything from day No. 2 to break down why I had shot so poorly. I was wearing eye and ear protection during the day, but as I lay prone in my yard with my weapon without any protection I could see crystal clear for a good distance.

I told everyone in my house to bring me Staff graphic

Of the readers who responded to our most recent poll about including the Ag Center in the upcoming SPLOST, 58 percent of readers voted No, they would vote for the tax if it includes the Ag Center; 32 percent said Yes, they would vote for an Ag Center; and 10 percent chose Depends on the other projects. Poll results reflect only the opinions of those who chose to participate. their safety glasses so I could look at them. In a house of four where all four have weapons, all four have safety glasses. It turned out my daughter’s pink glasses had the fewest scratches on them. Those were my new glasses for the test.

I didn’t sleep much on night No. 2. I went in on day No. 3 and shot pretty well that morning. It was good for my confidence, but the test was that afternoon. Confidence is contagious. Calm is contagious. I just had to remember that after lunch.

I was calm come test time. Calm is contagious. I was confident come test time. Confidence is contagious. I passed the course, which was a pretty difficult course. It’s a course I am proud to have taken and passed.

I am now able to add a new tool to my tool belt. And I learned a few things in the process. Calm is contagious. Confidence is contagious.

And when you have to qualify at the rifle range and your daughter’s pink safety glasses have fewer scratches on them than yours, you qualify in style, my friend. Calhoun police release incident report from Walmart arrest Mother of Ella Camp sentenced to 10 years, to serve 4 in prison Polk police chief suspended for confrontation with commissioner Cedartown man killed in morning wreck Calhoun man arrested for drug trafficking, weapons charges 2 injured in wreck on Shorter Avenue in West Rome Chickamauga man dies after being hit by vehicle while laying in road Resaca man charged with growing marijuana, weapons offenses Hulsey responds to Dodd confrontation, states she was threatened Rome man gets life in child molestation case 18,171 views 16,683 views 9,830 views 8,969 views 8,498 views 7,959 views 7,524 views 7,031 views 4,128 views 3,524 views

The call was from an old friend. He doesn’t live here anymore and calls periodically to get the skinny on his hometown — the scoop not printed in his hometown newspaper.

“So, what’s been going on in the ‘Ville?”

“Well, we’ve had a lot of excitement around here lately,” I said while kicked back in my chair at the office. “This morning, two beagles got into a fight outside my office window. We about had to call the cops this time. Scared our office cat to death. Had to shoo them away with a broom. Then, ol’ Jasper escaped from the nursing home and came by and sang us a medley of tunes.” “What did he sing?” “Hmm,” I responded to his excited query. “I think he started off with ‘Clementine,’ then went into something resembling ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ then closed with a rousing chorus of ‘Good Night, Lady.’” There was a pause on the line. “What else? What else is going on?”

“Well, Johnny’s got a new mustache. Looks like Burt Reynolds without the shiny jacket. Oh, yeah. I went down to the post office this morning,” I continued. “Saw Robby down there. He’s got a new nickname.”

“I thought his nickname was Stinkbug,” my ill-informed friend said.

“It is, but now they are calling him Rover.” “Why?” “Well, Buzzy and Robby went fishing a couple of weeks ago and Buzzy brought some sandwiches — two of which were Sloppy Joes, and two which were Alpo dog food disguised as Sloppy Joe meat. After a while, Stinkbug — I mean, Robby — asked for one of Buzzy’s sandwiches and Buzzy said ‘OK’ and gave Robby the Alpo sandwich. Buzzy then took one of the actual Sloppy Joes at the same time and began to eat it. Robby started eating the Alpo sandwich and didn’t say anything. Later, there was only one sandwich left — one of the Alpos — and Robby asked if he could have it. Buzzy said that the next one who caught a fish got the sandwich.

“Luckily, for Buzzy, Robby caught the next fish. So Robby gobbled down another Alpo sandwich.

“Buzzy never said a word, never snickered until the next day at work. He told everybody, and people started calling Robby ‘Rover’ and barking every time he walked by.” My friend was cackling. “You mean Stinkbug never even noticed?”

“No,” I replied. “Never even noticed he was eating dog food. And asked for seconds.”

I asked my friend what was going on in the big city.

“Nothing,” he said. “Just got back from Chicago yesterday. I go to Dallas tomorrow.”

Another pause. “So, anyone have a new truck?”

You can take the boy out of the small town, but you can’t take the small town out of the boy. Or grown man.