Airport Bar -One Act Play

 I wrote this one act play after watching "Naked!" at the Gilbert Theater.  It is based on a true story that happened when I was in Iraq from 2008-2011.


Scene opens at an international airport at one of those small bars in the terminals in the middle of the day.

Bartender: (clears an empty glass and cleans around a full one on the bar)

Soldier: (Walks up and sets his back pack down and takes a seat at the bar and looks at the full glass)

Bartender:  so what do you dream about?

Soldier: lots of things

Bartender: what keeps you up at night?

Soldier: lots of things

Bartender: your buddy said you woke up crying last night, said you might want that drink. (motions towards the full glass on the bar)

Soldier: My buddy talks to much. I have a lot of bad dreams (takes the glass and swallows it in one swig)

Bartender: nightmares?

Soldier: bad dreams.

Bartender: you ever tell anyone about the bad dreams?

Soldier:  I don’t share very well.

Bartender:  Here’s another one, tell me your story. (hands a full glass)

Soldier:  Rum?

Bartender:  Caribbean, only the best for my customers

Solder:  what do i owe you?

Bartender:  Just a story, but it has to be a good one because that’s my grade A stuff.

Soldier:  Just a story huh?

Bartender:  Come on, guys like you always come in here with a lot of stuff on their shoulders. I like to give them a seat and drink. Let them unload for a minute.

Soldier:  So what kinda stuff to you want me to unload for you?

Bartender:  Tell me about your bad dream.

Soldier:  (Soldier looks at Bartender skeptically and leans forward) what you do you want to hear about?  My dream about my three buddies that didn’t come back? About how the war was supposed to be over, how we were just doing a bullshit patrol. How we were thinking about coming home and one minute with the truck behind me in my review mirror and the next its gone?

Bartender:  Who were you with?

Soldier:  4th Infantry Division, I was a 13-Bravo, a gun bunny, a cannon cocker. I was supposed to be manning a howitzer, not driving a hummvee doing a presence patrol on a muddy dike in a quiet piece of nowhere.

Bartender:  4th-ID. Four lieutenants pointing different directions, funniest joke I have ever heard.

Soldier:  Yeah, four butter bars pointing four directions. We only had one, he was on the radio the whole time begging someone to come and help us.

Bartender:  So what happened, IED, big explosion take them out?

Soldier:  No. That I could live with, i might even be able to claim it on my disability. (takes a drink) no, just a muddy road that gave way. I had been in their exact same place two seconds before just driving along thinking of going home. I look back and their truck was gone. it had rolled down the embankment into the river. They probably didn’t even realize how long they had to live when it happen. One second your driving along and then bamm! Your holding on for dear life as the truck is ass over tea kettle and filling full of mud.

Bartender:  Fuck, what did you do?

Soldier:  I jumped out, we all did. started digging them out with our hands, our feet, anything we had. It didn’t help.

Bartender:  Fall kill them?

Soldier:  I never told anyone, but i was digging the mud away from the driver side of the truck. i thought i saw a hand banging against the window... just for a second. (finishes his drink)

Bartender: Why didn’t you tell anyone?

Soldier:  Because... (takes a few deep breathes) because... i don’t like to cry.

Bartender:  But you do in your dreams? (takes the glass and adds more to it)

Soldier:  I never used to cry, but now i wake up at night crying like a baby.

Bartender:  Have you told anyone else this story?

Soldier:  No. I had to write a statement after the fact. It was half a page long: I witnessed the vehicle flip, I attempted to dig out the vehicle, wrecker showed up, pulled vehicle up enough we removed the bodies and the medical chopper picked them up. End of story, full stop.

Bartender:  Sounds like there is more to the story.

Soldier:  In the army they never report the after effects, the other “bullshit” (mimes quotations marks with his hands). The reports never include the stuff like when they went to clean out their rooms, my buddy driving the truck, his wife was Instant Messaging him online. She was asking if he was back yet so they could chat.

Bartender:  Jesus. Did anyone type her back? Say anything?

Soldier:  No. just packed up the guys stuff and got out.

Bartender:  Does that make you cry, that somewhere someone is not going to know that you died?

Soldier:  No. what makes me cry is waking up feeling like I’m never going to dig enough mud. It wasn’t just us that were digging, the wrecker crew were right there next to us. They were in that mud longer than us trying to pull that fucking truck out. I dream sometimes that I’m still digging with them. But that I’m the one stuck in the truck drowning. (finishes his drink and pushes the glass toward 1).

Bartender:  (take the glass and refills it and returns it to 2) One more for the road?

Soldier:  No, no i’m good. (takes the glass, looks through it) How much do i owe you?

Bartender:  On the house. Why don’t you finish that one, when’s your flight?

Soldier:  What are you, some kinda shrink with a bar?

Bartender:  Something like that.

Soldier:  Anybody ever ask you your story?

Bartender:  Yeah. once.

Soldier:  What happen?

Bartender:  I told it to them.

Soldier:  What did they say?

Bartender:  Told me I should open a bar. Come on, finish that one and catch your flight, I’m sure someone is waiting for you.

Soldier:  That last one was my last one. No more for me. I’m quieting.

Bartender:  Oh really? so your just admiring the light coming through that one.

Soldier:  This one, (motioning toward the glass in his hand) I’m just trying to figure out what to do with it. I kinda want to poor it down the sink.

Bartender:  You could leave it for the next guy who has a story.

Soldier:  You sir, should not have a bar, you’d never make any money!

Bartender:  Sometimes its not about money.

Soldier: Thank you. And thanks for the drink. I’m going to leave this one here for the next guy. (stands up, checks his watch, picks up his bag and walks off stage)

I’m not Superman.

  Originallyposted:

 Grey Group Tranining Blog, "I'm Not Superman"

 

I'M NOT SUPERMAN

I’m not Superman.

Many days I fall into conversations at work about shooting. I have no Superman background, I don't belong to any secret handshake fraternity, I had a normal job as an Officer in the Military, a normal job downrange as a Contractor, and now I have a normal office job.  I do however have a passion for shooting. I love to shoot 3-Gun, IDPA, USPSA, Designated Marksmen and Sniper matches. If there is a shot timer and a course of fire involved I am there.

This weekend I shot Woody’s Designated Marksmen & Sniper match here in North Carolina. Somehow, my partner and I managed to finish 9th out of forty teams. To be truthful, my partner is a much better shooter than I am.  With my gas rifle turning into a single shot musket during the match I became a huge anchor, but I loved the match. I got on my scope, used my hold overs and worked my trigger. The second part of the match was done individually as a Sniper match, where I limped along with my single shot rifle.  The second day it’s fair to say I finished near the bottom in the standings for that match, oh well.

I guess if that was the only match I shot this month one could say I was not addicted to shooting, but no, it was the third large match in the last week.  Last weekend I shot the Tarheel 2-Gun tactical match. There were two divisions; tactical, where the competitor wore tactical equipment, in my case a plate carrier and helmet, and a competition division.  Lord knows I should have shot the competition division and stayed with my normal 3-Gun set up, but I saw this match as an opportunity to do something I do not normally get to do and clear shoot houses in kit.  I would like to think that the 30 or so people I did finish above asked themselves if they fell off the wall in their kit would they have gotten back up and completed a stage?  I did, and I finished.

The day after that match I attended the North Carolina Justice Academy's Charity Pistol Match at the Salemburg academy range complex. It was a pistol match set up by a couple of local IDPA clubs. Good part about the match; I was classified from stage standings in ‘master’ class division. The bad part was that I finished in the middle of the pack in master class and I will not be classified as a master in IDPA because it was a non-sanctioned match. I did enjoy the match because it had a unique mover I had not shot before.  The way it moved made me feel like it was going to run me over.  In the end I had fun shooting the match and helped work part of it.

In the past couple weeks I have competed as a tactical shooter, a gunslinger, a designated marksman and as part of a designated marksmen team.  I can honestly say I was not cut out to be any of these roles in real life.  Some time ago, my initial goal when I started shooting was to not get disqualified at a match.  I will never have a fireplace full of trophies.  I will never have a major firearms company sponsoring me to shoot matches. I am no Superman.

I am a person that measures my wins in minor gains in standings.  I am a person that wants to improve. My goals are a little bigger now, and I try not to blow a stage.  If I get through a match without having a major malfunction I call the match a win for me.  I am always thinking about the next match with my list of lessons learned and focus on the next time the timer goes off.  I’m not a Superman; I’m just a grey man always pushing, and fighting to win a match. Who are you?

How BAD are you?

  Originallyposted:

 Grey Group Training Blog, "How Bad Are You?"

 

How BAD are you?

I love kit, I love toys, and I love things to throw on my M4/AR15. When MagPul came out with the B.A.D Lever I could not wait to get one and try it out. Critics said it was another piece of kit to get in the way on a rifle and was borderline dangerous because you had to put your finger near the trigger to activate it.  I took the plunge and installed it on my 3-Gun rifle looking for an advantage and found it.

 The MagPul “Battery Assist Device” Lever clamps onto the bolt release with a simple screw with a provided hex wrench requiring no permanent modification to the weapon. For a right handed shooter you push up on it while you pull back the charging handle and the bolt carrier will lock to the rear.

 Insert a loaded magazine and push the lever down and it drops the bolt on a loaded magazine.  The ‘unfair advantage’ comes when you have to perform an emergency reload with an empty rifle and need to get a fresh magazine in the weapon. Instead of manipulating the small bolt release paddle with your support hand and/or pull the charging handle to release the bolt you just move your trigger finger down toward the trigger and the lever releases the bolt.  The rifle is up and back in the fight in a split second.  It may not sound like a giant advantage, but when you start adding other issues or accessories to a rifle like a ‘Redi-Mag’ it is worth its weight in gold.

Critics of the B.A.D. Lever have said that manipulating an accessory that close to the trigger may lead to a negligent discharge.  Key rule is that whenever one adds any new piece of kit to train with it on a flat range first. In this case the difference between curling the finger around the trigger and pushing down are two different motions. With the BAD Lever the finger is moving down, not pulling. If a shooter practices reloading and locking the bolt to the rear it greatly mitigates any chance of having a negligent discharge.

Putting the Bad lever to the test I have been running it on two different 3-Gun rifles this past year at monthly matches. The good news is that I have not had any negligent discharges and the hand full of times I had to reload in a hurry it worked well. The main benefit I have noticed is the ability to lock   the bolt to the rear at the end of a stage when I need to ‘show-clear’ and demonstrate to the safety officer that my weapon is unloaded. Traditionally in competition shooting, reloading from a bolt open or slide locked to the rear position adds time to a run.  In this case the split second it requires to release the bolt on a new magazine for me went from a moment of panic to a moment of confidence like in this clip at :33 seconds: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=10151063097023094&set=vb.167919879956101&type=2

The other good part is that MagPul has finally been able to produce the BAD levers in quantity so they are not as rare to find anymore. If you are in the store ask to see one of the Bad Levers mounted on a rifle and manipulate it for a minute and decide if you want an ‘Unfair Advantage.’

Fitness and Shooting...

Fitness and Shooting...

by Zef Medina on Tuesday, January 31, 2012 at 8:32pm ·

Olympic Athlete

I don't want to sound like one of those guys...  But, getting in shape has helped my shooting. Rob Pincus, Travis Haley and several other well known shooting instructors have been making their living off of integrating exercise and shooting.  But my realization did not come from watching it on youtube, it came from watching my own match videos. Not long ago I got a new iPhone I started using it to record my runs on match stages. Its no secret I like to shoot practical pistol competitions like IPDA and USPSA(IPSC). And I have recently developed a love for 3-Gun, where one shoots pistol, shotgun and rifle in stages meant to test ones skills.
As I was watched my home movies and decided which one to post on FB it dawned on me.  I was chunky. Not unbelievably 'Homer' fat, but I had a gut, and it was getting in my way when I bent over, jumped down on to the ground, and curled around objects to shoot a target.

I had started going back to the gym during the summer but had fallen off my routine and it was not helping me. As fall and now winter approached I started running 5k's with Cutie and realized how much I enjoyed running and pushing myself. And as it would happen, I started noticing my stage video's started to look better, or at least my movements and actions started to look better. My aim is always in question, but while watching my last weekend video's I was surprised that even while watching my mistakes while shooting and engaging targets I had my athleticism back, kind of...

I have to admit, last couple of weeks I had looked for another way to push myself.  I started attending a calisthenics class at my gym(no, I'm not going to say aerobics class). And after watching the class from a distance I realized it was what I needed to add to my workout, short bursts of energy working my anaerobic capability for field courses.  As stated on MyFoodDiary.com; http://www.myfooddiary.com/resources/ask_the_expert/aerobic_vs_anaerobic.asp.  Aerobic exercise is similar to when one is running, breath in, breath out with legs pumping. Anaerobic is when legs are pumping, but do not have enough oxygen like when climbing and jumping obstacles.

Shooting a field course is an Anaerobic exercise, normally short sprints followed by tough shots and repeat. It is actually a joke I have said many times at a match but I have been known to tell people to breath before they start shooting. I personally try and take a deep breath before I acknowledge the "shooter ready" command. It is true, exercise has several benefits, especially when taking a difficult shot. One has to control and watch ones breathing so that when the weapon goes off one does not miss because they are out of breath.

Daniel Horner (profile pic)

Its no secret that professional shooters like Julie Golob does Cross-fit (she's talked about in her blog). And after watching Daniel Horner from AMU I have to wonder what his fitness routine is as he duck walks by an opening and blazes away like a baseball player stealing home.

As for me hitting the target, I am working on that with trying to get another class under my belt. For now, I am not going to give up my running or working out, I like not being winded when I jump onto the ground and pull the trigger on a target.

For more video's of me tripping over myself see "Crosse Creek 'Outlaw' 3-Gun"
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Crosse-Creek-Outlaw-3-Gun/167919879956101


Originally Posted:  https://www.facebook.com/notes/zef-medina/fitness-and-shooting/288726361187517

Training Scars...

Training Scars...

by Zef Medina on Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 10:25pm ·

Recently I was going through my Facebook scroll to see what was new and interesting. I stopped on a picture, read the comments, and then noticed the training scar in-progress in the picture.

A while back I took a number of shooting classes as I was trying to improve my shooting skills so I would not be placing last in my local shooting matches. I naturally started emulating the instructors rifles looking for the short cut to shooting well. I added a compensator(muzzle break), light(er) trigger, and a bi-pod(grip-pod). All the while I was still using a red dot optic, shooting at close targets. I loved my grip-pod. I could take it to a class, lay in the perfect prone and slowly squeeze off aimed shoots on a target at close distances.

I never used my ACOG because the instructors I was taking were not using magnified optics. It was not until I started working in Iraq as a security contractor that I found the benefit of a magnified optic. As a security contractor I spent most of my time not shooting close up targets in endless 'up-drills' but observing. I spent endless amounts of time on rooftops, guard towers, bridges, and even on top of a garbage truck on guard observing. So, what is my point you ask, my point is that I never used the light trigger, muzzle break, or red dot like I did for 'shooting' classes.

The training scar of using a tricked out class rifle made me feel like I could shoot well. It fooled me and I fooled myself. Marksmanship is not learned doing endless 'up-drills.'  It is learned using the equipment you will use every day at a realistic distance (100-300 yards). The last time I took a shooting class I used a mini-aimpoint, a stock trigger, and a flash hider and I forced myself to work on my fundamentals. I do admit, for one evolution I brought out my 3-Gun rifle with its light trigger, surefire compensator, and a 1-4 power scope.

The difference I noticed when I shot my 3-Gun rifle compared to my duty style rife was that it made everything easier. My sight picture was clearer, my trigger squeeze was smoother, and I scored higher. All I am saying is that before you rebuild your 'class' rifle to make it like your favorite instructor, figure out what you want to get out of the class. Are you there to show off your new hotness, or learn something. It is way easier to shoot a high score in a class with a bi-pod at 25 yards with a 2-stage trigger and break. But if you carry a bone stock M4 for work it may not help you when you really need those precious skills.

Originally posted:  https://www.facebook.com/notes/zef-medina/training-scars/416688348391317

Open Carry.

Open Carry.

by Zef Medina on Thursday, October 13, 2011 at 8:55pm ·

wildedtx.blogspot.com

According to Wikipedia: In the United States, open carry is shorthand terminology for "openly carrying a firearm in public", as distinguished from concealed carry, where firearms cannot be seen by the casual observer.
Recently Open Carry has gathered some attention in California when it was banned by Governor Brown.
www.latimesblogs.latimes.com/california-politics/2011/10/gov-jerry-brown-makes-it-illegal-to-openly-carry-a-handgun-in-public.html

Quiet simply Open Carry is not about being a cowboy and carrying around a six-shooter on the hip, it is a way to make a political statement.  It is a way for the average person to say I support the 1st and 2nd Amendment and a way for law abiding citizens to show their open defiance against the criminal element that control the city parks without carrying a sign that says,"gangs suck!"

I am not going to sit here and tell you I carry around a pistol on my hip when I go to a Home Depot and pick up a bag of fertilizer.  In fact when I saw a gentlemen doing just that I looked at my wife and said 'what is he doing?'  From my perspective, Open Carry makes a target to those that would look to do harm and steal the weapon. Criminals do not get their firearms by walking into the local gun store and buy an AK47 off the shelf for their violent crime. They steal them (hence them being criminals and not being able to buy them). Why make myself a target, when I can go under the radar and legally carry concealed and not draw any unwanted attention?

For the same reason the ACLU and the NRA exist, to protect and vocalize the rights guaranteed by in the bill of rights.  In this case the 2nd, 'the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.   And the 1st, 'or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble,'  Is this an ACLU case, no, I do not think they would touch this one with a ten foot stick.  Will the NRA fight it, to be determined.

Recently I had a discussion with someone on FB about Open Carry. He brought up that being former law enforcement he was not in favor of Open Carry because untrained civilians handling weapons and then follow on issues with responding law enforcement called to respond to the issue.  Anyone around long enough has seen a safety issue with someone handling a firearm. But in the articles about Open Carry you never hear of anyone handling them, they just have them it.
www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2009/06/gun_owners_show_support_for_op.html

At a recent Open Carry Barbecue in August a group of 20 showed up at a Portland park to grill some hamburgers and hot-dogs and 'have some fun.'  They wanted to demonstrate that law abiding citizens can and do carry a weapon. Of course reading the comments to the article several of the anti-gunner compared the peaceful gathering to a Freudian problem and dismissed the peaceful assembly.
www.pressherald.com/news/Right-to-Carry-Barbecue-draws-20-people.html

What the Freudians, Governor Davis' and anti-gunners also fail to address is that people Open Carry because they live in an unsafe places. Laws, lack of police officers, and rampant crime in large metropolitan cities often leave law abiding citizens on their own if they are faced with a violent crime.  But hey, its not like Los Angeles has 26,618 violent crimes this year, or that 'My chances of becoming a victim in Los Angeles is 1 in 142 or that in California it is 1 in 197'...
www.neighborhoodscout.com/ca/los-angeles/crime/

Open Carry is a way to make political statement, it is a way to support the 1st and the 2nd Amendment. It is not about walking around in spurs, cowboy hat or threatening the public.  It is a way of taking back a right and providing safety for one's self.

Originally posted:  https://www.facebook.com/notes/zef-medina/open-carry/225593357500818

3-Gun 101: What do I need to start shooting 3-gun?

Question: What do I need to get started shooting in 3-gun?

The easy answer: a pistol, a rifle and a shotgun. The hard answer: the specifics.

Pistol, any modern duty pistol will work. Best options, Glock, S&W M&P or Springfield XD.  A person does not need to buy a tier 1 pistol to get into the sport. 9mm is the easiest to learn and the cheapest to start out shooting.

Rifle, an AR-15 from a reputable company in 5.56/.223.  There are tons of modifications you can do to the weapon, from muzzle breaks that cut split times, free float forearms to brace up against barriers, match single-stage triggers, and endless versions of 1-4x power scopes to pick up targets. There are more options for this weapon than one can imagine. The best idea, shoot a couple of matches, ask others what they are using, and find out what works. And then budget for it.

Shotgun, any 12ga pump can get one into the sport.  Remington 870, Benelli Nova, or other reputable pump shotgun are good starter guns. The trick about shotguns is feeding them, you can learn that skill with any of these. Semi-automatic shotguns are fun and fast, but expensive!  Same thing goes with them, some work great, some do not. Look, listen, and ask and one will find out which is the best buy for them.

Last and not least KIT.  One word: Kydex.  Find a holster for your pistol, a double pistol magazine pouch, an AR-15 magazine pouch, and a bag to hold shotgun shells. I used a dump-pouch before I picked up a couple of shotgun caddies. Caddies are great, but expensive, they put 3, 4, or 6 shotgun shells in your hand in seconds. The only problem, as soon as you get one, you are going to want more!

Finally, 3-Gun is a test of Skill, so remember to have fun!  Focus on the basics, shoot as much as you can and you will see the benefits as your skills improve.  Not everyone can be on "3-Gun Nation" there first year shooting.  Don't worry about it. Find your targets, learn how to shoot, and remember it's only a game.

Originally posted: https://www.facebook.com/notes/zef-medina/3-gun-101-what-do-i-need-to-start-shooting-3-gun/216130505113770