Millie

[sm]

Who says Tactics and Training cannot be fun and funny?

Millie* in her younger days used to shoot trap, then showed up her late husband in Bulls-Eye. The gal could shoot, and embarass her late husband. She relates these stories with a smirky grin and cocky voice btw.

Millie is 79 years young.

Millie can still shoot, oh my yes she can!

Millie's neighborhood went downhill, still she had a feeling of being secure. She wore her CCW on her hip - always. She kept a shotgun or two "handy" as did some handguns. Alarms, a dog, and most anything you can think of from better doors and locks to motion detector lights - she had.

When I met Millie back when - we hit it off just great. She sometimes assisted me with other ladies learning to shoot, get a CCW or the other elderly folks needing an older persons perspective. I learned and appreciated her sharing. Her dead serious attitude, and -goodness -she could come up with some stuff.

Sweetie, you trying to impress the boys with your butt stuck out like that? Because that aint' the way a stance is supposed to be.

You like the fact you have cleavage still, and gravity has not caught up with them yet - if you want to keep it so - cover the dang things up. ( buttons were buttoned up, or closed tops were worn thereafter)

I have to mention Millie could red- face a sailor with her language, so when Millie "spoke" - her words often "stuck".

Millie decided it was time to get out the neighborhood. Told the kids " come git your crap out of my hair, you have 30 days and then I start tossing it..."

Kid had all their junk out of her house in less than 20 days. Surprise was their keys did not work. "Heck no, I didn't want to come home and find a grandbrat to babysit, my fudge gotten into, or more of you kids junk cluttering up the joint".

Can you see why Millie and I got along so well?

Got herself a small residence in a "Retirement Village" , she likes her most of her neighbors, some think she is a bit "too blunt" - for sure she will not be invited to church by some again. She has her "village idiots" too.

Her new place has been beefed up. She misses her dog that passed, not sure she will get another one, she might if the grandbrats visiting some neighbors mess up her potted tomato plants again tho'.

Her place has the only motion lights, and she "talked" TPTB into doing some at the end of the building to "shine out that-a-way". Knowing Millie she wants to make sure of target and backstop...err...nevermind, you get the idea.

I guess I should mention she has a little reloading table where some ladies may have the sewing machine. She rarely reloads, she has made up shotgun "popcorn" loads for some friends she has with her single stage MEC.

The Rochchucker is for knocking out Primers and putting in new ones...She likes the Speer Rubber Bullets for indoor practice. Had to quit doing this in the old neighborhhood when the neighbors used to her "ways" moved.

Millie was downright mad when she walked out back of her new "Village" , into the woods one day " Some idiot is gonna develop back yonder and mess everything up! she was taking walks and shooting rubber bullets into a metal box deal she was proud of fixing up...

"Always done a lot of dryfire practice, just ticks me off I cannot shoot my rubber bullets out back no more"

"Millie, our keys to your place don't work" - said Mgmt company.
"What business is of yours to be checking your keys on MY locks. Darn right I changed them flimsy thing out - got me some better ones, longer...etc. I need something you'll know and I'll make arrangements for you to enter the premises...".

She also put in her own Battery Operated Smoke alarms, Carbon Monoxide alarms, emergency lighting...beefed up the windows,....
"Dang folks just built a shell, didnt' finish out with all the important stuff a residence is supposed to have".

Basically said in no uncertain to the mgmt company how stupid the idea of hardwired to electricity these alarms were. I mean her own alarm system has a real beefy re-chargeable battery backup...

I called ahead, good idea to call Millie you are coming...
I ring the door bell " I hate that dad blasted thing" I hear as she is undoing the heavy chain and both deadbolts ( one was a simple entrance lock originally she had two deadbolts now)
"Yeah, whaddya want, oh, its just you, you too lazy to knock, I ain't deaf you know...".

Smells of roast, potatos, carrots in the cast iron on the stove, and Hoppe's No. 9.

I asked if she had been cleaning her guns.

"I did that yesterday, Hoppe's is good for stains on that steel trim over there...".

She hands me a drill, and then stands at the front door. She ordered this W-i-d-e view peephole, I mean big and wide.

"If you had eaten your corn flakes you wouldn't be so short as to not see out of the peep hole you have".

She elbowed me - hard, grinning , laughed, still Millie can elbow real well...<rubs side>

I put one on the back door too. The one with two deadbolts as well.

Millie also ordered off the Internet, some mirrors, up at an angle on the porch areas, she can peek through a blind and see who, how many, and where.

Millie still drives. Always hated shopping. She recalls running them kids or hers to every thing here and there. She figures she has paid her dues. She orders stuff on the phone or Internet. Has the one perscription she told the doctor she would take - delivered. I cannot say what she told the doctor to do with his other scripts...

"When the weather is bad, I get my groceries delivered , not to mention around the holidays people really have a case of stupids. I know what I doing, where I am going, being dark and all at that time of year...I'll stay home and let the ijits play bumper cars..."

Stupid me asked why the fellow that did the mirrors did not do these peep-holes. "Well the one that I trust is out of town, and the one here on property is young and I don't trust him; and the fact the durn things were backordered and came in late..."

Stupid me - again " How old is this young person on property ?"
" Fifty-Five - cannot trust anyone younger than Sixty ya know?"

"Millie, I am only Fifty".
"Yeah - but you ain't ever been normal and don't figure you will ever be".

"Ding Dong"

"Dad Blasted...you know how to disable that thing?"

Brown Truck shows up,

<chains, locks, unlocks storm door>

Gets package off step "Boy is not bad looking, dumb as a brick, left me a adult sig package not long ago..." Millie smiles, waves to boy in brown truck...

Basically - Millie straightened the boy out , words "stuck", I am told.

Millie still shoots, both shotguns and handguns. Plinking with her Marlin 60 is to her - hitting the same spot each time.

She uses 20 gauge shotguns now, well except for one 28 ga, I am still being cussed at for that "introduction".

I "disabled" the doorbell , "just cut the darn thing". I informed her I disabled it where it could be put back. I noticed she had a spring in her step, opening her package, and then checked her email.
She also put a vase in the front window...

She was waiting for me to ask, and me being me - I didn't. Just the way we understand each other.

Millie's kids live out of state, they can email instead of call. They can send pictures if they think it is " all that fired up important". She is taking online classes, just wanted to learn some stuff she always wanted to learn.
If the kids come to visit, there are number of Hotels they can spend the night at.

Millie, Millie got herself a younger man, 74 "still time to train 'em" . The vase is to signal she is home and ready for her date. The Roast was cooked for him.
Brown truck brought some wood stocks for his Revolver, and a 16# recoil spring for a 1911, bone stock Gov't model...B-day gifts.

Millie is giving shotgun lessons and tips to her beau. "Gonna cost him tickets to the Dinner Theater, he don't know it yet it - but it will".

Seventy-Nine years young, fiesty, sassy, and foul-mouthed. Millie has taken the responsiblity to be secure all her years, continues to.

*Millie is not her real name. She said I should share her story with others. If I used her real name she was going to kick my skinny butt. I can respect the wishes of 4' 12" younger lady

[SAXD9]

Lol, THAT was definitely worth the read! Thanks, kinda reminds me of my late great grandmother, well, minus the guns and foul language!

[USP45usp]

sm,

This a real person that you know or just got something over the 'net? The reason that I ask is that if she is someone you know:

Say howdy for me, I love older people, just to listen to what they've gone through, history of their lives.

If not,

Great story.

Wayne

*sorry, just wasn't sure so I didn't know how to respond. You have to remember, there are blue collar workers with little education on the board

[sm]

Millie is real for sure.

She moved to a bedroom community, "taxes cheaper here, car insurance is less, and maybe them folks that used to drop in un-expected in the big city, won't find me here and bug me...always a chance they will get lost on the freeway".

Grew up in hard times, learned lessons and never forgot where she come from and what all she endured.

She met me through a mutual friend, she got real mad at the Game & Fish range and refused to ever go back and shoot there. I was at private range and said sure come on out. Oh my, we hit it off just fine from the get go.

Had a fella with a real nice expensive gun. He was not shooting very well. Millie just pulls her Model 19 and basically shot one ragged hole.

I was gooing to be showing some ladies, having hard times , domestic abuse victims and such some things about shotguns, Millie said heck yeah she would come out. Like a old trusted lady these poor girls had never known. It was good for all the ladies to share. I learned too.

My "mistake" - I had my 28 ga with me one day. I was letting a lady shoot another 28 ga single shot I had brought along. Basically letting the lady follow my form and see me do things.

Millie, snatches my gun and before I knew it, she had me pulling targets on a thrower. She grinned really big. I was cussed because she had to have a 28 ga. "I have never owned one of these..." Sounded like a good reason to me.

Millie has "perspectives" on things. Reminds one of Art [ no offense Art] this is a good thing. She can share things with ladies in a way - only a way a lady can with another. She may sound 'awful' to some - has a heart of gold. Still she is not going to take crap from anyone.

She fussed at me not long ago for not staying in contact better. We have both been busy. I get an email fussing at me to visit.

She said she had doves for supper, I did not ask, nor do I want to know. I do know she has the woods out back, mentioned all the doves she has out back and she does have a BB gun. Like I said - I really do not want to know.

She took some of the gals in difficult times, cooked up a good meal for them, something for the kids if they had them. She took some shopping for locks, big nails, and other things she felt they needed. Told them how and what to do...

Her lastest Internet purchase was Lock pick set. "It looked cool, always wanted to know how this picking locks works, I might run across one these old fogies around the village with lock and no key..."

Seems her 'beau' must have been a rifle shooter mostly. " dang boy won't move his hips, gotta move them hips if you are going to shoot shotguns, and he can't dance well either because he won't move them hips...give me time...I'll get him trained...".

My money is on her doing just that.

[beenthere]

sm, I really enjoyed this thread. If or when I kick off I expect my wife to be much like this. Forty years ago I found a basement wall pock marked where my wife had been teaching herself to shoot into a bullet trap with a 22 semi. Just didn't want me to teach her. I guess she looks at me as an ogre and too much of a stickler about some things.

She had gotten pretty good by the time I found the chips. I started her then with a 38 and she did quite respectable. Even today as we age I'd not stand out at 100 yards and give he 2 shots, arthritis and all.

When she had a really bad spell I made sure she learned a few of the moves we used in nightstick training that she can use with a cane. Another little thing we hope was time wasted.