Bill, it's all in how we grow up. I bought my first Parker when I was 14. I became trapped in the shooting, hunting, outdoor culture. Our local Western Auto dealer lived at the top of our hill, was a good friend of my Dad's. I bought all of my fishing and bicycle stuff at his store from the time I was about eight years old. One Saturday, my Dad and I were in the store and Mr. Rhinehart gave me a 1955 Winchester catalog, the big red and yellow one. I still have the catalog, which was my dream book when I was growing up. The price list for that catalog convinced me that Model 21s were for the super elite, but I still dogeared the catalog, even to this day. Oddly, just a few years later, my Dad and I would share in the purchase of a cased pair of 12 and 20 gauge Model 21s, located in a classified ad in the Washington Post. I hunted with the 12 gauge all through my last year of high school, through college, and finally traded it for a Parker single a few years later. That 12 gauge 21 didn't have a stitch of blue on it from the trigger to midway up the forend. I had hunted with that gun, shot skeet, trap, you name it, for just about eight years when it went away. By that time, I had a good selection of Parkers, but have never been without a 21 either. My Dad's 20 gauge is still here, along with a few more.
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