[stumpstalker]

Milton:

Four of the six Parker guns I own were legacies from my father -- Trojan 12; VH 12; VH 16 and DHE 12. In recent years I have added a GH 12 and a VH 16.

A WW II veteran, he departed from the usual path of his contemporaries by acquiring in the 1950s-1960s the Parker side-by-sides, and not repeaters, as were his buddies’ choices. Together they shot skeet and hunted Pheasant and waterfowl.

His preference for them was not because he was an antique guy, but because he was a quality guy.

Regrettably, despite my having a plethora of family photos of him, power-boating; sailing; fishing and standing near the classic airplane he restored and won prizes for, I don’t have a single one of him hunting or with a gun.

I live in a house surrounded by objects that were his and evoke his memory: furniture; photos; implements for hobbies and tools of trade; fishing gear; documents and various personal miscellany. But it is the guns that transmit the most meaningful connection to him.

As physical objects go, guns have a way of conveying in concentration a sense of its owner -- his (or her) character, experiences, relationships, and achievements, and do so inter-generationally, as best as anything I know.

I envy your early start in this and your mindful grasp of detail. Just keep it all in proportion and your rewards will be manifold.