Hemingway's guns

[Stepmac]

Of all of the men's men who many of use enjoy considering and reading about my very favorite is the Englishmen, Sir Richard Burton....not the movie star; the other one. He is not very well known today, but in his time he was. Neither Speak nor Stanley were slouches either. Some think Stanley was an American (He fought and was wounded at Shiloh), but he was not. He was an orphaned English runaway.

The Devil Drives tells us about Burton. Quite an amazing story.

[Big Friend Ten (BFT)]

I think that we should remember that great men are but men and have the same failings as do we all. Hemingway's stories inspired me to write many decades ago and for that I am thankful. If I had known him personally I may not have respected him. If I were however I bigger man I would have forgave him his shortcomings.

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Mark Ouellette

I think that we should remember that great men are but men and have the same failings as do we all. Hemingway's stories inspired me to write many decades ago and for that I am thankful. If I had known him personally I may not have respected him. If I were however I bigger man I would have forgave him his shortcomings.

I am a bit of a writer too and I have also been influenced by HEM. I like the "no guts, no glory" persona of the man. I have often wondered if I'd like to be around HEM. To this day, I don't know if I would or not.

But really now, wouldn't it have been fun to run around in the Carib with a couple of Tommy Guns hunting for UBoats? Might dabble in some fishing too.

Pappy Boyington's book Ba Ba Blacksheep inspired me to join the Corps to become a fighter pilot and I actually did become a member of VMA 214! (VMFA today).

[David Lien]

Ernest Hemingway's Birthday July 21 1898. Hapy birthday Ernest.
David

[Stepmac]

HEM's model 12 looked something like this:

His gun was made in 1928. Mine, shown here came from the factory in 1923, but the wear looks about like Ernie's gun.

[Andy Kelley]

I don't think Hemingway was ever happy starting with a very troubled childhood including being dressed like a girl and watching his mother ( a repressed and somewhat closeted lesbian ) berate his father on a daily basis. A good case could also be made that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of his combat wounding in Italy. Like many angry vets he sought solace in booze, women and brawling in a primitive attempt to deal with the devils inside. Man, could that write.

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Andy Kelley

I don't think Hemingway was ever happy starting with a very troubled childhood including being dressed like a girl and watching his mother ( a repressed and somewhat closeted lesbian ) berate his father on a daily basis. A good case could also be made that he suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as a result of his combat wounding in Italy. Like many angry vets he sought solace in booze, women and brawling in a primitive attempt to deal with the devils inside. Man, could that write.

All young boys were dressed as girls in the early 20th Century, or Little Lord Fantleroy (sp) which may have been worse.

I doubt that Ernie suffered from PTS, nor do I think as many people suffer from it today as some think. We all jumped when a car backfired and had nightmares, but those things lesson to tolerable levels. Ernie loved telling stories of his wounds and would give lectures holding up his bloody trousers. If he had been uncomfortable with the experience he would have kept mum.

Indeed Hem's family suffered from mental problems, probably depression, maybe bi-polar. Mother a lesbian? I doubt it. Father hen pecked? I don't know. I think Ernie enjoyed his childhood, the hunting, fishing/camping and he said he loved his dad. Ernie was not a closet gay, but some to this day think he was.

Was he a vet finding solace in booze? Maybe, but there are many non-vets who do the same and in reality he did not experience much combat. A morter round did impact close buy, but only one and few experienced PTS unless they suffered through many hits over a prolonged period of time. Leslie Howard was seriously shell shocked after suffering near misses over an extended period of time, many did. One near miss? A piece of cake.

I do think, however; that at some point Ernie slipped into some form of insanity and it came on late in his life. I suspect after his two plane wrecks, but during his 20's through his early 50's he was pretty much in control and frankly having a wonderful time. Hem was always in love with Hem and he was insulted if others didn't follow his lead. This did not require insanity, but his ego was....well.......amazing. So is Obama's, is he nuts too?

Like Billy the Kid, Americans are somehow captivated by Hemingway, and I am one of them. When I find an article about Hem I read it with gusto. As for Billy the Kid? Just ask me.

[Andy Kelley]

I can see the headlines now PGCA IS COVER GROUP FOR LITERARY SCHOLARS ....in my humble opinion if you want to see photos of Hemingway with shotguns and not be burdened by wading through photos of Africa ,then you can't go wrong with High On The Wild With Hemingway which does a nice job of illustrating the bird shooting in Sun Valley when it was not developed.Some members might cringe since it shows him in many photos with a Browning Superposed. I have only been a member for four days but I think my mind is on overload.

[Grantham Forester]

Originally Posted by Andy Kelley

I can see the headlines now PGCA IS COVER GROUP FOR LITERARY SCHOLARS ....in my humble opinion if you want to see photos of Hemingway with shotguns and not be burdened by wading through photos of Africa ,then you can't go wrong with High On The Wild With Hemingway which does a nice job of illustrating the bird shooting in Sun Valley when it was not developed.Some members might cringe since it shows him in many photos with a Browning Superposed. I have only been a member for four days but I think my mind is on overload.

-- My wife grew up in Emmett- about 2 hours drive from the Sun Valley complex. I have read the book "High On The Wild With Hemingway", and like the Tillie Arnold book, it shows Hemingway loving the area, because he- and stars like his pal Gary Cooper were not given special treatment, they we accepted as regular folks and avid sportsmen. One telling story about Hemingway- they enjoyed great pheasant, duck and dove hunting on area farms and ranches. On one, the farmer and his family had been hard hit by the Depression and the plague of jackrabbits that devoured his crops- so not only did Hemingway organized great rabbit hunts, he also paid to have the farmer's truck overhauled by a local mechanic- his way, I suppose, of saying "Thanks" for letting us hunt on your property. Possibly in tribute to his new-founded love of Idaho, Hemingway named one of his many cats "Boise"!!

[Stepmac]

Originally Posted by Grantham Forester

-- My wife grew up in Emmett- about 2 hours drive from the Sun Valley complex. I have read the book "High On The Wild With Hemingway", and like the Tillie Arnold book, it shows Hemingway loving the area, because he- and stars like his pal Gary Cooper were not given special treatment, they we accepted as regular folks and avid sportsmen.

Isn't it ironic, that what celebrities seek-celebrity, also drives them crazy and they try hard to avoid acclaim. I have never been to Ketchum, but I read that his home there was no great shakes and really a few slabs of concrete pushed up. Have you seen it? If so, what was your impression of the place?

Hem loved to shoot his Winchester and his Model 12 was loose as a goose and over oiled. He replaced the stock as least once and after it aged, and was shot, it spit out a fine mist of oil.

I have a friend who says that if he could come back, he'd like to come back as Sinatra. I'd rather be Hemingway....at least for his first 50 years or so.

BTW: If I could come back as anyone, I'd want to return as Ben Franklin, but I'd shoot more that he did.