Even people who may be against guns as I am might still have a
fascination for them. I do. As a Latin man born in Argentina I have been plagued by a
quick temper. I have often thought that if I had a gun in my house I would
eventually shoot at someone in anger.
My fascination for guns stopped at air guns. In the old
Athlone house in Kerrisdale I watched how squirrels would eat my Rosemary’s
bulbs before they bloomed. I went to Three Vets and purchased a 357 Magnum
replica gun that was air powered. It even had an extra-long barrel that made the gun more accurate. I
decided that shooting at a squirrel without my glasses made it sportsmanlike. When I
would open the kitchen door the rascals would run. I always missed. But
once I did not. I caught the squirrel in mid air and it fell still alive. I
went to it and I quickly remembered how as a little boy I had killed a bird
with a slingshot. I had been devastated by it. I had to give the squirrel
its coup de grâce and like that bird of my youth I buried the animal with much
sorrow.
When my youngest daughter Hilary found out she told me that if I repeated my offence she was going to call the SPCA.
When my youngest daughter Hilary found out she told me that if I repeated my offence she was going to call the SPCA.
I never used the gun again but I displayed it in the living room. One night someone came into the house and liberated me of the weapon.
Guns still
hold that fascination and I like to use them in some of my photo sessions but
only in the hand of a woman. I love the concept (very Chandler) of a lady’s gun
in a purse.
The above
is my simple excuse to post this lovely photograph of Bronwen with a toy gun on
her lap.
There is
a wonderful very short story by Julio Cortázar, Cortísimo Metraje ( A Very Short
Film) not available in English. It tells of a man who picks up a woman at an “autostop”.
In the car he makes advances on her. Eventually he drags her out of the car.
She pulls a gun from her purse and shoots him. She takes his wallet (full of
dough) and steals his car. The ending reveals that the woman is a professional.
I found this most interesting post on Ian Fleming's ( and subsequently James Bond's ) lady gun.