Hello at 4 AM -ish. I’m in Vegas for another round of SHOT-tery, and have assumed my customary position behind a keyboard in the wee hours because my body just never knows what time it is during SHOT Week.

My travel was a little disjointed this year. I was supposed to fly out on Sunday, but with the weather forecast through the week predicting a snowpocalypse, I was nervous. I switched flights to a direct one on Saturday instead, but my SHOT-block hotel was full-up and couldn’t give me my room a day early. So I had to scrounge around for a room off-strip for a single night. A bit of a pain for sure, and it cost me more money, but sometimes I have to give in to the inner control freak and pay up to keep her quiet, or else she makes my life miserable. It’s kind of like being married to myself.

It wasn’t all bad though. The flight was a direct one (which I’ve never managed before), the alternate hotel is clean and quiet, and there was a good Italian restaurant a half block walk away, within which I treated myself to chicken parm and a nice Riesling. Between the time zone switch, the carbs, and the wine, I couldn’t keep my eyes open past 8 pm local, so here I am typing at 4 AM.

So what’s on tap for this week? Writing. Lots and lots of writing. Because I’ll be contributing to GAT Daily in a biggish way this week (like two pieces a day), this may be my only personal blog post. Look for lots of floor reports from me over on GAT though. (And from everybody else at GAT too) And I’ll try to make a few posts on Dr LateBloomer’s Facebook and Instagram as well, for photos and General Tomfoolery.

If there’s something you are dying to hear about, go ahead and drop a note on DrLB’s Facebook and I’ll see what I can do. I can’t guarantee to have any expertise if you ask about something like cowboy guns or police breaching tools, but I’ll do my best.

Sometimes I mentally step back and look at myself and wonder how in the ever-loving Graham Crackers I GOT here? March will be the tenth anniversary of my first firearms purchase. This is my sixth SHOT Show. What started as just me typing up thoughts about my experiences learning how to do all this shooting stuff has morphed into an actual “writer” persona and pseudo-legitimacy as “media”.  It’s crazy.  

BUT – by way of encouragement for anybody else out there, this is proof positive that if “I” can do it, so can you. I’ve had so many mentors over these ten years that I could never even name them all. Don’t be  afraid to ask for advice or help. Ask questions. Never stop learning and never stop challenging yourself! Just step out and DO IT!