Why my dad never bought me a gun

As a kid, there was a time when I was between 10 & 13 years of age that I begged my father for a gun--a .22 rifle, even a pellet gun. I'd been playing army for years and was convinced beyond any explanation to the contrary that I could handle the responsibility.

When I never got one I was saddened...for a time. As I got older, I never gave it another thought. I look back now, especially in light of things like this, and thank God that my father possessed some small amount of wisdom in this area:

Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, spraying the fellow hunter in the face and chest with shotgun pellets.

Harry Whittington, a millionaire attorney from Austin, was in stable condition in the intensive care unit of a Corpus Christi hospital on Sunday, according to Yvonne Wheeler, spokeswoman for the Christus Spohn Health System.

"You'll shoot your eye out!"

In all seriousness, I am glad to know that Mr. Whittington is in stable condition after this incident and doing fine. It could have been much worse. Instead it's just fodder for every amateur- and professional comedian across the country.