Gunzilla

I saw a quote from John Wayne the other day; 

"LIFE IS HARD, IT'S HARDER IF YOU'RE STUPID!"

I wish someone would have told me that when I was younger. I would not have tried to get a good edyukay- edeukash- ... SCHOOLIN'

In 2015, I began to write my BOOK. Being naive, I always thought writing the book would be the hard part. What I discovered is publishing companies don't like taking chances on unknown authors. In the meantime, world wide events seemed to be paralleling my story more and more. Thus the decision to market directly to my SASS peers.

Young Willie MacAyne was seemingly born with a desire to 'send lead down range' and to show the world how good and how smart he was. He had more talent and ambition than could be contained with parameters. With age, he came to be very fast with his wit and weapons. Each, at times, bringing him to the brink of disaster.

Try to imagine the meteoric rise of a boy from a small Texas town. A boy whose drive propels him to a leading role in the NSA. Now, instead of demonstrating a prowess with a pistol, he is playing Five Card Stud with 

Thermonuclear missiles...

The Day John F. Kennedy married Jacqueline, another screaming mouth came into this world for my mom to feed. Born and raised on a ninety-two acre floodplain in Irving, Texas; I was quite the hillbilly! From my father, the art of quick-drawing a colt pistol is always a foremost memory. Skill with weapons of all kinds, and a tough work ethic helped to harden me at a young age. Thanks to mom's velvet gloves, I was able to explore a softer more literary side of life. Education was not an option. Eight years in a Catholic school was mom's rule. The indelible appetite for knowledge came from these formative years. Unfortunately, the school of hard knocks was destined to be my alma mater.

The Grim Reaper crashed my childhood three times. The first time, I had a front row seat watching my mother lose a daughter to him. Shortly after graduating eighth grade, he took my best friend on a one-way trip to perdition. Less than three weeks passed when this godless monster left with my beloved mother. What kid could maintain a good outlook on life after that?

The only reason I have a high school graduation certificate is because public school was so easy after eight years in a parochial setting. 'just barely average' became my motto.When a girlfriend challenged my intelligence quotient, I couldn't wait to have my GPA posted on the next honor roll bulletin board. As adolescent romances do, this one too waned, but my teachers would not allow me to settle back into academic obscurity.

Seems I had produced some writing assignments for my English teachers that caught the attention of my senior counselor. After balking at the offer of a writing scholarship, I went to prove I could build a hot-rod, jump higher on a motorcycle, impress the girls, get married young and start having babies.

Fast forward twenty-five years to my personal renaissance... Life was finally comfortable. After two failed marriages, but two wonderful children, my resume seemed full. Even without college, I had manged to be a mechanic, a locksmith, a safe-cracker, a boxer, and an actor.

Some friends introduced me to the world of Cowboy Action Shooting. I joined an international organization called the Single Action Shooting Society (S.A.S.S.). Each local club has its monthly match; a contest of speed and accuracy with cowboy guns (six-shooters, double barreled shotguns, and lever-action rifles primarily). These same friends introduced me to this saint who has been my wife for eighteen years, and brought me two more great sons; life is great!

As a contestant in the S.A.S.S organization, my first instinct was to be a great gunfighter, but one of the first requirements for becoming a member is to acquire an alias. In the C.A.S. (Cowboy Action Shooting) world, we are all known by this S.A.S.S. approved moniker, and assigned an S.A.S.S. number. By following the tradition of developing a persona to accompany my alias, you can imagine how someone named 'Gunzilla' would appear. My competitors from around the world have flattered me by reciting some of the stories I've written to accompany each "gunfighter scenario."

Writing the scenarios for our monthly "gunfights" reignited the love I had for telling stories, and putting them to paper. With the encouragement and help of my true soul mate, I have embarked on this literary adventure!