GODBLESS THE CHILDREN

by Ted Nugent

Braelyn is a beautiful eleven year old young lady and Nathanial is a fine, fourteen year old young man. Their smiles said it all. Under the glow of a burning Texas sun, they took turns carefully working the bolt of the lightweight Henry Repeating Arms .22 rifle. With the “aim small, miss small” mantra of a professional sniper, they zeroed in on the tiny bullseyes of the Caldwell targets and punched one ragged hole after another, shot after shot, celebrating the inescapable joys of our beloved marksmanship discipline. What we have here is the purest form of shooting fun known to mankind. One God given, US Constitutionally guaranteed individual right, coming up! Kids and guns. Perfect indeed. Make no mistake, in the world of logic, self evident truth, goodwill, decency and quality American family life, there are few activities that connect every age, lifestyle or walk of life so positively as the shooting sports in all their various forms. I don’t care where you come from or how you live, when introduced to the ultimate good, clean family fun of plinking, there is not a man, woman or child that fails to get a serious rise out of a casual day of shooting. It is pure, natural and contagious when approached thoughtfully. I suppose I could go into detail about the difference between conscientious, supervised shooting fun and the criminal curse of gangbanging and dangerous, irresponsible gunplay, but I won’t. We will leave that for apologetic whiners and excuse makers of the spiritually challenged left. Adios, MoFo. The Nugent family is certainly blessed to be welcomed into so many American families’ lives via the requests by their children each year, every year for many, many years. That they even think of the ol’ MotorCity Madman WhackMaster is a testimony to their connection to what I ultimately stand for, and their families’ comfort level allowing me to take them in and teach them to hunt, fish, trap, shoot and explore the wilds is all the evidence I will ever need to know that I am on the right course. I shall carry on. In fact, I shall turn up the heat, thank you. The greatest and bravest kids in the world make the trip out to our SpiritWild Ranch in central Texas each year. Many are very ill, and are helped out by the generous donations by Americans to charities like Hunt of A Lifetime, Wish Upon A Star, Dream Weavers, Safari Club International, Texas’ own Legacy Outfitters, our own Ted Nugent Kamp for Kids and Freedom’s Angels, and numerous other wonderful non-profit organizations. Even though some soulless administrator at the Make A Wish Foundation created the heartless policy to not grant hunting wishes to terminally ill children, I work with them often too. But when the kids show up from that otherwise fine, loving organization, I take them hunting anyway. Improvise, adapt, defy and overcome-that’s what I always say. To witness the momentary escape from their pain and suffering as these very special young boys and girls enjoy archery, firearms, fishing and just stretching out in the wild, it surely cleanses and fortifies the soul. It is magic to all involved. On this exciting adventure, Braelyn and Nate had, according to them, two of the most “funnest days of their lives” with us recently. They picked up on precision shooting and archery skills like fish to water. In fact it was hard to get them to put the guns and bows and arrows down at all in order to get to the serious business of mesquite grilled backstrap. Serious, serious stuff! They were our guests through the Herculean efforts of another grand charity created by American Airlines right here in Texas, called the Snowball Express. They assist in helping the children of our heroic US Military warriors who have made the ultimate sacrifice by volunteering and dying for their country. The families of the US Warriors sacrifice much too, and the least we can do is to give back as much as humanly possible to show our deep appreciation for the incredible gift of freedom that is paid for by the blood of these warriors. We are so very proud of Americans and Texans who just keep on giving and giving. When a child needs help, there is never a shortage of generosity in this great land. Keep your eyes and ears peeled for such charity events, work and opportunities. Give all you can and do all you can. I promise you, nothing in life will bring you a more powerful sense of gratification and fulfillment than sharing our outdoors passions with the kids, anywhere, anytime, anyplace, anyhow. Do it. God bless the children. God bless them all. To find out more about these various charities bringing happiness to kids everywhere, go to tednugent.com.