Lessons Learned....

[Ezana4CE]

I'm still relatively new to PCPs, but I'm starting to feel not so new. Over the weekend I reflected upon some things I've observed on the forums and I've been thinking about them. I couldn't understand why some guys thought and acted the way that they do until recently. Now I see some of what some of you all tried to explain to me about how this community operates when I was fairly new. I see how I pissed off some folks early on. Some will stay pissed off and that's just how it will be.

Anyhow, I'm starting to understand and appreciate our older members a lot more. By older I'm talking about the folks in the 70s and 80s. I think it's great to see septuagenarians and octogenarians with hobbies that keep their minds and bodies active. Even more so, hobbies that allow them to interact with others. Something else I've been thinking about is being an airgunnner during the pandemic afforded me some lessons that I don't know how I'd have gotten them otherwise. I wasn't closed in during that period except for when I was ill or had to quarantine because co-workers or trainees may have come to work ill, but for the people that were, their time online taught me a number of things. Now, I'm just not seeing the same type of activity on the forums and that's ok. But there is a marked difference between then and now. Some great members have come and gone. Some have passed away and others have had serious life issues arise. I still think about some of these people and I'm grateful that their contributions are still archived in the AGN forums. It's funny how people used to ride me for insisting that others search for answers to their questions. If some of you have read what I've read or seen what I've seen you may better understand. I'm going to jump out on a limb here and say that I think I have read a lot more on these forum than the average member, so my perspectives and responses will be a reflection of that claim. One thing I can't stress enough, that pandemic period taught me a lot about different facets of airgunning and the information is still here. It would be a lot to type if one were to ask me "well what exactly did you learn?" You just had to have been here or you have a lot of reading to do on these forums. The funny thing is I'm still green in several areas. Thank you to the many members that have helped me get this far. Just some thoughts here.

 

[Treefrog]

Good points, well made.

Cheers,

J~

 

[Airgun-Revisions]

You’re a good nut and a member that I respect. Your statement shows why I respect you. I knew this months ago.

 

[Ezana4CE]

You’re a good nut and a member that I respect. Your statement shows why I respect you. I knew this months ago.

Thank you for that. The respect is mutual. You’ve been helpful to me along the way and it is appreciated.

 

[AirNGasman]

It's funny how people used to ride me for insisting that others search for answers to their questions. If some of you have read what I've read or seen what I've seen you may better understand. I'm going to jump out on a limb here and say that I think I have read a lot more on these forum than the average member, so my perspectives and responses will be a reflection of that claim.

A couple points about this part of your excellent post, D.

1) Glad you can keep a sense of humor about people riding you about suggesting they search for answers, rather than posting questions that have been answered many times, in many posts and threads. I'm too old to be so tolerant.

2) My quote above of part of your excellent post reminds me of some adages; some I'll plagiarize, others I'll convolute to suit my own sick purposes.

A) "Experience is the best teacher". WRONG! RR convolution- BAD experience is a MUCH better teacher than experience.

B) RR original(s)- With age comes experience(s). With experience(s) comes wisdom. With wisdom comes insight. (For some) with Insight comes FOREsight. Foresight is a great weapon against reactivity; that weapon called (for lack of a better term) proactivity.

3) RR original- The wise require fewer bad experiences to accumulate wisdom. Virtue of their ability(s) to learn from bad experiences of OTHERS, they avoid experiencing bad experiences first-hand.



I (purposely) neglected asking your age in our recent conversation, because it's a moot question. Suffice to say some folks learn better/faster than others, thereby developing wisdom belying their age. Your posts leave little doubt you're 'a fast learner', Bud. I speculate that has much to do with #3 above.

Correction- I have little doubt that has much to do with #3 above. You wear and wield it well.

I'll close by taking advantage of this opportunity to thank you for your INSIGHTFUL posts and threads.

Respectfully,
R

.

 

[Vetmx]

Sheesh, the hype and latest greatest airgun stuff must be getting stale when we start getting fuzzy topics.

But I’ll take a warm and fuzzy topic over a bitching about I can’t access the classifieds, FX problem or what gun should I buy topic.

 

[Revoman]

Ezana4CE --=--
You have pretty much touched each and every topic/subject within most of these Forums, usually offering good input.
Helpful and caring are two items that come to mind from your input.
Well respected is a good moniker!

mike

 

[Ezana4CE]

@Revoman Thank you Mike.

 

[Stubbers]

The journey and paths we take may intersect in many ways but often our destinations are that of our own, be it becoming loyal to specific brands or models within a brand, from testing which projectiles work subjectively best in our barrels, to our individual capacities in understanding the inner workings of an airgun which may vary from model to brand, or fundamentals that cover them all. The ceiling is high and rarely do any of us touch it, and those that do, or even come close, bless em!

I have been both taught valuable information and mislead / misinformed by many (often the same) individuals in the hobby. The misinformation has forced me down my own rabbit holes in understanding what makes airguns tick and applying what I have learned to data modeling or sharing such information here. I've challenged some greats, been challenged by others, and take from each experience the lessons learned or taught, and continue to acquire, apply and adapt new information that not only makes me a wiser person, but a better person with thicker skin than can accept not just my own nuances, but the nuances of others.

It's a blessing to have everyone who remains involved on the forums in our lives, even if we don't always agree with each other. It's those differences that enrich the experience, and can teach us what to become, or what not to become.

You cannot be everyone's cup of tea, nor should you try to be. People pleasing isn't healthy for anyone except those being pleased. It's okay to be a cup of chai in a room full of people who prefer their coffee black.

It truly is a pleasure though, to have many open minded individuals here who accept each other for their short comings, or their glimmers of brilliance. Keep on keeping on.

"If you cannot be the light that shines within a room, be the mirror that reflects the light of others" -Some wise guy, probably

-Matt

 

[SteveV]

Nice post, very valid points and sentiments. And if I could add anything, at some level, we ALL don't know what we don't know.