Most of the snow has finally melted, but unfortunately more frozen precipitation is predicted for early next week. The brief respite from the cold was motivation enough to hit the range and take advantage of the sunny day. I grabbed a few pistols, and …

Colleen and I returned to Capital Ale House Tuesday evening for a Devils Backbone Steal the Glass event. The event featured Devils Backbone Kabong Triple Imperial IPA. A few other Devils Backbone beers were also available; Black Rock Oatmeal Stout, Sonnet 54 Saison, Cranberry Gose, Vienna Lager, and Gold Leaf Lager. Colleen had the Stout while I ordered a pint of the Triple IPA.

Kabong is a strongly flavored beer but still has a nice balance of sweet malt and oily citrus hops. The flavor finished on the sweet side but otherwise it had a very clean finish for such a rich flavor profile. Surprisingly, I was able to detect very little aroma from the beer. This strong beer checks in at 11.1% ABV, so slow sipping was the order of the evening as I enjoyed a fish & chips platter.

Even though we got seated at the bar just 20 minutes after the 6:00PM start of the Steal the Glass event, my Devils Backbone beer came out in an O’Conner Brewing pint glass, and Colleen’s Stout in an Adventure Brewing glass. Our server informed us they were already out of the Devils Backbone glassware. Apparently a large “private party” downstairs claimed all the glasses. Although that would save us from paying the premium price to “steal” a glass, it was disappointing as we did like the glass being offered. (Fortunately our server did manage to find us a couple of glasses to take later in the evening.)

Making do

I would have like to tried the Devils Backbone Gose as well, but after the high ABV Kabong, I opted for just the one beer; it was a “school night” after all.

My planned Monday range outing turned into a Tuesday range outing thanks to the winter storm that started off the week. In typical Virginia fashion, the day after we had snow, the temperature rose into the 50’s the next afternoon. Despite the sun outside, when I got to the indoor range folks leaving were complaining about the indoor temperature and their cold hands. (Suck it up, it’s not always going to be a sunny day.)

Last week I came across this 50-round drill from Julie Golob. It’s shot from low ready which works for the indoor range. In addition, shooting rapidly, but safely, is allowed here in a welcome switch from the outdoor range rules. I set up an IDPA practice target at 7 yards and ran the drill strings. Overall it was a good run; I think I’ll store that one away to run again.

Finishing the 50-round exercise, I put the target at 10 yards. I ran through most of my second box of ammo putting one or two hits to the body, followed by one to the head zone, each string from low ready. The purpose was simply to work on that quick transition between the two zones. The lesson learned here was that I tended to shoot low on the followup head shots. I’ll do that drill more in the future as well.

More quickly than I would have liked I had used up my ammo; shooting these drills takes very little time. Knowing how much I enjoy shooting, and how quickly shooting indoors burns ammo, I purposefully put only two boxes of ammo in my bag when I packed the night before. I know that if I bring it I’ll shoot it, so that’s my attempt at self-discipline. (It is Lent after all.) The short and fun range session set me up to handle the rest of the afternoon behind a computer screen.

The Blue & Gray brewpub reopened this weekend after some renovation and under new ownership. The brewery is under transformation into a new home for Adventure Brewing. The new owners are still getting things in place at the new location, but e…

Antonin Scalia, Supreme Court justice, dies at 79If obama gets to pick a third justice, the next sound we hear will be the sound from the shredding of the Constitution.Requiescat in pace Justice Scalia.”Justice Antonin Scalia was a man of God, a patrio…

John Smith was the only Protestant to move into a large Catholic neighborhood. On the first Friday of Lent, John was outside grilling a big juicy steak on his grill. Meanwhile, all of his neighbors were eating cold tuna fish for supper. This went on ea…

When we picked up food for our in-room dinner last weekend, we stopped in the local beer store for a beverage accompaniment. I was in the mood for a nice hoppy, but low ABV Pale Ale with which to relax after the long day. The store cooler housing the c…

Update: On January 21, 2016 Pope Francis approved a miracle attributed to Blessed José Sánchez del Río allowing for his canonization to take place sometime within the year.

[Originally published February 10, 2013]

Today, February 10, is the anniversary of the martyrdom of Blessed José Sánchez del Río. On this date in 1928, this 14 year old boy was killed for refusing to renounce his Catholic faith during the Cristero War. The story of this period of Catholic persecution led by Mexican President Calles was told in the movie “For Greater Glory“.

After José was captured by government forces, he was forced to witness the torture and execution of fellow Catholics, yet he never wavered in his resolve. He was himself was tortured and urged to shout “Death to Christ the King” with the promise his suffering would be over. On the day of his torturous execution, the soldiers cut the soles of his feet and he was made to walk barefooted to the grave they had dug for him. He was repeatedly stabbed with bayonets as he made his way to the place of his martyrdom.

Even after he had been shot he continued to cry out “Viva Cristo Rey!” (“Long live Christ the King!”) The commander of the soldiers was so furious that he was able to resist the government barbarism, he finally shot the boy in the head. As he died he is said to have drawn a cross on the ground with his own blood. Blessed José Sánchez del Río was beatified by Pope Benedict XVI on November 20, 2005.

During the Cristeros War many Catholics were killed by the Mexican government for their faith. This tragic part of recent history is pointedly ignored by the history books in both the United States and Mexico. It is a story that needs to be told and learned by all free people. The people of the United States shared in the tragedy, as our own government supplied both arms and air support for the Federales in their battles with the Catholic faithful.

As the attacks on the Church increase in the United States, with the aggression led by our own government, we would do well to remember the resolve of this strong young man, and pray that we too will remain faithful through whatever trials await us.

Until the days start getting longer, shooting indoors is better than not, so Monday I headed back to the indoor range. After spending two days sitting in a classroom learning about guns and self defense, it was fun to go out and actually shoot, ev…