A quick nightmare update.

I continue to be impressed with the AUSA assigned to the forfeiture in rem case against Gunsmoke Guns.  From her I now learn, in another timely response to an emailed question, that the paperwork items I recently filed to become an official party to the case (my interest is simply to get my 03 rifle and 1911 pistol returned) were indeed successfully received, and she further added some intel that she is starting to advocate for those parties in my position, directly with counsel for Gunsmoke.  

It's not over for me until I have my property back in my hands, and of course the frustration that any of this happened in the first place is by no means forgotten, but I have to admit I had not expected this much accommodation from an AUSA, and I am thankful for it.  I'm sure I'll have more to say when it's all over, however it turns out, but in the meantime I do have a few things to appreciate, and have a need to say so.  The information and ideas from Claire, Len, Mama, and El Neil were hugely helpful, and so has been the information and assistance from the AUSA on this case.  

That's all for now.

Humans.

An unexpected twist in my current nightmare.

I can't unequivocally say that it makes me "happy", per se, to be in direct conversation with an Assistant US Attorney, for any reason whatever, but I'm now pretty sure that having done so in this case may well help my chances of getting my property back. 

As of this morning, according to the AUSA assigned to the case (and the staffer cc:d to modify the paperwork), my deadline for filing a Claim on my property is now being extended to January 30, specifically so that said AUSA can respond in detail to my inquiries about the process, and give me time to file with confidence.

Needless to say, I was not expecting that.

I'll not feel good, exactly, until I actually have '03 in hand and 1911 on belt, but I will admit this does constitute better, and right now I'll take that.

Perhaps it's also a useful reminder of what my lovely wife has often said:  that when institutions work at all, they usually do so because there are actual people there, trying to do what the institution is advertised to do--despite any amount of rules and incentives to the contrary.

Maybe--hopefully--that's what's happening here.  I should remember that, for starters, they're not after me in the first place--their "case" is against someone else.  (I may separately have strong suspicions about the morality or ethics of that case, but this does not seem the right hill for me to wage that on.)  It's possible that the AUSA, in this case, may actually view me as a party they are trying to serve.  As well, this seemed to me to be as good an opportunity as any for me to put my money where my mouth is, regarding approaching each individual politely and as an individual, regardless of what implications might be inferred by their job or associations.  I did that honorably here, with just the same sort of presentation I'd do for anyone, and the response thus far has been as accommodating as I could hope for, from a such a party in such a position.  (In that way, it has rather mirrored the direct-interface responses I've had from much of the officialdom I've had to navigate in the last year, given the as-yet-fruitless job hunting, wading through the healthcare morass, etc.:  most of the institutional people I've approached directly, have openly commented their appreciation for the way I approached them.)  So, maybe it's another good reminder that good manners still count for something, and might even be helpful.  Even with Leviathan's functionaries.

Now we'll see how (hopefully how, not if) the clarifications shape up, and what that may suggest about what is to come next.  Please keep fingers crossed;  I'll continue to post what I can on it as it comes.

Did I need another reason to despise F-Troop?

No, I did not.  Seriously.

But then again, like any other thug, they're not exactly known for asking, are they?  They just do what they do. 

And now they're doing it to Gunsmoke.

You know, the Gunsmoke that still has my completed 03 Springfield and repaired 4" 1911.  Oh, swell.

Kinda reminds me of this, somehow:

I've fulfilled a lot of people's predictions about me.  I've become a real scumbag.

F-troop.  Making the Danny Vermins of the world look positively honorable since...why, since July 1, 1972.

Gunsmoke project imminence.

Another teaser post. 

I got a call today from Rich Wyatt at Gunsmoke.  The 03 Springfield project is now complete, which on one hand is plain gonna hurt, as I am "freshly unemployed" at the moment, and this turned out to be a full-house custom rifle (a six-year story for another time)...but that is the end of the bad news.  I'm so excited about this piece I can hardly stand it, and if it's going to cost me, I intend to get full enjoyment and utility out of it.  :-)

Now, here's the teaser part:  Rich was calling in part to ask my permission to use the gun in an episode of Gunsmoke's YouTube series.  It's got a couple of features on it that you just don't find on a lot of 03 Springfields--even "Springfield Scout" iterations like this one is--and he thought it might be worth recording.

So, it may yet be just a little bit more before I actually get the gun back.  (Since it's been over six years since I commissioned the work, there's really no worries there.)  And I suspect it may well be worth it anyway, to have the rifle featured by someone who really understands all the -fu I was after with this project.  (He taught it to me, after all:  it may have been Jeff Cooper who first taught me what I needed to know about Scout rifles over the course of a lot of years, but it was Rich--and fellow master instructor Tom Russell--who was there on the line for my four hundred rounds of in-person school once I got a Steyr Scout of my own.)

I'll be sure to post back here once the episode airs, and...yeah, I'll probably be squee-ing about the gun too, once it arrives. 

Now, to acquire a supply of stripper clips, which thanks to the forward glass, this 03 can still make use of!  :-)