And you have my bow

Without a doubt, one of the best Disney movies ever made is Robin Hood. Coincidentally, one of the first PG-13 movies I begged my parents to let me watch was Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves. At this point you might expect me to say that I also loved Robin Hood: Men in Tights, but no, I did not. And I never even bothered seeing that new Robin Hood movie with Gladiator in it, but getting back to things I do like, I do remember liking Legolas the most when I first read The Lord of the Rings (this is before the movies turned him, and every elf, into an effeminate, do no wrong, Vulcan).  Obviously the common theme here is bows and arrows. With my apparent youthful fondness for fictional characters that were handy with the bow and arrow, you might expect that I would have had some experience with archery as a younger person, but aside from some boy scout trips, my exposure to archery was pretty limited to statistic examples that used archery targets to explain the difference between accuracy and precision. Until now. 

And why not now? Archery is bigger than ever! Last year, movies had a minor love affair with archers. Most famously, there was Hawkeye in last summer's The Avengers. Sure, he was probably the most forgettable character in the movie, but he sure made a bow and arrow look at least a little effective against an invading alien force. Nowhere near as effective as being a rampaging rage monster, but those trick arrows were neat. And who could forget that redhead girl in that Pixar movie that everyone forgets? Pretty sure she was all headstrong and proved it with a bow in hand. There was also Hunger Games girl who was what, like a mediocre to good bow hunter? I can't even remember if she ever fired off an arrow except to establish that "hey this girl is good with arrows and stuff". Point is, just like joining the Navy was in vogue following Top Gun (I, of course, am referring to any time, anyone, anywhere, watches Top Gun, not just back to 1986 when Top Gun came out), bows and arrows have never been hotter. So how'd I do my first time out? First I had to figure out this whole "stand awkwardly and hold your arm in a totally unnatural way" thing.

But once I got the hang of that (I never got the hang of that), I actually did pretty ok.

Turns out I am pretty precise, but not very accurate. Probably because of a screwy sight. Yep, that, not my total lack of experience, was probably the problem. Of course keep in mind that we were only 10 yards away. All things considered, I may be more deadly with the bow than a firearm...as long as you are only 10 yards away...not moving...and you give me all the time in the world. Not quite ready for the great bear hunt, but getting there.

Just kidding, I could never kill a bear, unless it was a mercy kill because he was sick and dying and he came to me because we had a long established relationship of trust and friendship or maybe if it was some sort of honorable fight to the death that the tradition of our ancestors demanded. Either way, I probably wouldn't be using a bow, though I am a touch more prepared to do so now. Might even try this again. Its high time this old bachelor gets some obscure hobbies and skills!