For a Personalized Autographed copy of “STRAWBERRIES IN WINTERTIME” or “WOODEN & ME” mail a check for $25 to:
Woody Woodburn
400 Roosevelt Court
Ventura, CA 93003
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The Boston Massacre Misnamed Today
On March 5, 1770, eight British soldiers fired into a crowd of civilians and the result was The Boston Massacre.
What a quaint use of the word “massacre.” With flintlock muskets of the 19th century, the tally was: three dead and two mortally wounded.
On Oct. 1, 2017, one man with an armload of 21st-century assault rifles and here is what a massacre has become:
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Dead. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded.
Wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded. Dead. wounded wounded wounded wounded Dead. Dead. Dead. wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Dead. wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded. Dead. wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Dead. Wounded. Wounded. Dead. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded Dead. Wounded wounded.
Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead.
Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded Dead. Wounded Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Dead. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Dead. Dead. Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded.
Dead. Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead. Wounded. Dead.
Wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded wounded. Dead. Dead. Dead. Dead.
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If this—59 dead, 527 wounded, by one civilian—is what our Founding Fathers had in mind when they wrote the Second Amendment, they were idiots.
I do not believe our Founding Fathers were idiots.
I believe we Americans are.
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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com.
Check out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …
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