Smith And Wesson Christmas

You know you're back in Texas when you hug your best friend and your hand falls on the pistol he has holstered under his jacket.
   Perfectly legal, I assure you, he has a permit to carry a concealed weapon and is fully trained in the safe and judicious use of firearms.
   But still...
   I was born and raised here, and I'm not sure I like the concealed weapons permits. Seems a little too frontier for me. If you're going to ward off attacks by Indians - whom you previously gifted with smallpox blankets - then I can understand packing heat. Or if you're a cattle man trying to make it in sheep herder country. Or if you have a water rights dispute with the local cotton farmer and the sheriff is on the far side of the county sorting out a neighbor's feud. But if you're an IT professional and the closest you come to a Native American is the reservation casino, then a loaded firearm on your belt is probably not your best move.
   Yeah, I know, it's un-Texan of me, but just like nothing good ever happens after midnight, nothing good ever comes of carrying a pistol, legally or otherwise. When you carry a loaded weapon you start wanting to solve all your problems with a bullet instead of rational thinking. And if you rationalize it by saying you're going into a dangerous area, all the more reason for either a) not going or b) not provoking anyone by flashing a piece.
   I hope my concerns are unfounded, but I know that one day I'm going to get a phone call and I'm going to learn that someone's been shot. Either my friend or someone he encountered. And I'm not looking forward to that day.