Hey, Cherie! by Cherie Bennett

Hey, Cherie!

I hope you can answer a question about guns and help convince my parents that they are OK. I am a guy in 11th grade. My dad has a friend who is a Green Beret. I am serious. He was in the Army's Special Forces and is now in the National Guard. His name is Rich and he is a great guy. He is the kind of guy who would make me want to go into the Army, which is actually something that I am interested in doing.

My parents, though, are both huggie-veggie-hippy-dippy-crunchy-Granola types, if you know what I am saying. I am not that like that at all. How are they friends with Rich? He is our next-door neighbor.

So, here is what happened. Rich is willing to teach me how to shoot. He has told my parents that he will take me to a shooting range, give me a long lesson on gun safety, and then show me how to shoot both a pistol and a rifle. I am very interested in learning how to shoot, and I do not think that guns are automatically bad.

My parents don't see it the same way I do, and they don't want me to learn to shoot a weapon while I live in their house. Can you please tell them to get a clue and that their attitude is crazy?

— Weapon Ready

Hey, Weapon!

How about if I hit some middle ground? I'm not going to tell your parents to get a clue and that their attitude is crazy because they are not pathological. I will say, however, that I disagree with them.

It sounds to me like Rich would be the absolutely perfect person to teach a young man or woman about the responsible use of a weapon like a pistol or a rifle. I am not a fan of pistols, but I do understand how people can use them responsibly for target shooting and even self-defense.

Rifles have many uses, from hunting to the military to target and skeet shooting. It is far better to learn how to use either of these weapons with a responsible and experienced person teaching you.

I can imagine that Rich would give you a long lecture about gun safety before he even let you put your hands on any weapon. I bet he would give that lecture to you with your parents present, if they asked him.

I am not sure that I would give you the same answer if you were in seventh grade or eighth grade, but I definitely think that 11th grade is old enough. So for what it's worth? Show Mom and Dad this column. Shoot safely.

Hey, Cherie!

I have a problem with my mother's cooking. She is a terrible cook. I didn't know this when I was younger, but now that I am in high school, there is not a dish that my mother can't ruin. Her roast beef tastes like leather, and she makes fish that tastes like newspaper soaked in water and then baked for five hours.

How can I tell her she is an awful cook and should start buying food from the takeout counter at the supermarket?

— Gagging

Hey, Gagging!

I want to know how you know what soaked and baked newspaper tastes like. But I digress.

This is a very tough problem, because telling your mother that she is a lousy cook is like telling a bride that she is ugly. Maybe you could buy her some cookbooks for her birthday and work with her to follow the recipes exactly. I'm grasping at overcooked roast beef here. Maybe this is your sign from On High to become a vegetarian?

Cherie Bennett is a best-selling author of books for teens and young adults. Visit her website at www.cheriebennett.com. To find out more about Cherie Bennett and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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