The first time I saw a real gun it was nested in a beautiful wooden box held out for me to see by a retired CIA agent who at the time was in his late 60s. He was my father's boss, later mentor, and now friend. My dad gave him a sideways look and asked him to put it away before I really had time to realize what was happening; I was around 9 years old. Between this experience and my next experience, my high school sweetheart would call me from Virgina Tech to let me know he was