'Ready.....Aim.'BANG!
'Ready.....Aim.'
BANG!
'Ready.....Aim.'
BANG!
I'd always thought a twenty one gun salute was supposed to have twenty one BANGS! or even one BANG! from twenty one guns; but three BANGS! in unison from seven guns? It works out I guess, but how did they ever arrive at that particular formula?
The picture is as clear as if it was yesterday. The ten year old boy with the bloodshot eyes, pouting, standing there in his new suit. His great uncle Alf, right behind him, hands on his shoulders, as they both stood there watching the ten year old's father being buried.
There's other people in the picture too. They just don't stand out as much as these two.
No wonder the ten year old was thinking about guns, and BANGS! and their formula. Two days before, on a cold Sunday morning in November, 1970, another uncle, Jim, woke him up to say "Mike, your Dad died last night." I guess even a ten year old can go into shock.
Of all the things that should go through a young boy's mind at this time, I'm sure how many BANGS! in a twenty one gun salute, isn't one of them.
