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| Mom Maria with Ethan, in the range at Shoot Straight Tampa |
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| Friend Lea with Ethan at the range |
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| Shoot Straight Spirit! |
Last week we had some special guests at Shoot Straight Tampa. Ethan is a spirited 11 year old boy who has faced many challenges during his young life. He is one of thousands of kids these days that are dealing with childhood cancer. While his prognosis is not great, his spirit is indomitable. Early on he decided that there were some things he wanted to do, so he created a "bucket list", determined to live life to the fullest.
Ethan comes from a family of U.S. Marines, including his mother Maria, so he is naturally interested in the shooting sports. One thing that was on his bucket list was to shoot a mini-gun. While Shoot Straight didn’t have one of those guns available at the time, we did have a few other treats for him to try. He started out on the range at Shoot Straight Ft. Myers with an AK-47. He enjoyed that so much that when his friends and family were in town for a Rays game, his Mom set up more range time at Shoot Straight Tampa. He brought his best pal Lea, who is also battling this terrible disease. Together they experienced the thrill of shooting an MP-5, an Uzi and the FN P90, under close supervision of course, and only after a thorough discussion of firearm safety and range rules. The kid’s Moms got to try a few other handguns as well.
Afterwards, Shoot Straight treated them to some autographed baseballs and pictures, and some other mementos to remember their fun time with us. Everyone had a great time. And, we enjoyed the smiles on the faces of two children who were able to, at least for a morning, get away from the challenges they face every day, to just have fun being kids. Ethan and Lea are now on a U.S. road trip with his Mom, continuing their journey and checking off a few more items on his list. We truly wish them well, and as the saying goes... "may the wind be at their back, and the road rise up to meet them".
Shoot Straight Tampa
3909 N. US Hwy. 301
Tampa, FL 33619
Ph: 813-627-8550
