Can I ask you guys some advice?

[sdtripper2]

Bruce:

You seem to have a good a friendship and affinity with your gun forum friend.
People in general don't do what they don't want to do.
Seems to me your friend didn't have to write you back and say the gun
was yours for the taking. He may have a feeling of doing for someone
that would appreciate the gift. So it comes down to your pride. Will you
hold fast to your pride or accept the gift and take it while appreciating the
giving attitude your friend has put forth.

Bruce, you too will have a chance down the trail of your life to give to others
something that they will appreciate as much as you might this gift from your
friend.

So pay the costs for shipping of the gun and take it in the spirit your friend
has put forward in his open hand.

Steve

PS:
I too have a 1911 .45 ACP that was my fathers. It was stolen, and years
later the police called me in to get it from their office as they had arrested
a person and found he had my gun.
My dad's gun was in this persons collection, and by running the S~Number
my name floated to the top. I was so very pleased to get that gun back.

Maybe someone you know will also appreciate your 1911 .45 down the trail
of life while telling how you lovingly rebuilt and took care of your cherished
possession, that was given to you in friendship?

[Lynn Coleman]

I have to agree there are many people who give simply because they want to. It seems to me from what you wrote, that this person is giving you a genuine gift. I also agree that you should accept the gift and simply turn around and give to someone else. You'll never know how that will turn out. Quite a few years back when my husband was in college and we were struggling to pay rent, food, etc. We ended up with an extra 80 bucks one month. To have extra was really, really unusual. The next day some friends of ours were in desperate need of (you guessed it) 80 bucks. They were as broke as we were, except we had the extra 80. Naturally we gave it to them and told them not to pay us back. 20 years later we were in need and sure enough they helped us out. We didn't ask, a check arrived with a note saying they believed we were in need. We were and the check was exactly what we needed at that time.

I believe in accepting gifts and by accepting someone's gift you are blessing them, they feel good about giving and being able to help someone out. I also give whenever I can with no strings attached, always have and always will, it's just a part of my nature.

Hope that helps,
Lynn

[Walt M]

If I may. when I was a younger man I worked with a carpenter (much older) Freddy Scandura who taught me a lot. What he taught me I could never repay. twenty years later he called me he said he wanted to see me.I thought he was sick, so without hesitation I went to see him, he offered me a WWII Steyr pistol he had brought back from Germany. Now I was doing pretty well at the time I told him I'd love to have it but let me pay for it, he would have none of it. He said when he thought of the pistol he'd think of me and that would bring him joy. Me when I think of that pistol I think of him and that brings Me joy. Who knows why people do things. Praise God for all things. I was at a Red Sox game at Fenway park the weekend the USS Kennedy was in town Sailors were everywhere ,I couldn't help but to get a couple aside thank them, buy them a couple of baseball souveniers
and a couple of beers. why ? Who knows, but I did think of Freddy, Blessings, Walt

[satch]

Human nature can be a strange thing,..if it were me, I would work out the charity deal, that would be a 3 way winner to me.

[PanelDeland]

I think you should accept the gift as offered.I realize you may have a sense of pride,maybe he does,too.Use your pride to find that,you should be proud he thinks enough of you to give the gift.Feed his pride in that he would be proud to give something to someone he obviously values as a friend.
During the first Mid-East confrontation I had a young couple as neighbors.I knew he was in the NG to help buy their first home.I was a bit sad to see him called to duty.They had 2 young children and the lessened income was surely going to hurt.I also knew that neither of them would ask their parents for help.I did not have the means to help with their finances and would not have insulted their pride by allowing them to know I had helped if I could have.I did however notice that the wife was mowing their yard one day.I did not let it happen again.i watched enough to get the schedule down and made time to mow when she was gone.Luckily most of the other people in the neighborhood were elderly and realized what I was trying to do.
To this day I doubt they know who took care of the lawn while he served.
I really don't care.I got the "warm Fuzzies" and she didn't have to give up time with her kids to take care of it.Theu don't have anything to pass on,they as a family were giving way more than I.
Just the story I use to illustrate the gift I recieved from giving.(I still get "warm Fuzzies" from it every time I think of it.