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These are my thoughts, if you don't agree I'm fine with that. Were both parties the cause of the escalation yes. Was one moreso that the other yes. Could it have been avoided by both parties yes. I'm not trying to second guess anyone here and say I would have acted perfectly because I don't always do so. Two expressions my dad always told me as a kid come to mind--- Everyone gets their turn at being a jerk. Just try not to go twice or cut in line. The other is if you wrestle with a pig, you get dirty and the pig gets happy.

One way that I try to deal with people like the boat owner is instead of replying to them is to wave to them with a huge smile on my face. Most people will not escalate it any more than that. Some of them may think I'm weak but so what. My self worth does not depend upon what some aggressive stranger thinks. I carry a gun to protect my family and not my masculinity or what some knucklehead thinks of me. I hope to never have to pull the trigger on someone but I will to defend the family. I just want to make sure I don't live the rest of my life with the guilt of ending someone's life needlessly.

A lot of this was not taught in my CHL class but neither was how to properly fire my weapon safely. Relying only upon what was covered in the class may not be the best course of action. The course is designed to teach the bare bones basics of what is legal and to ensure the person has a minimal gun handling and shooting skills. As a CHL/LTC holder we are responsible for everything else.