Glad you made it back OK, sanityseeker!

Sorry you had such a scary time in my country (albeit not in my part of it). I've lived here for more years than I care to admit, and the last gun I saw (not counting those worn by police on duty) was about 20 years ago. It belonged to a friend (law-abiding, as far as I know) who wanted my help with cleaning it. Some of my neighbors do (illegally) fire in the air to celebrate New Year's. That seems to be diminishing too, but it's not completely gone.