Walkingbird, I hope this answers your question:
I am a preacher, after a fashion, among other things. I am on staff at Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, TN. Look us up at
www.bellevue.org, and come visit us sometime.
I am also a designer and draftsman, having done architecture, landscape architecture, civil engineering, machine/tool/fixture design, taught drafting in school, etc. I also love to tie knots, shoot all sorts of things, make bows and arrows, reload gun cartridges, read handy technical information (Thomas Glover's "Pocket Ref" goes with me everywhere, just like my Bible), make stuff from leather and wood and so on. I used to rock-climb and still like to canoe. In fact, when I get space, I intend to make a stitch and glue solo canoe.
My interest in slings goes back to my boyhood and hearing the story of David and Goliath. I shot a new fangled high powered slingshot as a boy and always loved it. I have been shooting guns and bows for years but never knew how to make a good sling. I love primitive weapons, though, and had been looking at slings on the internet for a few years. I did not have the mental fortitude to plait a 16 strand sling, so figured that I would just do without.
Christmas of 2002, someone gave me a large supply of leather pieces. I thought, "wow, I could make a sling pouch with these." So, I looked on the internet and found the "20 Steps to a sling" among other instructions. It called for a leather pocket and simple plaited cord (see my article here on slinging.org). With some help from my father-in-law and some incorrect illustrations from the net, I figured out how to plait and got to it. It took several tries and some modificaions to the plans, but I finally got a good sling. (David_T also uses this style of sling, btw.)
So, I have always liked the idea of slinging, but have only been doing so for just over a year. I love it immensly. I did not know the Bible text very well until I became a Christian as an adult and actually read it myself. It struck me as powerful and poignient. A great story of reliance on God for protection. Makes for a great signature line on this website as well.
jeff <>< who hopes this satisfies some inquiring minds