Cannon on the Loose
“Some people,” he said, “can’t tell whether you are responsible or whether you are a loose cannon out trying to make your name or something.”

“That’s probably a matter of interpretation,” I said.

He laughed, because it seemed right at the time and because even my answer was an example of why some people couldn’t tell if I was responsible or it I was a loose cannon.

“I certainly don’t know which it is,” I said.

“From the time I have known you, I’d have to go with the second one,” she said later, a friend, someone who likes me knowing me as a loose cannon.

“Ah,” I thought, “but maybe it is my responsibility to be a loose cannon, to be unpredictable and to shoot a targets that have been so safe. Yes, I am a responsibly loose cannon.”