"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. " -2nd amendment to the constitution
I often tell people when I talk about my family that I am the black sheep, as I am the only one not killing animals on a regular basis. My family is big on camping, hunting and fishing. The common denominator is that they are all packing heat. Everyone in my family has weapons (some crazy ones too). My grandpa had an arsenal...seriously. Over 20 guns for sure, some rare and unique, all of them nice. When he passed away, the guns were distributed to my uncles, my cousins and my brother. I got the Louis L'Amour collection, leather bound books by my favorite western author (the books are sitting in front of me now, I totally got the best deal, my grandpa is with me every day). The point being that I have always gone against the grain of my family when it comes to guns. I've had a few bad instances with them, and I just don't see the need for any civilian to own a machine gun. Period. So I have always been supportive of gun control. My brother always argues with me, but that is to be expected. My wife absolutely hates guns and has wanted nothing to do with them in our household.
Until today.
Crazy thing is, I was the same way, but on my way home I decided the events of the night before had caused me to have a change in heart.
I had a terrible headache (probably from the paint fumes I had been inhaling all day while painting the house) and decided to go to bed early (about 9pm). I went to sleep and my wife and daughter decided to have a sleepover in my daughters room (no school on Monday). I awoke to a loud bang and shaking sound. Kelly came running into my room, "Chris, someone is trying to get into the house!". whaaaahhhh??? Still really groggy, I grabbed a baseball bat and headed downstairs. Looking through the peephole I could see that the porch light was on, which meant someone was out there as our light is motion activated. I stepped out front and there was some dude...swaying back and forth in a drunken stupor in the middle of my driveway. After some not so kind words for him a brief exchange told me everything. Dude was wasted...so wasted he didn't realize that this wasn't his place (apparently he used to live at my house). Problem was, he was so hammered I couldn't get him to understand that he needed to go.
I told him I would call him a cab and went inside to grab my shoes, I turn around and the dude is in my entryway. At that point I grab him by the neck and throw him off my front porch. "Kelly, call the cops!". Kelly dials 911...and gets a message service (no kidding, a message service!). I give her my phone as I stared down dr. wasted who couldn't comprehend why I was not letting him in. After a second call she finally got through. I slammed the door in his face and we waited for the cops to show. They showed up about 4 minutes later, and the dude was still in my front yard. After a brief exchange I tell the police to just get rid of him and a while later they drove away.
About 5 minutes after the police arrived, Kelly's phone rang and it was 911, returning her call. Did you know that 911 doesn't always answer? Found that out last night...seriously.
Kelly found the guys wallet the next morning...crap. The address on his wallet was our address. She took the wallet down to the police station because she didn't want him showing up again. 15 minutes after dropping the wallet off, he shows up at the door. He was apologetic and said he didn't remember anything from the night before. He had pulled up in a corvette and asked Kelly if she remembered him having a watch on. Apparently, he lost $6,000 in cash and his Rolex. Kelly gave him a simple explanation that she was really focused on the fact that he was in her home, and not that he had a watch on. That and he needed to leave, and not return.
Our guess is the cab driver that dropped him off at our place (using the address on his license) fleeced the guy. After he left, Kelly called the police again to let them know he had come by looking for a substantial amount of cash and a lost watch. The police commented that he had returned to the police station, retrieved his wallet and told them the same thing. Now in Orange county, people definitely have money. According to our landlord, this guy has an OC girlfriend loaded to the gills. My father-in-law thinks he deals drugs (there were 23 police calls to our house from the previous tenants...young party guys). Regardless, now in the back of my mind I gotta worry about some wasted ass idiot thinking I have money that he lost in a drunken stupor. Anybody that knows me knows I am honest to a fault, and I really, really hate thieves. That being said, someone with limited faculties such as this idiot...who knows.
While I believe that this episode is over and is unusual for where I live (real crime is almost nonexistent here, there are soooo many police officers they keep a tight lid on things), it left me and my wife a bit in shock. While the odds of me needing to defend and protect my family are extremely low, the risk of not being able to do so if such a situation did occur is unacceptable. So, however, is having a gun that my kids can get access to. My son has ADD, and a nasty case of it too. A gun in the hands of a curious kid with a short attention span is disastrous. I know the effects of this all too well. Last year, the son of one of my very good friends here in OC was killed in a gun accident. He was 12 years old, found the gun at his mom's place in Oregon, and accidentally shot himself in the head. You read about this stuff, I watched it happen to a kid I knew, and a family that was a normal family. It tore his family up.
After considering it for a while, I have concluded that this is another one of life's dilemmas with no great answer. So....I'm gonna arm up. No B.S. tomorrow I am going to a gun store and I'm going to purchase a Mossberg pump action shotgun for the sole purpose of self defense. My hope is that this becomes the dusty, locked box in my room that is never opened or needed.
I often tell people when I talk about my family that I am the black sheep, as I am the only one not killing animals on a regular basis. My family is big on camping, hunting and fishing. The common denominator is that they are all packing heat. Everyone in my family has weapons (some crazy ones too). My grandpa had an arsenal...seriously. Over 20 guns for sure, some rare and unique, all of them nice. When he passed away, the guns were distributed to my uncles, my cousins and my brother. I got the Louis L'Amour collection, leather bound books by my favorite western author (the books are sitting in front of me now, I totally got the best deal, my grandpa is with me every day). The point being that I have always gone against the grain of my family when it comes to guns. I've had a few bad instances with them, and I just don't see the need for any civilian to own a machine gun. Period. So I have always been supportive of gun control. My brother always argues with me, but that is to be expected. My wife absolutely hates guns and has wanted nothing to do with them in our household.
Until today.
Crazy thing is, I was the same way, but on my way home I decided the events of the night before had caused me to have a change in heart.
I had a terrible headache (probably from the paint fumes I had been inhaling all day while painting the house) and decided to go to bed early (about 9pm). I went to sleep and my wife and daughter decided to have a sleepover in my daughters room (no school on Monday). I awoke to a loud bang and shaking sound. Kelly came running into my room, "Chris, someone is trying to get into the house!". whaaaahhhh??? Still really groggy, I grabbed a baseball bat and headed downstairs. Looking through the peephole I could see that the porch light was on, which meant someone was out there as our light is motion activated. I stepped out front and there was some dude...swaying back and forth in a drunken stupor in the middle of my driveway. After some not so kind words for him a brief exchange told me everything. Dude was wasted...so wasted he didn't realize that this wasn't his place (apparently he used to live at my house). Problem was, he was so hammered I couldn't get him to understand that he needed to go.
I told him I would call him a cab and went inside to grab my shoes, I turn around and the dude is in my entryway. At that point I grab him by the neck and throw him off my front porch. "Kelly, call the cops!". Kelly dials 911...and gets a message service (no kidding, a message service!). I give her my phone as I stared down dr. wasted who couldn't comprehend why I was not letting him in. After a second call she finally got through. I slammed the door in his face and we waited for the cops to show. They showed up about 4 minutes later, and the dude was still in my front yard. After a brief exchange I tell the police to just get rid of him and a while later they drove away.
About 5 minutes after the police arrived, Kelly's phone rang and it was 911, returning her call. Did you know that 911 doesn't always answer? Found that out last night...seriously.
Kelly found the guys wallet the next morning...crap. The address on his wallet was our address. She took the wallet down to the police station because she didn't want him showing up again. 15 minutes after dropping the wallet off, he shows up at the door. He was apologetic and said he didn't remember anything from the night before. He had pulled up in a corvette and asked Kelly if she remembered him having a watch on. Apparently, he lost $6,000 in cash and his Rolex. Kelly gave him a simple explanation that she was really focused on the fact that he was in her home, and not that he had a watch on. That and he needed to leave, and not return.
Our guess is the cab driver that dropped him off at our place (using the address on his license) fleeced the guy. After he left, Kelly called the police again to let them know he had come by looking for a substantial amount of cash and a lost watch. The police commented that he had returned to the police station, retrieved his wallet and told them the same thing. Now in Orange county, people definitely have money. According to our landlord, this guy has an OC girlfriend loaded to the gills. My father-in-law thinks he deals drugs (there were 23 police calls to our house from the previous tenants...young party guys). Regardless, now in the back of my mind I gotta worry about some wasted ass idiot thinking I have money that he lost in a drunken stupor. Anybody that knows me knows I am honest to a fault, and I really, really hate thieves. That being said, someone with limited faculties such as this idiot...who knows.
While I believe that this episode is over and is unusual for where I live (real crime is almost nonexistent here, there are soooo many police officers they keep a tight lid on things), it left me and my wife a bit in shock. While the odds of me needing to defend and protect my family are extremely low, the risk of not being able to do so if such a situation did occur is unacceptable. So, however, is having a gun that my kids can get access to. My son has ADD, and a nasty case of it too. A gun in the hands of a curious kid with a short attention span is disastrous. I know the effects of this all too well. Last year, the son of one of my very good friends here in OC was killed in a gun accident. He was 12 years old, found the gun at his mom's place in Oregon, and accidentally shot himself in the head. You read about this stuff, I watched it happen to a kid I knew, and a family that was a normal family. It tore his family up.
After considering it for a while, I have concluded that this is another one of life's dilemmas with no great answer. So....I'm gonna arm up. No B.S. tomorrow I am going to a gun store and I'm going to purchase a Mossberg pump action shotgun for the sole purpose of self defense. My hope is that this becomes the dusty, locked box in my room that is never opened or needed.
Be excellent to each other!
1 comment:
Pretty scary stuff. I've always been a gun advocate. Dad's always had a huge arsenal, and guns just have always been around so I'm used to them. Never did hunting tho.
I'm also afraid of the government.
Hear about Mumbai? They try that shit in the US and it wont last as long I can tell you, because there are a lot of folks packin.
I also own a few guns, but only handguns. Nothing the army would use ;) Somebody shows up at my house wanting trouble and they'll find it.
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