Reply #44: Unfortunately I have to admit you have a point... [View All]

[spin]

A story from my past..

My wife and I were in the process of moving from Ohio to Florida. Our first stop in Florida was at my mom and step dad's house. We planned to stay there temporarily until I found a job and place to live.

We arrived in the afternoon and unloaded some stuff in his garage. In the process of settling in, my wife's house cat Snowflake, decided to explore the neighborhood and disappeared. My wife was extremely upset as that cat was like a child to her.

That night at one or two o'clock she woke me up saying she heard the cat outside. We both went outside the house without waking up my parents, found the cat, and put him back inside. She sat outside on the porch with me and we talked for a few minutes while I enjoyed a cigarette.

Meanwhile, my step dad woke up and heard us outside. He had had some fishing equipment stolen from his truck the week before, so he suspected prowlers. He grabbed his .22 magnum revolver and headed for the door. On the way he glanced at the bedroom my wife and I had been sleeping in. Seeing no light on in the room, he assumed we were asleep.

He reached to door just as I was opening it. He cocked the revolver, pointed it at my stomach and said "Freeze".

I raised my hands and calmly said, "It's only me dad". The situation ended...fortunately without any loud noises.

I remember visiting my parents house a couple of months after we had moved out. I asked my mom to show me the gun my step dad had pointed at me. When she did, I told her, "That can't be the same gun. It was much bigger!" A gun that's pointed at you always looks enormous.

******

So, the bottom line is that when you hear noises in the night, you have to be real careful before you start pulling the trigger. You definitely don't want to shoot an innocent person.

Yes, this does put you at a disadvantage. If a bad guy is in your house, he knows who he is and who you are and he knows why he is in your house. Unless he's totally incompetent at his profession, he also knows the house is occupied. If he hears you coming, he might find cover and open fire when you walk into the room he's in.

Many self defense experts say that the best plan is to stay in your bedroom. Call 911 on your cell hone (your telephone lines might have been cut). Get your weapon and hide behind cover waiting for him to make entry into your bedroom. Now you have the advantage. You have enough time to determine who he is, you're a difficult target to hit and you have him in your sights.

Of course, you probably will feel foolish hiding behind your bed for fifteen minutes just because the dog tipped over the garbage can.

You just have to remember that when you decide to play cops and robbers and start doing a room to room search, you're taking a hell of a chance.