In The News Today...

Quote: Face

On a somewhat related note, I pulled a gun on the cops last week. I'm not sure I've ever had a more severe adrenaline dump than that, and that is saying a lot.

NO WAY you get to just say this and withhold the story! PM us if necessary with some details!

Quote: odiousgambit

NO WAY you get to just say this and withhold the story! PM us if necessary with some details!

Lol =)

Last week was "bike week" in town. Not that I worry all that much; I just don't go downtown after 12a because it's a guaranteed fight. But between that, what happened a year or so ago with dude busting in my house, and having my kid asleep in the next room, I suppose I was perhaps "in the yellow".

Being an antisocial hermit, I never get any visitors. So the few I do, I know it immediately. Pops is two raps with loose knuckles and walks in. Mama is three raps with a fist and waits. Jonny L is two taps on the glass with a stiff finger. And those three are the only ones, ever, who will knock on the proper door, and do so unannounced. Every single other person is a stranger or neighbor, and they use the wrong door, and do so before 5p.

I was killing the night with some Civ V when I heard 6 or 7 quick raps at the door. That's a definite stranger. I alt-tab out of game and see it's ten after eleven at night. WTF.

I snap kill the lights, snatch my Glock, and flood the outside with lights. I'm sort of peering outside from my hidey hole and don't see any people, don't see any cars. I'm looking on the porch as I thought it was the wrong door, then... 6 more quick raps at the right door. They're in my garage. W.T.F.

So I sort of creep through the kitchen with my Glock at my hip, hidden, and I see a light shine in. The curtain was just barely slit, so most of the light reflected back in his own face. Guy, 40, white, shaved head. WTF! Ain't nobody I know, but he hasn't seen me yet. I finally get to the door, toss the garage light on and peek out - Troopers hat. SONOFABITCH!

I almost pissed myself. I snap stashed the gun and opened the door, and was met by two troopers and a sheriff peering around my garage. Apparently there was a 911 call from the lady next door, though they were being really weird about it. My neighborhood is old, both in age and time spent in the neighborhood. I've known a majority of my neighbors for 30 years. They asked if I knew them, and I said sure. Asked if I knew anything about them. Of course I did. They're older, Bob's retired and fishes a lot. I talk to him often. Mary still works at the credit union. I see them everyday, blah, blah, blah. But they just kept saying they got a 911 call and they still kept looking all around my house. Porch, garage, garden, whatever. All of my questions - what happened, are you looking for her, where'd the call come from - all got ignored. They eventually thanked me and apologized for the late night interruption and left.

I came down with acute Parkinson's. I could barely light my smoke I was shaking so bad. Like, I had a gun, skulking toward them in the dark, with them "looking" right at me. Took me a good hour to come down from that dump.

Quote: Face

I came down with acute Parkinson's. I could barely light my smoke I was shaking so bad. Like, I had a gun, skulking toward them in the dark, with them "looking" right at me. Took me a good hour to come down from that dump.

Damnit, I had a great story about a skunk (the animal) that raised its tail and hissed at me last night. I've never had a skunk threaten me, my adrenaline was pumping. I live in an urban area where skunks are rare, which made the encounter all the more unnerving.

But along comes Face one-upping me with a far more exciting story. Dammit.

Quote: reno

But along comes Face one-upping me with a far more exciting story. Dammit.

Face keeps one-upping all of us LOL

Face, I think you said - and I agreed I had done it at too - that you have kicked yourself for answering the door when you knew damn well it was a stranger, and just threw caution to the winds, answering the door unarmed and sure enough it is some weirdo [or worse I think once in your case].

This time you actually did it the right way. And as soon as it's identified to be some non-weirdo, you handled the gun in a non-threatening way. They would have had no cause to object to your caution. I assume you would not have fired without identifying the target - people have shot the paperboy that way you know - so a showdown with you and them and guns drawn seems unlikely. They did knock and wait at the door, not just make noise for you to investigate all hyped up.

What do you suppose the neighbor thought she saw? She still works, so sounds to me unlikely she is just losing it. If the cops were told something, like somebody they saw was on your property, or wound up there, that didn't look like they belonged, that would worry me.

I doubt the cops had any concern about the neighbor; it was entirely a ruse for looking over Face and his property, probably no 911 call at all. 911 calls are public records. Check in the local paper to see if one was even made at that time.

Quote: Fleastiff

I doubt the cops had any concern about the neighbor; it was entirely a ruse for looking over Face and his property, probably no 911 call at all. 911 calls are public records. Check in the local paper to see if one was even made at that time.

Then I would do that, yes.

If the cops are suspicious about activities, somebody is making them suspicious. Trusting that this is not Face himself ... worrisome.

About the "shooting scared", hell no. Im neither paranoid or frightened enough to just start shooting through doors at unknown targets, plus I'm way too educated to ever do something so foolish. That's not to say I'm not paranoid enough to worry about projectiles from outside, but I handle that in other ways. House layout, for example.

On the 911, I don't suspect anything silly. One of the cars was in "my yard", but the other was at the end of their driveway and another pulled up to their house. And I'm a good neighbor. My home may be a bit sloppy because I'm only one person (the tree I pulled is laying in my yard still, for instance), but I do try. When my mower blows grass in their driveway, I sweep their driveway. I talk to Bob every time I see him, he comes over to see what project I'm working on now and again. I'm not loud (except for race car tuning, always mid day), have no parties, have no visitors, wave and say hi to all of them for the last 30 years.

IF someone was called on me specifically, it wasn't my neighbors. If it was an enemy... so what? Ive nothing to fear from 5-0. I've two stolen mile marker signs I knicked in '98 and a boat with expired tags lol. Go ahead and call the cops =p

There a was story on a man elephant hunting, and the man got trampled and killed before he could kill the elephant. They called it tragic.

I don't think it's tragic if you're killed by an animal you are trying to hunt and kill. Even if you plan to eat it.

Agree or disagree?

No I'm not a PETA person, just seems logical, in such a circumstance. Someone goes to kill something and gets killed instead. Although things didn't go as planned I don't know if you can consider one result more tragic than the other.

Quote: rxwine

There a was story on a man elephant hunting, and the man got trampled and killed before he could kill the elephant. They called it tragic.

I don't think it's tragic if you're killed by an animal you are trying to hunt and kill. Even if you plan to eat it.

Agree or disagree?

Mostly agree, although maybe from a different direction. We have a tendency to call any unexpected death "tragic." You do not mention why he was elephant hunting in the first place. If merely to get the ivory then I would say I'm glad he is dead. No reason to kill an elephant just for the tusks an let the rest rot, that is a total waste. If he was a tribesman of some kind hunting for food I would more say, "that's a shame" as that kind of thing probably happens all the time.

"Tragic" would be along the lines of if he was out for some unrelated reason and got caught in an elephant stampede.

Quote: rxwine

I don't think it's tragic if you're killed by an animal you are trying to hunt and kill. Even if you plan to eat it.

The hunter's butt was fair play, the tragedy being real for the man's family though. And I say this as a hunter.

Quote: AZDuffman

If merely to get the ivory then I would say I'm glad he is dead.

Excellent chances this was a poacher. Not too much elephant hunting going on anymore by sportsmen.

Killing elephants legally due to crop depredation issues is a third possibility, as goes on with deer in this country.