Disruptions (zaibatsu.circumlunar.space), 03/09/2020
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Woke up around 2am this morning to some shouting in the back yard and
a flashlight at my window. Found that my gun safe is a little hard to
use blind/in the dark, when half asleep (mental note: do something
about that.) It worked, but I should have been able to open it twice
as fast.
(Note: I'm not a gun nut, but I do *like* guns. I think they're
fascinating and beautiful. This post isn't meant to be political, it's
just a story of what happened to me last night. If guns stress you
out, maybe skip this post.)
After cooling off and assessing the situation, I realized that the
flashlight was the local police, and that they were apparently looking
for someone near the creek in the back of my place (they were on the
other side of the creek and up the hill, near a home there.) A
minute or two later, they packed up and started driving around the
neighborhood, shining their search light between the houses.
I went to the front of the house to have a look. Moments after the
police passed, I saw a shirtless man running through an empty field
across the street. It's not summer, and it wasn't daytime, so this was
certainly odd. I went ahead and dialed 911, and let them know what I
had seen (including the fact that there were police obviously
searching for someone.) In record time, the police car had circled
back, and I was able to point out to them where I had seen the fellow.
They went about searching some more, and I didn't hear anything else
(I have a friend who works for the Sheriff's office, so I'll probably
ask him about it next time I see him.) Kept the gun out by the bed,
and tried to go back to sleep, but that was tough; too many instincts
at play, I guess.
Of course, this was the second disruption last night. The first was
when my 11yo son couldn't sleep, so he crawled into our bed until he
could calm down. He didn't really have any reason he could point to. I
blame daylight savings time (another disruption at play.) For whatever
reason, last night wasn't destined to be a great night for getting
sleep.
Thankfully, I took a long, unneeded nap on Sunday. Take that, all you
disruptions!
***
A couple thoughts from this:
1. We live on a quiet street. My LEO friend even told me as much. But,
no place is immune from the problems of humanity, I think. My guess is
that the fellow with no shirt, out in the cold at night, was either on
meth (I've been told they don't react to extreme temps as much), or
was part of a domestic disturbance. The police response was minimal
(two officers, one vehicle, no sirens/lights,) so I'm thinking he was
a known offender. He probably fled arrest, and was not thought to be
armed. I'm guessing, based on what I saw. Perhaps he was on meth and
involved in a domestic dispute, who knows. Perhaps something else was
going on entirely. But regardless of what was/wasn't going on, it made
me think twice about my peaceful, quiet back yard. Living in the city
limits has its disadvantages.
2. I'd never want to have to shoot someone. I already knew this, but
standing by my back porch window in the dark, holding a gun and
anticipating an unwanted visitor who is possibly high, made me think
about it more. I'd do it, because I love my family more than I love my
sanity or even my own life, but I would never want to do it. And I
know I'd never be the same person.
Some people might think that in this situation, the gun was a force
for evil. I'm not sure how, but I'm sure some might think it. In my
mind there were 4 potential guns in play: the ones on the officers,
the one in my hand, and maybe one for the suspect (though, there would
probably have been more police response if that were a viable risk.)
If we could magically eliminate all of the guns, perhaps we'd have a
workable solution- except then the police would have batons, the
criminal might have a knife, and I'd have something in my hands as
well, anticipating the threat. The evil quotient would remain the same
(if any were present) in both scenarios. The weapon choice, or even
lack of weapon, doesn't change that. My desire to protect my loved
ones wouldn't change, and I'd use any means available to do it.
Nothing would change, really, except the speed and efficacy, for all
parties.
Gopher doesn't need my politics, and I don't mean to involve them at
all, but it's food for thought for me, at least.
3. Another gun thought, because I enjoy guns (sorry again, if that
doesn't work for you, but you were warned!) Handling a firearm safely
in the dark really requires quite a bit of safe handling in the
daylight. Practice makes perfect. I'm happy to report that while my
bedside gun safe isn't something I've practiced with enough in the
dark, everything about my gun itself was familiar enough that I didn't
need to see it at all. That is a comforting thought, because the last
thing I want is to make a situation worse for my family by introducing
variables that I'm not reasonably able to control.
