Of Halos and Horns ...

[Halo_n_horns]

A couple of months back, at one of my son's Little League games, a man was dealing drugs to one of the dads at the bleachers next to the field where my son and his team were playing a game.

My mother saw it happen and came over to point it out to me. She had been with the local Sheriff's Dept. for the better of two decades and was quite certain about what she saw. I reported it to my head coach, and in turn he immediately reported it to the Little League officials who were present. The police were called and the men in question were watched closely, but not approached.

The man who was dealing the drugs got wise to the situation and decided to get out of there before the cops arrived. He was leaving the sports complex about the same time my son and I were getting into my truck. Unfortunately, because the cops had not yet arrived, there was no one with enough authority to keep the man against his will until the police arrived.

They all thought he was just going to get away.

When my son and I got into the truck, the man in question was running down the street, towards some other kids. No one was pursuing him and the cops had still not yet arrived.

As I pulled to the edge of the property I found myself perplexed by the situation. It was a school night for my son and I was going to turn right and just go home. To my left was the man who had dealt drugs within ten or fifteen feet of where my son, and a bunch of other children, were playing an innocent game of baseball. He was just about to drop out of my field of vision when I made the decision to follow him and see if there was a way to make sure that the police wouldn't let this guy get away. I told my son that a bad man did some bad things at his baseball park and that he needed to be stopped. He agreed.

To make a longer story a bit shorter; with a couple of long 911 phone calls from my cell phone, and about 45 minutes of pursuit on my part that even ended up out in the desert behind the valley we live in, the cops caught the guy and took him to jail.

To this day, unless my mother has gabbed about it, no one from the park that day knows anything of this other than my mother, my wife who was home cooking dinner at the time, my son and the perpetrators of the act. I like it that way. I didn't do what I did to be made out as some kind of hero. And besides, there were moments during the pursuit when I was probably putting our safety at risk.

The actual point of this thread is a question of when others have had moments or decisions where one choice would mean detriment and another choice would mean a more positive outcome despite the risks involved.

I had a thread similar to this sometime back, but it died on the vine. Hopefully this one will survive a bit longer.

Take care, all.

 

[SeaCat]

Halo,

Good for you on this act. Too many people just don't want to get involved. I myself have been involved in a couple of instances where I could have backed out with the ready reason that it was none of my bussiness. The first was a situation where I could hear screams coming from an apartment near ours. I called the police. Turned out the man was beating the crap out of his wife because she had caught him cheating on her and was packing to leave. He is now serving time.

The second was a purse snatching. The person who grabbed the purse didn't like being stopped and held but was still there when the police showed up. During the interview with the local finest I was asked why I stepped into a potentialy dangerous situation. (I was asked this while the doc.'s were playing sewing circle on me.) My response which seemed to baffle the local P.D. was that I thought it was my duty. Enough said.

Cat

 

[Halo_n_horns]

My response which seemed to baffle the local P.D. was that I thought it was my duty. Enough said.

Cat

On both counts, nice work.

 

[R. Richard]

Halo n Horns:
Outstanding work! Yes, you took something of a chance. You are still taking something of a chance, as the guy may try to get you or your son after he gets out.

However, think about it. Kids are trained to respond to adult supervision. This guy is in the role of an adult in and around a baseball facility where kids are normally under adult spervision. Plus, he is trying to peddle forbidden stuff and that sort of thing always excites kids.

You just may have saved one or more kids from a life of hell.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I've stopped to help people with car trouble or when someone got hurt, but I don;t fuck with victimless crimes. The only time I'd get involved is if I thought someone was in immanent danger or someone asked me for help. Otherwise I keep my nose out of it, and that's the way I wish the world would treat me too.

But maybe I misunderstand. Did you have reason to think that this guy was selling dope to little leaguers? If it's between two adults, then what business is it of yours?

 

[Halo_n_horns]

I've stopped to help people with car trouble or when someone got hurt, but I don;t fuck with victimless crimes. The only time I'd get involved is if I thought someone was in immanent danger or someone asked me for help. Otherwise I keep my nose out of it, and that's the way I wish the world would treat me too.

But maybe I misunderstand. Did you have reason to think that this guy was selling dope to little leaguers? If it's between two adults, then what business is it of yours?

The buyer's son was on my son's team. That more than denotes that there could be other problems within that "family unit" and action would have to be taken sooner or later.

There's no such thing as a "victimless crime." If there were, then it wouldn't be called a "crime" at all.

 

[Seattle Zack]

yeah, I'm a little confused too.

What drugs was this nefarious guy peddling?

Was he dropping off a bag of weed to a pal, or was he aggressively injecting steroids into the lithe buttocks of promising Little Leaguers?

So you chased him for nearly an hour and they found what, a portable meth lab in his pickup bed?

What business is it of yours?

 

[minsue]

There's no such thing as a "victimless crime." If there were, then it wouldn't be called a "crime" at all.

Without getting into whether or not drug use or dealing is a victimless crime, I've got to disagree with that particular statement. Until recently, premarital sex was a crime here, as was oral and anal sex. Who was the victim in those crimes? And are they no longer a victim now that the law has been repealed?

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I feel like I should qualify my answer and maybe try to explain why I don't see your actions as being that commendable.

First of all, I would guess that my attitude about drugs is totally diferent from yours. I'm very much against the current zero tolerance hysteria and the bullshit we teach our kids about them, which does more harm than good because we lie. In my opinion, the main problem with drugs is that they're illegal. You can agree or disagree, but I just want you to know where I'm coming from.

Secondly, while I've always been a law-abiding cxitizen (aside from the dope), most of my run-ins with the cops haven't been enjoyable. The law can fuck you around royally, and if there's anyway to avoid dealing with lawyers and cops, I'm all for the alternative. I appreciate cops, but I just don't trust them and I'm never comfortable around them. I guess that means I don't like them. They're rarely my go-to guys in times of trouble.

A freind of mine was once waiting for a bus (this was back when long hair made you an immediatel suspect) when an old man nearby collapsed and pissed in his pants. My friend grabbed the old guy and held him off the ground while someone called for help, and when the police came they arrested my friend for mugging the old man. They took him to the station, booked him, and pushed him around plenty too. If one of the ladies at the bus stop hadn't come forward, God knows what would have happened to my friend. (The old man died. He'd had a heart attack or stroke or something.) Just an example of how good intentions can have terrible consequences when the police are involved, and how you can totally misread a situation.

Third, there's something about this that reminds me of snitching. Following this guy around and calling the cops on your cell kind of creeps me out. I just hate to think of people driving around with their cells looking for other people to turn in, a kind of busybody army. ALl done in the name of public safety, of course.

I mean, if you have a problem with what he's doing and you're not in immanent danger, a simple, "Hey buddy! Not cool!" can work wonders. If you really think he's peddling dope to kids, then forming a posse and kicking the crap out of him might be a more efficacious way of driving home your opinion that his behavior is inappropriate. (Why didn't anyone confront this guy?)

Anyhow, I've helped people out too. I'm sure we all have. I never put my ass on the line like Cat did with a purse snatcher because it never came up, but the idea of calling the cops on someone invoved in a victimless crime, I think that's something that would keep me awake nights, wondering if I'd done the right thing.

 

[Lord DragonsWing]

Halo,

I commend you and applaud your actions. Even though you stretched the danger to you and your son. You should be commended.

Doc, you're arguements are well founded but I have to disagree.

Is this actually a victimless crime? The perp bought the smoke or whatever, the dealer sold it. No one was hurt. But who grew it? Who processed it? If it was pot, were there booby traps set out for roaming rangers? If it was coke, was it smuggled into the U.S. from some South American country where people are killed everyday because of drugs?

I smoked my share in my days, and I tooted as much as you did I'm sure. But with all drugs there are victims. If not the user and dealer, then somewhere along the supply chain there is a victim. We just ignored it in our days.

I don't consider someone picking up a phone and calling law enforcement for a crime such as this a snitch. A snitch is someone who tells on a friend that got drunk at the ballgame and screwed up. Or who gave you the answers to a test then got caught himself and told on everyone else. What Halo did is very commendable. She stopped a crime. With all crimes there are victims as I mentioned earlier. I don't have children, but if I did and Halo was in the ballpark and reported what she saw. I wouldn't consider her a snitch. Hell, I'd probably buy her a beer to thank her for the dealer not showing up next time.

The one thing that does amaze me is the cops taking so long to show up. Halo put herself and her child at risk following and making phone calls. Why did it take 45 mins for law enforcement to come to the scene? I know they stay busy,but his was ridiculous. I'm a nurse as many of you know, and I work with cops closely in emergency situations at times. I've seen them cry when a child is killed. I've seen them ready to beat a wife abuser. To class all law enforcement personnel into a general cateogory is naive. And you're better than that Doc. Back in the late 70's when I did smoke, I got busted by the hard core assholes that put me in a cell for a dime. Then I got busted by the understanding cops that dumped it on the ground and said go home give me your papers.

Each cop is different, overall, I feel they're doing an excellent job.


Keep up the good work Halo. You have my huggggggggggggggsssssssssssssss

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Halo,

I commend you and applaud your actions. Even though you stretched the danger to you and your son. You should be commended.

Doc, you're arguements are well founded but I have to disagree.

Is this actually a victimless crime? The perp bought the smoke or whatever, the dealer sold it. No one was hurt. But who grew it? Who processed it? If it was pot, were there booby traps set out for roaming rangers? If it was coke, was it smuggled into the U.S. from some South American country where people are killed everyday because of drugs?

I smoked my share in my days, and I tooted as much as you did I'm sure. But with all drugs there are victims. If not the user and dealer, then somewhere along the supply chain there is a victim. We just ignored it in our days.

I

With all due respect, in all these cases it's not the drugs that create the trouble but the law. If the drugs weren't illegal, than none of these people wouldbe victims. When you make something illegal, you create criminals.

I'm not saying that drugs aren't dangerous. They are, in and of themselves. But if pot weren't illegal, then there' be no rangers roaming around in the woods with guns, no growers with guns, and no cartels (Well, there would be cartels, but they'd be legit businessmen.)

It's just like prohibition. It's hard to believe that people used be killed, jailed, and have their lives ruined over drinking beer. Now It's the same thing for pot. Everytime I think of it, it just astonishes me that we put people in jail for smoking a weed. What the hell is wrong with us?

 

[jfinn]

The actual point of this thread is a question of when others have had moments or decisions where one choice would mean detriment and another choice would mean a more positive outcome despite the risks involved.

I used to live in a very tiny village that was located on a bad curve on a country road that joined to larger towns. We used to have accidents there all the time especially on weekend nights when drunks would fail to slow down and would either land in someone's yard or hit a grove of trees that grew across the street from where I lived.

One night a car had hit a giant oak tree. By the time I got there flames were already coming out from the engine. There were two men in the car and even from across the street I could see they were beating at the doors to get out. Two of my neighbors, a seventeen year old boy and a young father, showed up then. Together we all met at the car and tried all the doors, but they were stuck. By this time the flames were ten feet high. One of the men inside was begging us to get him out.

One of my neighbors yelled at me to go find something to break open the windows. I knew I had nothing at my house so I ran down the street screaming for someone to give me an ax or something. I saw a man I knew watching from his window. When I caught his eye he closed the drapes. I finally found a big rock I hoped would work, but I'd be lying if I didn't admit that for a minute there I seriously wanted to just keep on running to get as far away from there as I could possibly get. I was terrified that car would blow up and take all of us with it. It didn't help that another neighbor, an older widow, was on her porch shreiking to get back and leave the car or we were all going to die.

I went back to the car even though I was so scared I wasn't sure I could walk. It wasn't because of some hero to the rescue thing. It wasn't even for the two men I knew and liked were now risking their lives for some drunken strangers. It was simply because I couldn't stand the thought of smelling burned flesh.

We ended up not needing the rock. The teenager had somehow managed to get his fingers around the top of the passenger side window and literally ripped it out. He and the dad were just pulling out the passenger as I got back together we moved him off to safe distance. I stayed with him while they went back for the driver.

I thought that would be the end of it, but the driver was stuck. My friends called me back. Again I wanted to say forget it. By this time the tree was on fire and flames were licking up under the dashboard in the inside of the car. There were ominous popping sounds too.

But I watched as my older neighbor crawled into that car to try to get the guy unhooked from his seat belt and I couldn't not help him. I went back and eventually the three of us managed to untangle the driver (an ungrateful lout who swore at us because we were hurting him and refused to help at all until my neighbor told him that if he didn't quit bitching and push he was going to die) and get him out. His pants were on fire.

There was one more bad moment when the passenger from the car who was drifting in and out looked up at me and asked how his friend was. I said fine, he was right beside him. He looked and then shook his head. No, he said, I meant the other one.

I looked at my neighbors and once again the older one ran back to the car and crawled in to see if there had been someone thrown onto the floor in the back seat. There wasn't thank god and he got clear just as the stuffing under the upholstry ignited with a giant whoosh.

Eventually the fire department and paramedics made it to the scene. The car was already just a skeleton, but they managed to save the empty house that had caught on fire and the rest of the village as well. Some girls in a car stopped shortly after we'd gotten the first guy out and helped take care of him and later the other guy. When the sheriff got there they tried to tell him that they'd rescued the guys, but I heard them and put an end to that. I hadn't really been all that much help myself, but there was no way I was going to let those girls take the credit for the incredible heroism my neighbors had shown.

As for them, they both disappeared after the rescue teams showed up. The dad came back a little later holding his five year old boy and dragging his thirteen year old daughter. He said he wanted them to see what happened to people who drank and drove. I found out later the teenager just went home took a shower and went to bed. He said he didn't think it was any big deal what he'd done. He seemed genuinely surprised when later that year he and my other neighbor received commendations from the county for bravery.

The men in the car were both critically hurt, but eventually both recovered. A few days later the Sheriff stopped by to tell me that it wasn't really an accident. The driver's girlfriend had broken up with him a week before because she was dating someone else. It was the guy who lived in the house behind the tree they'd hit. Apparently this idiot had decided to kill himself by driving his car into his rival's home--who was working at the time. The passenger was just some young Coastie who'd caged a ride back to quarters when the friend he'd come with got lucky.

That pissed me off and while I was glad that we'd gotten that poor sailor out, I felt a little foolish for acting so foolhardy for a guy who wanted to die and get his revenge while he was about it. That changed though. A few days after the Sheriff's visit an older couple stopped by. They were nervous when the introduced themselves as the parents of the suicidal driver, but I tried to be polite until the mother interrupted me. She said she knew her son had done a terrible thing and that by doing it he'd put us all at risk. She said she knew he needed help and promised that he was going to get it. Then she said they just wanted to stop and let me know that what we'd done hadn't been a waste. Their son had been given a second chance and they were so grateful to me and my two neighbors for giving that to him and to them. I felt better after that.

There were twenty-five adults in that village. Three were away from home that night. Three of us went to help, one watched, the rest hid behind their drapes.

I look back on all this and wonder if anything like that happened again if I'd have the courage to do it all over. If I had time to think about it I'm sure the answer would be no, but that's the thing isn't it? You don't have time to think just to react. That's when your training and your values kick in. Those are things you learn in childhood from the people around you. If they got involved you get involved.

My father was one of those people. I saw him rescue a young woman from an attack when I was about eight. Her screams woke us up and I stood terrified at the top of the stairs as he charged out of the house in his pajamas, carrying a baseball bat. I remember later being in the kitchen watching as the girl cried while my mother put ice to her blackening eye as we all waited for the police. None of our neighbors even turned on their lights. My mother said she thought that was terrible, but my dad said it didn't matter. He wasn't concerned with what they could live with, only what he could and he couldn't look at himself in the mirror if he hadn't done something to help someone in danger. I guess that was one lesson he taught me that really sunk in.

Dr M and I come from the same generation and like him I sometimes think we go overboard on drug issues and I also have a deeply suspicious nature when it comes to the police. Like him I think a lot could be avoided if pot were legalized, but the reality is that he and I don't have a clue what these two were bartering for and while I might feel pot is maligned, I draw the line at coke, mesc et al. (And come on Mabs, dealing drugs at a little league game? You can't honestly tell me you think that's okay under any circumstances.)

So while what you did may seem in retrospect to be foolhardy, there no doubt was an element of danger in it for both you and your son, it also seems right to me. Yes there was risk, but we live in a perilous world and there are always risks. Maybe what you did made your corner of it a little safer for your family and others. I'm sure you taught your son the lesson that getting involved can be a positive thing.

Jayne

 

[rgraham666]

Many years ago, I woke up early one morning to a woman's screams. Looked outside, there's some testosterone addled asshole beating the crap out of a woman.

I call the police, pull on some pants, grab my sai and head outside. The police show up then and arrest the bastard. Lucky for him, they were much kinder than I would have been.

About a year later I'm walking through a park. A couple of bullies about 15 have a kid about 10 trapped on the outside of a bridge over a creek. They're doing the 'one finger at a time' routine. I walk up behind them and clear my throat. The expressions on their faces made it clear to me what the expression on my face was. I hate bullies and think they look best with an extra mouth under the one they have now.

That's it. I don't like getting involved, scares the living shit out of me. As most things do. But as SeaCat put it, it's my duty.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

Dr M and I come from the same generation and like him I sometimes think we go overboard on drug issues and I also have a deeply suspicious nature when it comes to the police. Like him I think a lot could be avoided if pot were legalized, but the reality is that he and I don't have a clue what these two were bartering for and while I might feel pot is maligned, I draw the line at coke, mesc et al. (And come on Mabs, dealing drugs at a little league game? You can't honestly tell me you think that's okay under any circumstances.)

So while what you did may seem in retrospect to be foolhardy, there no doubt was an element of danger in it for both you and your son, it also seems right to me. Yes there was risk, but we live in a perilous world and there are always risks. Maybe what you did made your corner of it a little safer for your family and others. I'm sure you taught your son the lesson that getting involved can be a positive thing.

Jayne

I would think that if this guy were openly dealing crack or meth to any or all comers at a little league game, some parents would have taken the law into their own hands. I don't know the cicumstances, but it sounds more to me like it was one dad selling something to another dad, which is why no one else got incensed. (Although Zack's idea about selling anabolic steroids at a LL game doesn't seem so far fetched, given how insanely competitive it's become.)

That was a great story, Jayne, and rang very true. The times I've been most heroic have rarely been fueled by conscious bravery or noble purpose. More usually it's inverted cowardice or anger or fear of humiliation.

A friend (in fact the same guy who was accused of mugging that old guy. A lot of stuff used to happen to this guy) once had to help deliver a baby on a campin trip in the woods, and he freely admitted that the only thing that kept him there was the shame he'd face if he ran away.

It's pretty well known that what motivates soldiers in battle isn't courage so much as it is the fear of letting their buddies down. Selfless courage is rare
(and maybe even silly) but our urge to be loved is terribly strong.

 

[Virtual_Burlesque]

I’m with Doc on one point, at least. If there is no fear of imminent danger, don’t poke your nose in.

In the case of a burning wreck, a pack of bullies endangering their victim, or some messed up creep wailing on another, that needs stopping. In the case of a purse snatch, or a robbery, let the criminal go — at least far enough to be out of the range of bystanders.

A girl in my high school – she was two years older, and I didn’t really know her – earned a bit of coin working several evenings in a variety store. One night some hood tried to hold her up with a gun. She had just opened the till when another customer decided to be a hero.

His karate move was a bust and he wound up getting badly pistol-whipped, but in their scuffle, a shot was fired. It hit the girl making minimum wage, severing her spine. As a result, she will spend the rest of her life in a wheel chair.

The hero got a concussion, the cops picked the guy up three days later, after a tip was called in following the local television station’s airing of the store’s surveillance video.

I have no authoritative source for this, but the word around the school was that she had no insurance to pay for her hospitalization, and when they started a fund, her boss – the variety store owner – refused to contribute.


When someone is holdiong you or anyone else up with a gun or knife, let them. It's probably cheaper in the long run.

 

[Black Tulip]

All this reminds me of what happened to my 19-year old son a few months ago.

Coming back from a night on the town with a couple of friends, they spotted a guy who was apparently very drunk. He was having a ball by beating up his girlfriend. Smart guys as they were, they called the cops before trying to stop the man.

The police was quick to respond and the guy was taken into custody to sober up. The cops who were on the scene first did a tour around the block and when my son and his friends continued on their way home, they got tickets for riding their bikes without a light.

As for selling drugs, I know the official US point of view makes the Dutch out for degenerate and irresponsible because you can buy soft drugs legally. It is a fact however that the percentage of users amongst teenagers in the Netherlands is the lowest in the world. Maybe there's some truth about forbidden fruits tasting best?

My colleagues and I did inform the police about our strong suspicion some of our pupils are dealing and trafficking near the school. It's only legal in coffee shops and only with regard to soft drugs, and we felt they were a danger to the rest of the pupils because this kind of thing attracts a lot of other, more criminal activities.
We decided we preferred being snitches to being guilty of neglect.

 

[Halo_n_horns]

It's pretty interesting to see what this thread degenerated into while I was away. The thought of people condoning someone dealing drugs at a Little League game is pretty disheartening.

My stand is simple; All drugs should be legal. But that won't make them right.

Having said that; These things are a personal choice. Therefore they should be kept in the privacy of one's home. Even then they shouldn't be exposed to children in any way, correct?

This putz and his buyer were dealing at a Little League park while kids were present and they didn't seem to care. So since this is perfectly okay by a few of you guys, then I'm guessing that people bringing their marital aids, and what have you, to Little League games, and brazenly handing them around to the folks in the bleachers, during game play, would be just peachy also?

Hell! Let's just sell beer at the snack bar during these events that involve children. That way we can really give the kids a proper dose of reality and let them see daddy and Uncle Joe plastered out of their gords and causing a scene because an Ump made a bad call. According to your mentalities, because no one is actually being vicimized, I'm guessing that this would be perfectly acceptable also?

It's interesting to see whose minds are ran by the substances they claim to be so harmless, and whose minds still hold at least some semblance of common sense and logic.

Despite my belief that all drugs should be legal, I've never done or even tried anything beyond alcohol. After reading some of the crap spewed forth in this thread, I'm glad I made the choices I did. I wouldn't want to find myself as part of a group who belives that dealing drugs at Little League events is perfectly okay.

 

[minsue]

Wow. I really didn't want to get involved in this sort of argument, especially not on this particular thread since that wasn't the original intent, but seeing as I've already given my opinion on the concept of "victimless crimes" (which you didn't answer, btw ) I suppose I've already lost that battle.

"It's interesting to see whose minds are ran by the substances they claim to be so harmless..."

That's an amazingly close-minded and insulting assumption to make about someone just because they disagree with you, H. It surprises me to see it.

 

[dr_mabeuse]

I
It's interesting to see whose minds are ran by the substances they claim to be so harmless, and whose minds still hold at least some semblance of common sense and logic.

Hey, I think my mind rans pretty good.

 

[Halo_n_horns]

Hey, I think my mind rans pretty good.

In the end, it's our own opinions of ourselves that matter. Cuz that's the only opinion that we have any real control over.

Minsue, I see why you would think that of me. I can't apologize for that opinion. I've been around drug users and drug abusers pretty much my whole life. I've had drug users and reforming drug addicts give me that opinion prior to making it my own as well.

I guess now that this thread has completely left its original intent, it should probably be left to die...

*Taps playes in the background*

 

[Chimney Sweep]

Thread revival attempt...

Back on topic...both of them, actually....

My wife and I weer waiting outside a restaurant for friends to arrive. We sat in the car with the AC on since it was warm out and just sat there and chatted for a while, backed into a parking space so that a very large parking lot was visible to us.

A car comes to a stop on the far side of the parking lot, obviously not in a "parking spot." I thought nothing of it until another car comes up next to it and a guy gets out, gesticulating wildly. He put his right foor through the window of the first car, shatering the glass. I did not hesitate to put the car in gear and race over there. My wife was on 911 before I stopped.

I stopped the car and got out but didn't close the door. I stood behind the door and basically just mad emy presence known while the guy ranted and raved, complaingin about how she (the girl in the first car) did hom wrong in some way. He came near me a few times but never attacked, and he did not attack her again, but he scared me a few times. I was ready to get physical with him if necessary - we was in far better shape but I outweighed him by a fair amount. I couldn't race him but I could throw him down and pin him pretty well.

A few other people came around and sort of coralled him, but he was on his pwn little planet of hysteria. When the cops arrived he quickly complied to get on the ground and was cuffed without incident. The only injury on the scene was a small cut on his leg. Once he was secured the woman got out of her car. she had been beaten. Black eye, bloody lip, bruises, etc. That had all happened earlier and she was trying to get away from him. (Husband and wife, by the way.)

Why was he beating her? She told the cops he was high on coke.

I've met the victim of your "victimless crime."

Halo, you rock.

Doc, um...trying to think of something constructive to say...OK, how about a public service announcement. Deal drugs at MY kid's little league game at your risk. I might just take you up on your suggestion to take the law into my own hands.

 

[Halo_n_horns]

Back on topic...both of them, actually....

My wife and I weer waiting outside a restaurant for friends to arrive. We sat in the car with the AC on since it was warm out and just sat there and chatted for a while, backed into a parking space so that a very large parking lot was visible to us.

A car comes to a stop on the far side of the parking lot, obviously not in a "parking spot." I thought nothing of it until another car comes up next to it and a guy gets out, gesticulating wildly. He put his right foor through the window of the first car, shatering the glass. I did not hesitate to put the car in gear and race over there. My wife was on 911 before I stopped.

I stopped the car and got out but didn't close the door. I stood behind the door and basically just mad emy presence known while the guy ranted and raved, complaingin about how she (the girl in the first car) did hom wrong in some way. He came near me a few times but never attacked, and he did not attack her again, but he scared me a few times. I was ready to get physical with him if necessary - we was in far better shape but I outweighed him by a fair amount. I couldn't race him but I could throw him down and pin him pretty well.

A few other people came around and sort of coralled him, but he was on his pwn little planet of hysteria. When the cops arrived he quickly complied to get on the ground and was cuffed without incident. The only injury on the scene was a small cut on his leg. Once he was secured the woman got out of her car. she had been beaten. Black eye, bloody lip, bruises, etc. That had all happened earlier and she was trying to get away from him. (Husband and wife, by the way.)

Why was he beating her? She told the cops he was high on coke.

Nice job!

This reminds me of a joke.

This guy goes to jail and his cellmate is this big guy that outweighs him by at least 200lbs. The really big guy asks the newbie, "You gotta choice of either being the husband or the wife. Which will it be?"

The newbie figures this to be an obvious answer and quickly blurts it out, "I'll be the husband!" he says with a confident grin.

The big guy replies, "Good. Eat me out."

We can only hope that everyone that raises an abusive hand to a child or a woman gets at leats the same fate.

 

[Guest]

That was funny.

 

[Halo_n_horns]

Recently we lost a dog. I don't mean she died. I mean I physically lost her, in the desert, in the middle of the day, and she is small (see pic).

I realized I lost her and got back to the spot I lost her at inside of ten or fifteen minutes. She was already gone. Lost. I spent the rest of the day out there calling her name until I lost my voice. Nothing.

For the next several days we did everything we were supposed to do just in case there was even a slim chance that this little dog was found alive and someone was waiting to return her to her family. Ads in the newspaper. Flyers all over the area and surrounding areas that she was lost near. Talked to people. Whatever we could think of.

One hour after I posted the flyers in the area that I lost her, I got a call from a kid on a cell phone. "I just saw your 'REWARD' flyer for the dog and I think she's the one my younger brother picked up a couple of days ago."

It was her. Safe with a family that just happened to live next door to a veterinarian. She checked out and well taken care of. The boy that found her was riding his dirt bike out there just after I lost her and thought she was a jackrabbit. He didn't have to double check. He didn't have to cut his day of riding and fun short to see if that was a jackrabbit. But he did and now she's home and safe and spoiled as usual.

How did I lose her? It was just a silly little mistake that at any other time would have been considered perfectly innocent ... And it doesn't matter now, except for the fact that it won't happen again!!!

That kid may never see his praises here, but he heard them when I picked up our dog, and I figured that to be a great story for this possibly still dead thread.