Right before the holiday I was on on a walk with my 11-year-old nephew when we were accosted. I learned some lessons in those minutes of scrambling to protect my nephew and I and wanted to share them.
(1) Keep your eyes up. It is better to see trouble coming than be surprised by it. (2) Make sure everyone is familiar with how the phone works. (3) Cell phones do over heat and become unresponsive. Keep them cool. (4) Even if you are right under a cell tower, you may not get service. (5) If your phone fails, fake the call to 9-1-1, it just might buy you more time. (6) Keep distance between you and the problem (7). When seconds matter, the police are minutes away, and that isn’t good so; (8) be prepared and able to defend yourself.
The short story; a vehicle stopped suddenly, the passenger got out and approached us in a hostile “lets fight” manor refusing to respond to my inquires. He made threats, physically assaulted me in an effort to attack my nephew. His stated intent was to “kill.” My phone had failed and all I had was a pocket knife, that I was prepared to use. The man finally got the hint that we were not going to lay down and be beaten by him without a fight so he left.
While the police responded as promptly as they could, and in force, they are but a reactionary force to crime, not a deterrent. I fear that had I not had a means of self defense, as pathetic as it was, as well as demonstrating the will to use it, neither my nephew nor I would be alive today.
Criminals don’t care. If some guy, in some crack induced fit of druggie bravado, can spoil our evening out of the blue, then rest assured yours can be as well.
Danger can come at any second and if you are not prepared, you’ll wish you’d had been. When seconds matter most, the police are minutes away, and in a life and death situation, that means death. It is better to have and not need than to need and not have. Keep that in mind as well as keeping your cell phones charged, having coverage, knowing your phone, and staying alert. Be safe by being prepared.
Raymond Williams
Battle Ground
