A Gardeners Forum Forums General Discussion The Banter Hall Living in Fear

My step son is a Charlotte City policeman and he told us a story that hasn't been mentioned a lot on the news yet because of certain clues. It has been on the news in the sense it has happened to I'm free to mention it here. Anyway he called his dad, my husband, and told him for us to "pack heat" anytime we go into the yard. It seems there was a lady who lived in a neighborhood north of Charlotte with large yards, 5 acres. She and her mother were out in the yard last week and a man killed both of them. This man is a drifter who was on foot, had gone into the house because the door was unlocked, gotten a knife and killed them in the yard. I don't lock my door when I go outside and I don't "pack heat." A lot of times I don't even take my cell phone. One time I did get startled when I was out at the pecan trees and I turned around and the cable man was face to face with me. He said he had called to me several times and when I didn't respond he walked out. He was so close to me when I turned around I could have puckered and kissed him. Of course he didn't hurt me but it did cross my mind that he could have hit me on the back of the head without me ever knowing what had happened. And about 6 months ago a woman, living alone in Charlotte was raped in her home. The person has not been caught. From the scene it appears that he went into her home, she had not locked the door, and waited while she was working outside. She came back inside, ate dinner, took a bath, washed her hair all with him waiting in the closet. As soon as she got in the bed he was there. My step son says it's just being smart to take precautions. I said I don't want to live in fear but Johnny wants me to lock the door behind me everytime I go out and to take a gun and my cell phone. Not only is that a lot of stuff to carry along with my camera, gloves, shovel, dirt, plants that I don't want to do it.

Do you guys take special precautions every time you go outside?

welll I do keep my doors locked---but when I go out I take a phone and sadly I do leave one door open so I can get back in. while I do own a handgun and license to carry it, I have yet to take it outside to "garden". When DH hears all of this we may well be taking a gun outside with us---

This whole story gives me the chills

I just read what Cindy Posted---
I too have a S & W nickel plated 38 special (a .357). all mine

Makes my DH upset how good I am when I practice (just once a year or so)
he thinks I should practice more often

Well, I come from a dangerous city (at one point the crime per capita there was higher than that of NYC!), so I don't like to take chances. We now live in a tiny little town....we figure some houses probably don't even have locks on the doors (for the older generations who have lived here all of their lives). Heck, my front door uses a skeleton key to lock and unlock it!!! We have a few handguns and in Pa, you can openly carry a handgun without a license or permit, but to carry concealed you need a permit to carry concealed (that also includes having a gun in the car....which is considered concealed carry). Anyways, we do carry when we leave the house, tho I don't usually carry when I go outside to garden and do work. In the past, Stephen has asked me to have my pistol with me when I'm outside, but I move around all over the place while I'm outside and I don't usually take it out with me.

I can honestly say that I don't take my cell outside with me unless I am talking on it or am waiting for a call and I definitely don't carry a gun. I have never even thought of it. I don't lock the door when I go out either. I go for a walk a couple miles down the road and don't lock the door when I leave. Never thought anything of it. We do have a gun in our bedroom though in case somebody would come in when we are sleeping or something. That is James' doing though. When I lived alone I never had anything. I always tell James that if somebody ever came in the house and I was home alone I would be dead if that is what they wanted because the gun he has in our room is a shotgun and he keeps the shells in a drawer. I would be fumbling around trying to get the gun loaded and it would be way too late.

Anyways.....that is scary Sheri! If I heard reports like that in my area, I might think twice about things when I went outside.

I do not feel I can live in fear. I have lived in a realitively safe area all my life. I know nothing is a 100% I have to put my faith in the man above for safety.

Since I have moved to a more secluded area with so many acres I am going to get a dog, I have always had a burglar alarm on my houses for when I am away, and I have a gun in the house. I also do not think I could take a gun ouside to garden I would probably lay it dowwn and the killer would then have a weapon to kill me with. LOL

I don't consider myself living in fear....just being prepared.

I think about the weird things that happen...a random guy going into a church and shooting the pastor....a guy going into a mall and starting to shoot randomly. I refuse to be put into a situation like that and not be prepared to do something. That's just my opinion tho. I know people say "its safe here...that would never happen here", but I'm sure those people in that church a few weeks ago thought the same thing.

I don't lock my doors when I go out into the yard, or carry a gun out there. I DO always make sure the dogs come out with me and hang fairly close. we taught them that as pup's. If anyone wanted to get to me outside in my yard they'd have to deal with two very protective 75 lbs dogs first.
and this time of year, all my doors and windows are constantly open during the day.

I don't like guns. I am not afraid of them. I don't have anything against them or people carrying them. I grew up with them in the house and John has some here.
I just hate the noise. I also don't like to be around balloons or anything else that may make a sudden pop even if I am controlling the pop. The anticipation of the noise drives me crazy.
We haven't locked our doors during the day for years. Even when driving off to town. If I locked my doors then someone wanting to get in would just break a window that I would have to repair. I lock the doors at night. I do keep a bat or something like nearby.

I'm like that with biscuit cans!

Yes, refrigerated biscuits fall into the same category as guns do for me.

I've thought about this all day. Neither of these women was robbed except for fruit at the killed ladies house and a Coke at the raped ladys house. I'm of the belief too Tina that if the door is locked and someone wants your TV they'll break the door down to get it. I do take Porter, my big lab, out with me a lot and even though he probably wouldn't save me, he does look mean and might make someone think twice. But, if someone wanted to hide in the house I'd be alone.

I don't get out of My car until the garage door is down and Then I unlock my car door and get out. When I work in the front yard,, I close the garage door,, as it is Not always in my view when I'm working. In the back yard I don't have to worry about it so much , there is a side gate but it is always locked.
I will say tho' that when I'm coming out of any store at night, Before I leave the store's door, I have my Keys laced through my fingers facing outward,, and the alarm to the car in my palm so my thumb just has to press it and that would happen automatically should I have to make a fist to defend my self with the keys.
It's just a shame with the way violence is in today's world,, we have to always be on guard and always aware of our surroundings.
Sheri I probably would have had a heart attack if I were in my yard and turned around and there was a strange man so close in my personal space.

In Texas we have the castle doctrine where we can carry a weapon in plain sight on our property as well as conceal carry laws. With my dogs I am pretty safe but never without protection at any time. It pays to be safe also looking into Video cameras for when only the dogs are here so I will be able to see who bothers them.

My favorite "ohmygod, I've been shot!" story came out of Texas a few years back. A lady bought her groceries, put them in the back seat. She climbed in the front, started her car, heard a loud bang and felt something hit the back of her head! She reached back and felt something sorta gooey and figured it was her brains. So she started screaming "I've been shot! I've been shot!" Passersby called 911. The medics came and she finally unlocked her car door to let them take care of her.

The shooter?

A can of refridgerated biscuits which had exploded in the backseat, firing one of the sticky biscuits at her head!

That story still makes Maxi laugh "I've been shot!" when he opens the biscuits for me.


Merme

hahahahaha

I HATE opening those things!!!!! Stephen laughs at me every time he sees me getting ready to open one. I lean way back from the can and peel the paper away and then when it doesn't pop from that I have to get a spoon and lean way back from the thing and then press the seam with the spoon. UGH!! HATE THEM! I don't have much of a choice tho since I really stink at making homemade biscuits.

Lynne did you notice you have a very BUSY signature line? Everything is moving! I like it!


Merme

Jenn I get the frozen biscuits off the freezer isle. They are good as the whap biscuits and same brand . I get them for me and the dogs Sunday breakfast of Biscuits and gravy the birds only get biscuits. That way is doesn't sound like a shoot out when I fix our breakfast. And the dogs are easier to find.

OMG I love your humor JV!!! Thanks for sharing it with us.


HEY! Anybody else notice how neatly we hijacked Sheri's thread from guns to biscuits.

HEY! Anybody else notice how weirdly the word biscuits is spelled?


Merme

Yep it was noticed



I notice a lady yesterday on my lunch break,, did the same thing with her keys,,,, I told her I do that after dark,, She said she saw it on Oprah years ago,, and used to only do it at night,, Now she does it all the time even going from her house to her car day or night,, or leaving work to her car,, She said Today no one cares if it's day or night if you're a bad person who attacks people there are no set times of attack anymore,
man Isn't that the truth of it,

I think the Somalian pirates have been taking notes from this thread.

I could feed these attacker people some of MY biscuits and if it didn't kill them they'd never attack me again.

Sheri!!!

Diane I remember when Oprah explained about carrying the keys that way... it was a very long time ago. I sometimes do it myself.

And you are right: in these times, day or night doesn't seem to matter with crime.


Sad, that!


Merme