The Random Comic Strip

The Random Comic Strip

Words to live by...

"How beautiful it is to do nothing, and to rest afterward."

[Spanish Proverb]

Ius luxuriae publice datum est

(The right to looseness has been officially given)

"Everyone carries a part of society on his shoulders," wrote Ludwig von Mises, "no one is relieved of his share of responsibility by others. And no one can find a safe way for himself if society is sweeping towards destruction. Therefore everyone, in his own interest, must thrust himself vigorously into the intellectual battle."

Apparently, the crossword puzzle that disappeared from the blog, came back.


Friday, May 22, 2009

Snippet of Life - A Night at the 7-11

The summer I turned 15, I was a skinny kid with a flip attitude. I hung out most of that summer at either the bowling alley, Friday night dances at the Unified Hall, or the 7-11 a couple blocks from my house. Loy Diehl was the evening manager there most days. He was a short, thin, guy with a mustache and a friendly manner. He'd pay me to stock the window shelves in the cooler; usually in sodas or cigarettes. I was cheap help. 7-11's at that time had no store windows, the whole front of the store was open to the outside. No surveillance cameras, either.

He also had an interest in guns and encouraged me to learn about them. He was mostly braggart and what we called a "BS artist." But he got me interested in guns. There was no way I would be able to own one, my father was not one to have them in the house. Even BB guns were forbidden (though I had owned a couple of those). I bought and read a lot of gun magazines that summer and fall.

Loy kept a .45 revolver under the counter. Small markets like the 7-11's were easy targets for hold up men and that summer there had been a number of robberies in in or near our town. It was a regular topic of conversation when I was hanging out.

One night, about 9, Loy, me, and a regular customer were talking when another guy walked in and headed for the aisles. This guy eventually made his way to the counter and stood just to the left of me. He placed a brown paper bag on the counter and, in a calm voice, told Loy, "Put all the cash in the bag."

Loy laughed and looked at him, saying something like "Yeah, right." He thought it was some kind of joke. It wasn't. While Loy was filling the bag with bills from the register, the crook turned toward me and the other customer. He was a stocky guy, blond hair, late 20s or early 30s, fair skin with the scars of a teenage period of heavy acne. He wore a blue sport coat, a blue and yellow plaid shirt, and carried a gun. It was pointed at my stomach. I tended to concentrate on that.

He told us, me and the customer, to go to the back of the store and lie down. Eager to please, we complied. Though I circled like a dog looking for the right spot for a bit until he repeated the order more forcefully. By then Loy was done with the bag and had emptied his wallet into the bag. He was told to hit the floor too. He told us to stay down for 5 minutes and then he dashed out the front of the store.

Loy leaped to his feet and reached under the counter. Then, with a "Damn!", he slammed his hand against the counter, and ran out the front around the corner of the store. Within seconds, he came back and grabbed a dime out of the still open cash register drawer then ran for the phone booths at the front to call the police. The one night in months when Loy didn't have that .45 under the counter was the night he was robbed.

I was never scared at any time during the robbery. It was more like something I was just watching take place. I felt calm the entire time. It was only after it was over, after the police had arrived and were having us describe what happened and the perpetrator. That's when the shaking began. It still wasn't fear but the shaking wouldn't stop. Adrenaline, I suppose.

They caught the guy a month or so later. He tried to rob a small market in North Miami but a manager came out of the back with a gun and started firing. He chased the guy out of the store, around the corner and fired a couple of shots into the trunk of the guy's car as he sped away. He also got the plate number. The police were waiting for him when he arrived home.

I got a subpoena to appear as a witness. But it never went to trial, he copped a plea and got a few years of room and board at taxpayers' expense.

I learned a few things that night.

Loy was not as brave as he pretended to be. There would not have been a shootout even if he had brought his .45. Loy maintained the .32 revolver the robber carried was unloaded, I couldn't be sure, but he still cooperated until the guy left before checking for that .45.

Fear didn't register with me. I was not paralyzed by it nor was I full of bravado.

I could register details and relate them accurately later. I could be a good witness.

Robbers are not very bright people.

Cops are never around when you need them

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9 comments:

Bagman and Butler said...

And you and Loy did exactly the right thing in that case.

The Jules said...

S'only money. He didn't take anything more valuable.

Criminals are usually stupid, or else they wouldn't be crims. I think coppers rely on it.

Douglas said...

B&B - Yes, we did. However, there were three of us and we could have easily overpowered or chased him off. If the gun was unloaded. Which it might have been, I didn't check that (easy to do with a revolver).

Jules - And it wasn't much money. That's why I realized how stupid criminals are. He got maybe $60 and risked his life for it. He might have hauled in a few hundred dollars for his little crime spree but served 3 or more years for that. I'd rather get minimum wage.

Steven said...

Here, north of Atlanta, things are pretty safe. We go downtown a lot, though. People get mugged fairly regularly, and mostly that's that. But there's been quite a few cases of the victim being shot afterwards, or worse.

I carry a Springfield XD in a small-of-back holster, generally with the short 10-round magazine. I'm proficient enough to draw it and empty all 10 hollow points into the chest area in a matter of 2-3 seconds.

I hate when people say crap like "it's only money." Property is a civil right, and once somebody's infringing on your rights, they don't much deserve oxygen. I'm not a proponent of, say, running after somebody who stole your car to try to cap them...but if somebody's in your home or mugging you on the street, and you really have no idea what's going to happen whether you comply or not, their life is forfeit. I very much believe in the due process of law, but if you are threatening somebody else with violence to take their property, you shouldn't be alive anymore.

loy e diehl said...

Hey, Long time ago . I remember most of it, Can't imagine your memory. Seems like a different world. My best wishes , Loy

Douglas said...

Loy - If you drop by again, go to my profile and you can get an email address for me. Drop me a line.

Steven said...

Here, north of Atlanta, things are pretty safe. We go downtown a lot, though. People get mugged fairly regularly, and mostly that's that. But there's been quite a few cases of the victim being shot afterwards, or worse.

I carry a Springfield XD in a small-of-back holster, generally with the short 10-round magazine. I'm proficient enough to draw it and empty all 10 hollow points into the chest area in a matter of 2-3 seconds.

I hate when people say crap like "it's only money." Property is a civil right, and once somebody's infringing on your rights, they don't much deserve oxygen. I'm not a proponent of, say, running after somebody who stole your car to try to cap them...but if somebody's in your home or mugging you on the street, and you really have no idea what's going to happen whether you comply or not, their life is forfeit. I very much believe in the due process of law, but if you are threatening somebody else with violence to take their property, you shouldn't be alive anymore.

Douglas said...

Loy - If you drop by again, go to my profile and you can get an email address for me. Drop me a line.

The Jules said...

S'only money. He didn't take anything more valuable.

Criminals are usually stupid, or else they wouldn't be crims. I think coppers rely on it.