It's that time of year for me, once again. Being a military musician, the two craziest times of the year are around 4th of July, and Christmas.

I am way behind on stuff, and I am trying to catch up.

The link for the title of this post tells a story that is just unconscionable.

I am rendered speechless, but I had to share.

Labels: children, Code Pink, halloween, military families, Obama, White House

Okay, there is a good chance that I have PTSD.

The Army has done a good job of letting those of us that have gone "there" know what the warning signs are.

HOWEVER, given everything I have been told, it is, at worst, a fairly light case of it.

I can understand that.

There have, only, been three times in my life where I, TRULY, thought my life was in danger in a fight/at gunpoint situation ... and ALL OF THOSE happened WELL BEFORE I joined the Army ... in 1989.

Two of those times happened in the same night.

I'm not telling that story, now.

This is the story of the first time a man pointed a gun at me, and I thought I would be shot.


It was late 1983. I was a senior in high school. I lived in a town of about 3,000 people. My father was the manager of the local Wal-Mart. We lived about 10 miles outside of the town where his store was. ... and, yes, the directions to our house included the phrase "turn off the paved road".

I was very involved in the high school music program, band and choir. This was the most active time of the year for our school. I was going to school an hour, or so, early every day for rehearsals, and having night rehearsals almost every day. Besides the 30+ hours I was working at the local grocery store as a bag boy.

I'm not looking for sympathy, or anything. I'm just trying to tell you, that with an active social life, I was busy.

So, on one of those nights that I had gotten home from work at 10 PM, and had to leave for school at 5, my Mom wakes me up about 1 AM.

The alarm at my father's store (which is open from 9 AM to 9 PM) has gone off. The local police have checked out the store. There is no break in. They need Dad to go turn off the alarm.

Here, let's start a time line. At this point the alarm was set off, at least, 10 minutes earlier. (It was set off. The police had to realize it. Send a squad car. They had to check it out. They had to radio back in. The police station had to call my house. Someone had to wake up to answer the phone. Then, after that, Mom came and got me.)

So, I dressed, got in the car, and Dad, and I, started the 15 minute drive into town.

We get to the store, and walk into the foyer. At which point my Dad, almost, unlocks the door. He looks up, shoves me back out the foyer, and yells: "Get in the car!"

At this point, I know nothing other than Dad has seen evidence that the store has, actually, been broken into. I get in the car and we speed off to the police station.

We get to the police station, and go in. At this point, things get surreal. My Dad (the Vice President of the local Chamber of Commerce, the President of the local Kiwannis Club, and the head of the business that is the second largest employer of people in town) says to the desk Sergeant: "Wal-Mart has been broken in to!"

The desk sergeant replies: "We know, sir. We have checked it out. Everything is okay. We have called the manager, and he is coming to turn off the alarm."

My Dad replies: "No, you are wrong. I AM THE MANAGER, AND WAL-MART HAS BEEN BROKEN INTO!"

At this point, the police turn into the "Keystone Cops".

Now, keep in mind, for time line purposes, the alarm has been going off for about 45 minutes to an hour, now.

After calling in the ENTIRE Eldon, MO Police Department, the cops on duty give me and my Dad a police escort back to the store. We thunder into the parking lot. The police cars set up a perimeter around the store, and Dad parks out battleship grey, 1978 Mercury Marquis across the ramp leading into the store.

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Dad leads a 4-man contingent of police into the store after telling me to stay in the car.

It is now, about 2:30 AM, and I have to be ready to leave my house for school at 5. I was awoken from a dead sleep for all of this. So, I lay, on my back, across the front seat of the car, with both windows open, hang my head out the window away from the store, and try to get some sleep.

I nod off, and wake up, in turn, as each off-duty member of the Eldon Police force makes his way into the store.

About 3 AM, the last member of the Eldon Police force, finally, shows up. I hear his car shut off, open my eyes, and watch, upside-down, as he walks up to the entrance of the store where my Dad's "landbarge" of a car and I are sitting.

He does a double-take when he sees my head hanging out of the window of the car. He charges up, pulls his service revolver, puts the muzzle of this .38 revolver about an inch from the spot directly between my eyes, and yells: "What are you doing here?"

Now, keep in mind, at this point, the alarm has been going off for about 2 hours, the robber had triggered the alarm exiting the building, AND EVERY OTHER member of the Eldon Police force had to walk by this car to get in the store.

I look him dead in the eye, upside down, and calmly say: "I am trying to get some sleep, because I have to be in a band rehearsal with your oldest daughter in about 3 hours."

At this point, he looks around a bit.

There are only two cars in town that looks like this: my Dad's, and the other belonged to one of his employees.

After a second, or two, he seemed to recognize the car, and me ... and, after a second or two more, he, finally, put his gun back in his holster, said something that to this day I don't remember, and ran into the store.

The reason I didn't hear and don't remember what the cop had to say was: it was at that moment I realized he was ready to put a bullet in my head from the time he pulled the gun. The only things that saved my life were my calm attitude, and glib answer.

Finally, Dad shut off the alarm (about 3 hours after it had been set off), and the police left the building. I had no problem staying awake to make sure Dad didn't doze off on the drive home.

I have no idea where the cop ended up that pointed the gun at my head. I know, however, that during most of the 90's he was Chief of Police for Eldon.

I do know, however, that there have only been two people that I have seen point a gun at me that I knew had intent to kill, and he is one of them. ... the other ... well, that is a story for another time.

The point is that it is good to be alive, especially, given the alternative.