I have a couple of firearm related stories I have been holding on to in my life as reminders of why I decided to become one of the many armed citizens out there I thought I would share with you all today.
The first one is about a situation I found myself in as a teenager when my parents were beginning to go through the motions of a divorce.
I was 18 at the time, and my mother had kicked my father out of the house due to how he had been mentally abusing her for all of my natural life and being a general A**hole.
My father was the type to never physically abuse me or my mom, he preferred to mentally abuse us with his BS as well as keeping us financially unable to do much about it.
He had come crying at the door and was begging her to take him back. I overheard them as they were talking and I also heard a disturbing trend in my father's voice that night. He was acting strangely. Too serene and calm, like he had decided that if he didn't get his way he wasn't leaving and niether were we.
I went quietly into my mothers bedroom and retrieve out 16 Gauge breechloader and thumbed a shell into the chamber and quietly closed the action, I put three or four more shells into my shirt pocket and I stood just around the corner out of the field of vision of my father but I stepped out enough to let my mother see that I carried a gun and was waiting in the wings if she needed me. Thankfully he decided to not try anything and my mother steered him out the door and out of our lives permanently shortly afterwards. I was never so thankful in my life that I did not hae to use that old shotgun than I was that night. It still gives me occasional bad dreams having come that close to potentially taking my own father's life if he had been stupid enough to try and hurt my mom.
The second story I have is a tragic one that I hope everyone out there will appreciate and perhaps send out a prayer for the boy involved. This boy IMHO is a true hero. Trying to type this up has tears in my eyes even now, some 10 years after this happened.
The boy in the story is named Ricky. He was I believe 12 at the time this happened.
I do not know the exact details of why this all happened. All I do know about it is that he was staying with an Aunt visiting with his cousins at the time when his aunts estranged husband came home and began to argue with her over something.
Sometime during the argument he apparently threatened to kill her and there at the time 4 year old son Louis. He went so far as to grab a .22 rifle and begin to brandish it threateningly.
He somehow managed to seperate the aunt from the two boys and went after Louis. This is when Ricky earned the title hero.
He stood his ground between his uncle and his cousin and his uncle opened fire in anger. Striking Ricky in the abdomen numerous times. I believe he enptied the gun into Ricky in his vengeful act. Ricky lay screaming in agony yet still trying to protect his cousin until his aunt managed to get away and call police.
Tragically Ricky died before help could arrive to save him.
Ricky, you will always be a hero in my book. You did right in protecting your cousin from his own father that night and I hope your story inspires someone out there to stand up for someone else when it is needed.
My name is Randall E Hitchcock and I am not ashamed to admit I am crying after writing the part about Ricky and his Heroism.
The first one is about a situation I found myself in as a teenager when my parents were beginning to go through the motions of a divorce.
I was 18 at the time, and my mother had kicked my father out of the house due to how he had been mentally abusing her for all of my natural life and being a general A**hole.
My father was the type to never physically abuse me or my mom, he preferred to mentally abuse us with his BS as well as keeping us financially unable to do much about it.
He had come crying at the door and was begging her to take him back. I overheard them as they were talking and I also heard a disturbing trend in my father's voice that night. He was acting strangely. Too serene and calm, like he had decided that if he didn't get his way he wasn't leaving and niether were we.
I went quietly into my mothers bedroom and retrieve out 16 Gauge breechloader and thumbed a shell into the chamber and quietly closed the action, I put three or four more shells into my shirt pocket and I stood just around the corner out of the field of vision of my father but I stepped out enough to let my mother see that I carried a gun and was waiting in the wings if she needed me. Thankfully he decided to not try anything and my mother steered him out the door and out of our lives permanently shortly afterwards. I was never so thankful in my life that I did not hae to use that old shotgun than I was that night. It still gives me occasional bad dreams having come that close to potentially taking my own father's life if he had been stupid enough to try and hurt my mom.
The second story I have is a tragic one that I hope everyone out there will appreciate and perhaps send out a prayer for the boy involved. This boy IMHO is a true hero. Trying to type this up has tears in my eyes even now, some 10 years after this happened.
The boy in the story is named Ricky. He was I believe 12 at the time this happened.
I do not know the exact details of why this all happened. All I do know about it is that he was staying with an Aunt visiting with his cousins at the time when his aunts estranged husband came home and began to argue with her over something.
Sometime during the argument he apparently threatened to kill her and there at the time 4 year old son Louis. He went so far as to grab a .22 rifle and begin to brandish it threateningly.
He somehow managed to seperate the aunt from the two boys and went after Louis. This is when Ricky earned the title hero.
He stood his ground between his uncle and his cousin and his uncle opened fire in anger. Striking Ricky in the abdomen numerous times. I believe he enptied the gun into Ricky in his vengeful act. Ricky lay screaming in agony yet still trying to protect his cousin until his aunt managed to get away and call police.
Tragically Ricky died before help could arrive to save him.
Ricky, you will always be a hero in my book. You did right in protecting your cousin from his own father that night and I hope your story inspires someone out there to stand up for someone else when it is needed.
My name is Randall E Hitchcock and I am not ashamed to admit I am crying after writing the part about Ricky and his Heroism.