Strange Coincidence in My Little Town

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bad_dad_brad

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A strange coincidence occurred to me in my little town yesterday.

A sporting goods store that I frequent had what appeared to be a gun related suicide, not for sure yet what really happened. I had thought of visiting the store that day after work. I am glad I did not. This is the second incident in the last year or so, the first being an AD at this store involving a customer that is a police detective (who should have known beter). I am not saying things are lax there, but when I am handed a firearm, they don't always check the chamber if you are a regular customer. Of course I always do and I mean always.

http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/100804/new_20041008044.shtml

Second, a new gun shop in my town had opened up recently. I first visited it last Monday and bought a very nice Gerber Mini-Covert knife, had a nice conversation with the owner, a really great fellow, and was considering another purchase from him in coming weeks. Well, he died yesterday at his home at about the same time the incident above occurred. He was a bit portly and smoked, so it was probably his ticker, again just speculation.

http://www.pantagraph.com/stories/100804/obi_20041008021.shtml

It kind of gave me the creeps though. The guy in the first story was 56. The guy in the second 53. I am going to be 52 next month.

Of course it is nothing more than just a simple coincidence but it brings to mind one's mortality.
 
I think we get a "pass"...then its up to us to make the up-grade. Some just do better with the up-grade stuff than others. I'm 54. In the last two years I've seen four friends burried just from motercycle accidents. Several more from other reasons. Love your family and live well...we're not here long.
Mark.
 
Yeah I am 53 and in the last two months I have had two good friends die from cancer and they were both ten years younger than me. Can't take life for granted. You learn not to sweat the small stuff. I tell my wife any day where you are alive and not in jail is a good day.
 
The local paper today said the fellow in the sporting goods store committed suicide with a shotgun, apparently with shells he brought into the store. The store has a number of used shotguns and rifles on a rack in the front of the store that anyone can just pick up and handle. The report also said the poor guy was about to be evicted from his living abode. Makes me thankful that I sit in a house almost paid for and have a good job.

Hate to say it, because I really like the store, but I don't think they should keep firearms out on the floor basically unsupervised. Often ammo for sale is also on the floor, especially during hunting season. Like I said, they are locally owned with a steady clientele and things are pretty relaxed. Still this kind of thing can easily happen when it is easy to do, and I would imagine their insurance company is having kittens right now over this incident.
 
Quirks of life

Yes, its sometimes strange how people pass through our lives. Last year, the only gunsmith our town had, committed suicide with, what else, a gun. He owned a convenience store and gas station too, since gunsmithing doesn't make a man rich. And some big name company put up a discount gas/car wash/convenience store across the street , and the writing was on the wall, so to speak- but suicide, sheez, pretty dang extreme.:scrutiny:
 
In my opinion, I think this is why you are seeing more and more guns either locked behind a counter, or at least with trigger locks on them. When I bought my Mosin at Dunhams, the guy behind the counter wouldn't even take the trigger lock off so I could remove the bolt. Its too bad that people can't simply be trusted.
 
I have done a LOT of thinking about life and death the past thirteen weeks.
A LOT of thinking.

While I still think it's a cowards way out I have a whole new understanding of how a person might get to that point.
A person who is all alone in the world (or maybe only feels alone) sometimes just can't see the other options available to them.

I guess everyone needs to have a reason to live. Sometimes it's harder to find a reason to live than it is to see a reason to die.

It goes to show that you never can tell what's going on in another mans heart.


In any event it's always a sad day when a good person dies.
 
"All Alone in the World"

On a side note, don't always assume that people who live alone are 'lonely'. Most folks think that people who are alone in the world are unhappy. This is not necessarily the case. I live alone and for me it's great. Having other people around is an annoyance. It is a recognised personality trait called "Solitary Style" or "Schizoidal Personality". People sometimes worry about 'loners' because they don't understand that for some people being alone is really okay...
 
I totally disagree with bad dad brad. I have been going in that store weekly for over 30 years and they are first rate in their safety practices. I have never been handed a firearm that wasn't checked and I am a serious regular. Yesterday, they were putting locks on all guns that were not behind the counter.
 
Solitary Style

Autolite, I understand the concept well of "solitary style", though schizoidal personality implies to some an illness since it's in the psychiatric reference DSM3-R. Psychiatrists can't seem to get it right when it comes to some "so-called" personality disorders, and many name changes have found their way into the new DSM. There are many solitary type folks who require very little social connection to reinforce and enrich themselves- years ago they called them self sufficient.:rolleyes:
 
oscar,

I said sometimes the clerk does not do a complete visual check. Like the other day I got handed a S&W revolver right out of the box. The clerk knows me well, and of course he knew it was unloaded because he had just put it away a moment ago, but still, I believe both parties are supposed to go through the visual check routine. But most of the time, I agree, they do the visual check. I always do unless I am unfamiliar with the manual of arms of the particular firearm, then I ask to be shown first.

I certainly have never been handed a loaded gun to inspect ever at the store mentioned, nor any other store either.

Regardless this was not the case in this tragic event. The man loaded the shotgun himself. If someone want to kill themselves they will find a way and there is not much to stop them.

However, very good to hear that they are putting trigger locks on that open stock. Always made me nervous that they did not before.

I certainly hope that this excellent little sporting goods store is not run out of business. Not because their loyal clientele will stop shopping there, they won't, but because their insurance premiums might go up more than they can afford.
 
Condolences on the loss of your friends.

But ya gotta kinda look at it this way....Any day you can stop & sniff the daisies is a better day than pushin' 'em up....
 
Commiting suicide is one thing, but to do so in public and leave a big mess for someone to clean up, and likely insurance hassles... well that's just rude.
 
That's life. The older you get, the more often your contemporary family, friends and acquaintances start dying off.

I'm 56, and there's about a dozen of us in the same class at school have remained close. The first member of our crew had a heart attack two years ago (somewhat overweight, sedentray lifestyle, smoker -). He survived and has clean-up his lifestyle considerable, thank God, but as we get together from time to time, you can see who's doing well and not so well (wives, too). It kinda sucks, the best alternative is to life a rational life (what ever that meas), but life goes on regardless.

If you want to do an interesting exercise, try writing your own obituary .:D
 
The local paper today said the fellow in the sporting goods store committed suicide with a shotgun, apparently with shells he brought into the store. The store has a number of used shotguns and rifles on a rack in the front of the store that anyone can just pick up and handle. The report also said the poor guy was about to be evicted from his living abode. Makes me thankful that I sit in a house almost paid for and have a good job.
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That is so odd. The exact same thing happened at my local gunstore here in San Jose a couple of years back. Guy walks in with shells he bought somewhere else, looks at the used gun rack on the floor, picked up a shotgun and offed himself.

Weird.
 
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