Sleeping in your car, a warning

[JoeW]

Think about some angry guy standing in front of you. He pulls a pistol, any pistol, and pumps one into the the chamber. Would you be afraid? I would, no matter what type of gun he held. Studies in forensic psych have pretty clearly shown that when confronted by a pistol the only thing the victim sees is the hole in the barrel of the pistol. They can't tell you what kind of a gun it was. It was big and black and had a huge hole for the bullet to come out. I think that would be my description too.

TV shows to the contrary, most people get very afraid when a pistol is in their face. Meth heads and similar creatures of the night may be a little different.

Under hypnosis I can get a description of the gun and many other aspects of the crime. However, these can't be used in court. But this type of information is used to clear the crme.

 

[Russ Chewning]

Russ, I don't think that little .22 would have intimidated them. And it didn't make me feel that secure with three of them. It might have been just as effective to shout out I HAVE A GUN!

I was worried that one of them DID have a gun, or a knife (which they probably did).

Yah, didn't realize it was a derringer. I would probably have the largest handgun that could fit comfortably in my glove compartment...

Florida is a state where you can keep a loaded handgun in your glove compartment, and if I am correct, you don't even need a conceealed permit for it.

I am ex military, so in Florida all I need to do is pay my fee and wait for the process to complete to get a concealed permit.

And I fully plan on doing so when I get back stateside, as I plan on travelling in the Southeast a bunch to play pool.

Russ

 

[JoeW]

Be careful there, a permit to carry is often but not always respected by another state. You may have to place the un loaed weapon in the trunk and the shells someplace else if you enter "X" state.

 

[dabarbr]

Jay, You are welcome to come to my house anytime you are in the area. I live in Upland. You can get my number from Tang or pm me. If you are ever in need of a place to rest. You don't need to expose yourself to these dangers. I'm glad nothing happened and you are all right. You did the right thing in not going back. Frank

 

[Johnnyt]

Look at it this way now. You have another ten pages or so for the book....THE HARD WAY. Johnnyt

 

[sixpack]

Russ, I don't think that little .22 would have intimidated them. And it didn't make me feel that secure with three of them. It might have been just as effective to shout out I HAVE A GUN!

I was worried that one of them DID have a gun, or a knife (which they probably did).

One time I was in Chicago and I was walking down Clark street just north of downtown. As I walked by a bank, a guy came running out and two guys in suits were running after him. They yelled that he had just robbed the bank. Several of us on the sidewalk grabbed the guy and tackled him. We were trying to get the attention of the meter maid who was working across the street so she could arrest him or call for backup or whatever.

Anway, we got this guy pinned and all of the sudden he yells out "I HAVE A GUN!" Suddenly, everybody lets go. He jumps up, so shocked that it worked that he just stood there for a second, dazed, then he took off again. The crowd, realizing that he didn't have a gun and angry about being fooled, promptly tackled him again and held him until the police got there. Great fun!

Cheers,
RC

 

[StevenPWaldon]

Jesus Christ, what a scare. Good thing this never happened to me in my 1972 Datsun 240Z. It was immaculately restored, but good luck trying to get that thing started in cold weather!

Whenever I slept in my car, I always found somewhere either every public or very private to avoid the same thing.

Another warning: if you should decide to sleep in your car because you realize you've had too many drinks to drive home, then sleep in the back or the passenger side. Even without the car started, you can still get in lots of trouble if you're in the driver's seat while intoxicated.

...
Sorry gang. I just realized that this should be in non pool related section. Maybe Mike can move it over.

 

[StevenPWaldon]

Totally. Doesn't matter what someone pulls on me at close range; it can be a midnight special .22 with a tiny little barrel and the safe on. My heart will still skip a beat (or two, or three, or seventeen).

Think about some angry guy standing in front of you. He pulls a pistol, any pistol, and pumps one into the the chamber. Would you be afraid? I would, no matter what type of gun he held. Studies in forensic psych have pretty clearly shown that when confronted by a pistol the only thing the victim sees is the hole in the barrel of the pistol. They can't tell you what kind of a gun it was. It was big and black and had a huge hole for the bullet to come out. I think that would be my description too.

TV shows to the contrary, most people get very afraid when a pistol is in their face. Meth heads and similar creatures of the night may be a little different.

Under hypnosis I can get a description of the gun and many other aspects of the crime. However, these can't be used in court. But this type of information is used to clear the crme.

 

[jay helfert]

Look at it this way now. You have another ten pages or so for the book....THE HARD WAY. Johnnyt

Ha ha ha ha. It might be part of one chapter on amazing escapes. I've had a few.

 

[Johnnyt]

Ha ha ha ha. It might be part of one chapter on amazing escapes. I've had a few.

Me too. I went out many a bathroom window down south in the late 1950's, in most cases leaving my last winning bet on the rail or pocket. I had a 1958 Triumph 650cc Bonneville to get away on. What a rush that was...just change your underwear and hit the next bar. Johnnyt

 

[jay helfert]

Me too. I went out many a bathroom window down south in the late 1950's, in most cases leaving my last winning bet on the rail or pocket. I had a 1958 Triumph 650cc Bonneville to get away on. What a rush that was...just change your underwear and hit the next bar. Johnnyt

I rode my Honda 880 Chopper to Vegas from Bakersfield, with my girlfriend on the back. This was about 1974. The same day we got there I got into a game with Monk that also ended badly. I wrote about it here a while back. My girl pulled out a .25 to keep some hood from thumping me with a cue. It worked! NO shots fired.

 

[Steve - Detroit]

It is just a coincidence Texas has one of the lowest crime rates in the U.S.?
Russ

don't get me wrong, I'm definitely in the pro gun group but Texas??

Try number 12 outta 50 in violent crime according to the FBI crime statistics group. That's '05 data, the latest they have published.

Jay, you're a lucky guy, and, as many others have said, in a extremely stressful situation, one most of us will never see, you did the right thing.

 

[Rickw]

I had a friend that got into trouble with a jealous boyfriend and his two buddies. He was driving his car and they pushed him off the road and had their car up against his so he couldn't get his door open. They came at him with tire irons. He had a .38 in the console and didn't pull it out. I guess he felt sorta like you Jay. Anyway, he wound up getting the bejeezies beat out of him. Didn't even recognize him the next time I saw him. I guess the moral of the story is, why carry the thing if you're not going to use it?

I'm glad that you did get out of that situation with no harm done to you Jay. I'd miss your entertaining and informative posts on here! Take good care of yourself.

 

[jay helfert]

I had a friend that got into trouble with a jealous boyfriend and his two buddies. He was driving his car and they pushed him off the road and had their car up against his so he couldn't get his door open. They came at him with tire irons. He had a .38 in the console and didn't pull it out. I guess he felt sorta like you Jay. Anyway, he wound up getting the bejeezies beat out of him. Didn't even recognize him the next time I saw him. I guess the moral of the story is, why carry the thing if you're not going to use it?

I'm glad that you did get out of that situation with no harm done to you Jay. I'd miss your entertaining and informative posts on here! Take good care of yourself.

I'd miss them too. lol

 

[Scott Lee]

Jay...I'm in the 'no gun' catagory, for just the reason you suggested...you better be ready and willing to KILL someone, if you pull out a gun. I'm not.
You know how much I travel (frequently by myself), and I quite often pull over to "powernap". Generally it's only 20-30 minutes, but I will usually find a rest area on the freeway to park in. Many of them are patrolled by the HP, and they are all well lit, but not bright enough to keep you awake. The coffee thing, or cold water works for me too. Very glad to hear you got away safe. In the face of immenent danger (they got in the car), I'd have probably done what Tate said...give up the dough, and report them to the cops.

Scott Lee
www.poolknowledge.com

 

[berlowmj]

Good Lesson for us all

Your retreat was difficult for your ego & sense of justice, but you would have needed many poker victories to restore the cash required for some lawyer to get you absolved of the obvious. The days of picking up hitch hikers, hitch hiking, resting/sleeping in "rest" areas are long gone. Unfortunately, self defense (even empty handed) is a privilege rather than a right, when the lawyer$$ & PC prosecutors get involved.

Even when I'm staying in a hotel I (1) refuse a ground floor room & (2) barricade the locked door assuming that former guests as well as hotel employees have keys. An intruder breaking through gives you precious seconds & additional legal proof that your life was in danger.

There is no "green zone" available to us.

 

[JoeyA]

Your retreat was difficult for your ego & sense of justice, but you would have needed many poker victories to restore the cash required for some lawyer to get you absolved of the obvious. The days of picking up hitch hikers, hitch hiking, resting/sleeping in "rest" areas are long gone. Unfortunately, self defense (even empty handed) is a privilege rather than a right, when the lawyer$$ & PC prosecutors get involved.

Even when I'm staying in a hotel I (1) refuse a ground floor room & (2) barricade the locked door assuming that former guests as well as hotel employees have keys. An intruder breaking through gives you precious seconds & additional legal proof that your life was in danger.

There is no "green zone" available to us.

Barricading the door sounds like a good idea when you think about the girl who was awaken by the thud of a pool cue to her head.

Who is the bearded Avatar of?
JoeyA

 

[Russ Chewning]

Barricading the door sounds like a good idea when you think about the girl who was awaken by the thud of a pool cue to her head.

Who is the bearded Avatar of?
JoeyA

I believe that is the great Frederick Douglas...

Russ

 

[PKM]

Barricading the door sounds like a good idea when you think about the girl who was awaken by the thud of a pool cue to her head.

Who is the bearded Avatar of?
JoeyA

Isn't that Karl Marx. You commie!

Good tip on the barricading though, I guess private property is sometimes good.

 

[hemicudas]

Isn't that Karl Marx. You commie!

Good tip on the barricading though, I guess private property is sometimes good.

Though it looks like Douglas, alas, it is Marx.