It Was My Purse And I Kept It

In a well lit grocery store a block from my apartment I shopped for eggs and yogurt. One of those sensations of being watched came over me. Proceeding through the check out lane the feeling grew stronger. Directly behind me a young guy of about eighteen with peach fuzz and a totally harmless appearance was checking out with one loaf of cheap store brand white bread.

On the way out the door I patted my jeans pocket to assure myself my “protection” was readily accessible. I stopped at the pay phone near the exit door and pretended to be scrounging for a couple quarters to make a call. He sauntered out the door seeming to be in no particular hurry in stark contrast to other shoppers rushing home to dinner. I waited five minutes before exiting the store.

My apartment was only two blocks away. As soon as I hit the sidewalk I glanced around and sure enough he was walking about fifteen paces behind me. I felt threatened and instead of walking the two blocks home, I stopped on the well-lit corner and waited for the bus. It was rush hour and I felt fairly safe although he and I were the only ones at the bus stop. I made sure he knew I was alert by staring rudely at him as five long minutes went by. He didn’t make a move towards me.

Then the bus came and I relaxed since it made me feel safe. But as the bus door opened the guy lunged towards me, grabbed my purse and tried to wrench it out of my hand. I lifted my right hand pulling my unobtrusive stun gun out of my jeans pocket. He never saw what hit him. The Firefly may be small but it’s mighty powerful. When I zapped a jolt to his forearm he collapsed in a heap on the sidewalk.

The bus driver called 911 and watched the temporarily helpless kid lying on the ground until the police came. Without my compact stun gun the story would have ended differently. The thief would have run off with my purse and gone on to victimize another person.

An unexpected aftermath was the reaction of one elderly lady on the bus. She stuck her head out the window and complained cause she was going to be late. Apparently she didn’t comprehend that she could be the next victim. The bus driver diplomatically told her to shut up or get off his bus…

The Hand That Holds The Electronic Whistle Deters Crime

Anyone with a daughter in high school or college knows she may be a target for perverts. Of course it’s a smaller percentage being harmed than it would seem as you hear the news of a kidnapping or murder every day. She can’t take a gun to class or she’ll be the one in jail. Pepper spray is a wonderful way to disable a perv without killing him. People will actually consider his safety in the event he is the one harmed.

 

In some states, pepper spray is illegal when carried by an individual who is not a police officer. An unrealistic law – why should the good guys be unprotected. We are left with one other good solution to endangered normal people. The whistle. Nowadays with car alarms simply being ignored cause they go off so easily and a scream misinterpreted and no one pays attention to someone being dragged into a car. But only a deaf person can ignore the electronic pocket whistle.

 

If you choose to carry one of these handy little protective devices, you can buy one for less than twenty dollars. Your daughter doesn’t even have to lift it to her lips, it goes off at the touch of a button and continues to screech until she removes her hand.

 

Police detectives give lectures on personal safety and advise that a perp will always pick on the most vulnerable looking person. If the crook is going to rob someone he’s not going to go after the guy who is six feet tall and built like a boxer. He’s not as likely to choose the woman who walks with confidence and looks around as she goes – indicating that she’s aware of the possibility of being robbed or worse. He’s going to wait for the slow walking small woman who seems unaware of anything around her.

 

Just as pack animals will wait for a weak old antelope to lag behind the herd, or a young calf antelope who can’t run as fast yet, the human predator will choose a victim who seems like he or she will be easy to overcome and rob – or worse.

 

So talk to your daughters about walking in pairs, being alert and buy them the biggest loudest electronic whistle you can find.

It’s Not The Gun But The Hand On The Gun

 

Pepper spray does have a permanent place in my handbag. Then recently I read about a woman who was so scared she dropped her pepper spray and watched as it rolled out of reach. She lost heratm card, her charge cards and a checkbook with her name and address on it. The perp got all that – and away. The charge cards and checking account could be cancelled but since she and her husband just bought a new house, they weren’t in a position to move. Even if they wanted to, the housing market is at a standstill. (Thank you very much – gluttons on Wall Street).

 

While pepper spray is effective in most cases – you have to be able to keep cool and spray it fast. Women rely on it since they really don’t want to shoot anyone. That’s fine. But what if someperp is trying to take your car with your baby sleeping in the back seat. Few people leave kids in the car while they run into the grocery store but sometimes a nut case with nothing to lose puts a gun on a driver at a stop sign. Incidents of carjacking are on the rise. If you’re the driver you want to have a stun gun readily available in your pocket.

 

If you can pull it out fast as he pulls you out of the driver’s seat, you can disable him before he knows what hit him. His body goes out of control, he drops his gun and with luck you and the baby are safe. You can even practice pulling the stun gun out of your pocket quickly. That’s what the lawmen and outlaws did to prepare for a shoot out in the Wild Wild West.

 

I wouldn’t hesitate for a nanosecond if some creep was about to drive off with my child strapped into her car seat. Some of these jerks are actually encouraged by the video game called “Grand Theft Auto.” This is the game where a driver chases down some woman alone and leaps out of his car to steal her purse. It may be “only a game” as I’m told by my relatives who want to justify playing it. Nice topic for a game played by erratic teens. It’s so popular – they have made a “Grand Theft Auto 2.”

 

I won’t bore anyone with a lecture on violence and how our society in general and tv and movies specifically encourage people to think about the possibility. Sure the well adjusted teens know it’s a game. But, how many maladjusted teens are out there. Those who are inclined to be violent are incited by these types of games and shows.

 

They are however, good for the stun gun and pepper spray manufacturers. I’ve bought one of each and would not hesitate for a second to use them vigorously on anyone who tried to hurt me or my kids…

 

Remember all you perps out there, I’m not the only mom out here who may be inclined to do violence against YOU!