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Not sure this fits into a "self-defense" thread, but it might be of interest to those of you who have young kids.
My buddy and I were somewhere around 7 years old. We were out in a hilly, wooded area having the kinds of adventures Tom Sawyer would like - climbing trees, exploring, burning our initials into tree stumps with a magnifying glass. Basically just out there being boys.
Along comes a group of older boys (3 of them, I think - maybe 12 years old). One of them has a fiberglass bow and some arrows, the kind that was common in those days. He draws the bow, points the arrow at us, and says "Get on your knees, or I'll shoot you."
So my buddy and I get on our knees. This kid puts the tip of the arrow (bow still drawn) to my temple, and says "I could kill you right now if I wanted to." He makes me repeat it back to him.
And that was all they wanted. They left. We left. I never found out who they were.
Lessons learned:
Some people seem to be born bad. Don't underestimate a kid's capacity for evil.
Bad things can/do happen to the unsuspecting, the innocent, and the vulnerable.
If you're caught unprepared, do what is necessary to survive. As 7-year-olds, we had no thought of fighting back against those bullies.
Most encounters in my life have been good ones. But that one, early on, showed me that bad people show up from time to time.
My buddy and I were somewhere around 7 years old. We were out in a hilly, wooded area having the kinds of adventures Tom Sawyer would like - climbing trees, exploring, burning our initials into tree stumps with a magnifying glass. Basically just out there being boys.
Along comes a group of older boys (3 of them, I think - maybe 12 years old). One of them has a fiberglass bow and some arrows, the kind that was common in those days. He draws the bow, points the arrow at us, and says "Get on your knees, or I'll shoot you."
So my buddy and I get on our knees. This kid puts the tip of the arrow (bow still drawn) to my temple, and says "I could kill you right now if I wanted to." He makes me repeat it back to him.
And that was all they wanted. They left. We left. I never found out who they were.
Lessons learned:
Some people seem to be born bad. Don't underestimate a kid's capacity for evil.
Bad things can/do happen to the unsuspecting, the innocent, and the vulnerable.
If you're caught unprepared, do what is necessary to survive. As 7-year-olds, we had no thought of fighting back against those bullies.
Most encounters in my life have been good ones. But that one, early on, showed me that bad people show up from time to time.