ok, im not mil, ex mil or LE. but people know i like firearms and i get asked to do things. i had a friend ask me to help him over the week preceeding the 4th. he and another friend were operating a fireworks stand for the season as a fundraiser. so i dont sleep as many of you know, he knows this and asks if i would want to watch the tent overnight. sure. there will be another person there too. yep, ill do it. but its kinda just like camping. i had a DVD player, a boxed set of dexter and lord of the rings and a comfy chair. the other person had been there at the tent all day and so i told him just to sleep, id knock on the camper if i needed him and to call 911 if he heard gunshots. oh, yeah, im gonna carry. a cell phone, lol. oh and a kimber too. so i did it all week and no issues til 0230 on 04/07. mind you we close at 11. tent sides are down except the back. im sitting in a chair facing the back side looking in. like a ... oh shooting gallery, lol. if you drive by on 45th you can see into the well lit tent and me sitting there munching trail mix and some jerky. so all week nothing. one stand got robbed $1k+ when both guys on watch passed out, lol. how do both sentries pass out? so as i sit there i think "what do i have to worry about?" a vehicle pulling up and people getting out. no one needs to get out at a 4way at 0230 for any good reason. so i listen for doors and long stops. i cant see the 4 way, but i can hear it. about 0030 i heard this. a car driving slow down 45th headed west. i saw the car clear the tent, they saw it open and slowed down. someone in the car saw me and said "oh they got people there" and they sped off. so by 0230 when i heard the boom box dodge durango, dark color, 89 body style i had been ready and knew what to listen for. it wasnt moving and it was loud enough i was suspicious before it got to the stop sign. i saw it stop cause i had walked over between the tent and the big inflatable gorilla and tent. i have a flashlight, i dont want to use it yet. its headed south stopped on california at the sign. im thinking im good as long as no one gets out. im thinking so far i have seen a guy drop a gal at her car at caseys at 3am after they... well who knows what they did. could have been a prayer meeting, im sure someone was on their knees. i have seen people stop and light something with a lighter that must have been hard to light cause they all three took a try at lighting it over and over and passed it back and forth. i guess they couldnt get it lit and they gave up and drove off. i saw a few people passing notes back and forth between cars and speeding off. and alot of people use the automated car wash at all hours of the night too. but not the durango. nope. three guys got out. they all went to the drivers side and talked to eachother and headed towards our tent. im standing there in plain view, light in one hand, 1911 holstered. they start walking towards me. the getaway car went to the car wash. the three urban youths, dressed in white t shirts no less. red shorts on one guy, lol. easy target aquisition, best movers i have seen i a while. so life like. anyway they are walking towards me when the two trailing spot me. they pause, stop and turn and walk away from me. ive not moved at all, not used a light, im still holstered. the lead guy keeps coming. he almost made it to the ditch when he saw me and spun and walked up 45 towards jakes while their getaway driver Tyrone, he has had a rally course by the way, waited in the opposite direction. i go knock on the tent to get the owner to call 911. now im not saying they were gonna steal anything... and im not saying they were dangerous. i did say to the guys i wasnt gonna shoot no one over some sparklers, but that they may not feel the same way so i would be armed. cops came 10 minutes after they drove off. on the 4th of july when we should all be free, some are still slaves to the idea that they can just take what they want. this was a fundraiser tent for a good cause. someone could have gotten hurt or killed if things had gone different.
