As always, I am enjoying every chapter of this story. You are a phenomenal storyteller, brother, and you are an exceptional friend. Thank you, for all of it, and for sharing this story with us in the first place. :)
As for near-death experiences? I used to work security for a night club here in Montgomery. I worked outside in the parking lot, making sure people didn't get rowdy and moving people that had been kicked out of the club left the property. Despite the general heightened alert I was on when I worked, it wasn't all that bad. Then, one night, a pair of club-goers left the night club with a drink in their hand.
You wouldn't think this would be an issue, but in the city of Montgomery, AL, the establishment can be fined up to $30,000 if police catch a patron with an alcoholic beverage outside of the night club. Me and another guard, Jeremy, confronted the two guys and told them to hand over the cup. They repeatedly refused and joked about how they were just going to keep ignoring us. I wasn't armed at the time as I hadn't yet received my concealed permit from the county, but Jeremy always carried a pistol on him. We finally got the cup away from them and told them to leave. Jeremy, being a hotheaded jackass, decided to get into a scuffle with one over some words.
The guy who was shoving Jeremy pushed him back and reached into his waistband. That's when I knew it was about to happen. I didn't even have a chance to turn and run for cover before the pistol was out and the shooting started. Thankfully, the shooter was an awful marksman and caught me in the foot instead of somewhere more vital. Still, it could have ended much, much worse.
Ah, shoot! Oh, wait, no. Bad choice of words, sorry! Man that's ... I don't even have a gun story in my list of tales. Wow! That was very intense. I'm glad you came out of it alive to tell the tale, brother. You were fortunate that it was only the foot. What happened to the assailant? Did they at least spend some time in jail?
I was too caught up with your story, I kept re-reading it. Thank you for your compliments, man. I hope you find the time to one day catch up on everything.
The assailant was never caught. Montgomery PD apparently didn't think that attempted murder warranted enough of a response, nevermind the fact that the guy who shot me kept on going out to night clubs. I ran across him a few months later at another club that I was working security at. Saw him in passing and didn't get a chance to track him down, otherwise I would have placed him under arrest right then and there.
I've got a long list of stuff to catch up on, but I'm working on it :D
Oh man, that's too bad. That's why people ridicule the criminal justice system. If they don't take attempted murder or even physical injury as a serious offense, then I don't know what qualifies as assault. Shaking my head,