Tuesday, September 28th, 2004

Someone’s telling me about a news item where a young military officer is on vacation and robbed by several teenagers. After robbing him, they shot him when he came out of his car.

Now I’m at the scene of the crime. Cops have shown up and are engaging in a gunfight with the robbers (who are both very young kids). The plainclothed cops fire multiple shots into one kid who staggers away, firing back the whole time. The other kid shoots him also, maybe as a mercy killing. The first kid falls but doesn’t die. More police arrive and shoot down the second kid.

I’m back to discussing this story with someone. I tell him that I soot pistols occasionally and that it’s not easy squeezing off round after round from an automatic. I tell him that I’m surprised that a kid can do it.

We then talk about a basketball court near a ledge where violent confrontations occasionally happen. I tell him I don’t like the spot because the net is so close to a ledge and people could get accidentally bumped off the edge. The guy says, “Or pushed like Amy was.” He says that maybe I could carry a gun to protect her. I tell him it’s no use when everyone else also has guns. “It’s like a nuclear deterrent when everyone has a nuke and no one is afraid to use it.” I say.