Sorry this is so long but it was an intense few minutes.
That this happened in Dallas is insignificant. It could happen in any town, big or small. It’s just where it happened to my wife, my child and I. So please no negative comments about Dallas. (I like Texas.
)
I have three purposes in writing. First is cathartic. Human life is precious, even that of evil doers. They were pushing to a bad end. I was willing to do anything to protect the lives of my wife and child and that included giving my life or taking the lives of the bad guys. (Luckily, they were over-confident, I gained a tactical advantage and they took a few dollars and ran.) I’d make similar decisions in a heartbeat but it is unsettling to realize how deadly the encounter could have been. Second is to improve. While I did a lot of things right, there are things I could have done better. Please feel free to make suggestions. Third, is to give others one more situation to think about and as, I believe it is, Fred says, “The mind is the most important weapon.” So here goes…
My wife, 13 year old son and I were traveling to a wedding. On June 5, we stopped in Dallas for a little in-route sightseeing. We got to the hotel (4 blocks from Dealey Plaza) at 4:30 pm. Rested, ate a little and then my wife wanted our boy to see Dealey Plaza before we went to the museum the next day. It was 5:45 and sunny. Being so close, two plus hours to dark and with the number of people in the West End, we decided to walk.
The first two blocks were very pleasant. I was in condition yellow, just looking for, but not having seen, anything suspicious. Halfway through the third block, the crowd thinned and then I noticed a lone male approaching on our side of the street. Something about him just looked wrong. (In retrospect, it was his walk. It was too purposeful, too deliberate. It didn’t fit somebody leaving work and heading home.) I hesitated, thinking “Do we cut right through the parking lot or risk passing him on the street?” He made the decision for us as he abruptly crossed at angle towards where we would cut right. I looked back at him after we passed. He had a phone out and was texting, but he didn’t turn and follow us. We continued on and the crowd thinned so that we were alone when we got to the corner. As soon as we got to the corner we were approached by another man. His approach immediately put me on guard. He came directly for us and started talking. I immediately recognized a hustler’s pattern. He could be trying to just con us for “tour guide” services or he could be setting us up. I put myself between him and my family. A quick glance over my shoulder revealed no one coming. A scan of the area showed no one around, but this guy came out of nowhere. His approach and instant conversation seemed like he knew we were coming before he saw us. I remembered the other guy texting and wondered if it was a setup.
He talked like it was a tour guide services con but there was an edge in his voice that concerned me and then he said the alarming phrase “I know where the secret tunnel is that the policeman who really shot JFK used. I’ll take you to it.” My immediate thought was “You slime. Do you really think I’m letting you lead us to some secluded spot? How do I disengage?”
He had approached too fast for me to raise a hand and tell him to keep his distance. At this point, I suspected he was a predator and very dangerous. How do I protect my family? If I tell him no thanks or buzz off, I suspected a weapon would be out in a flash and I could only feel another accomplice. (Paranoid maybe, but I wasn’t going to take chances with my wife and child.) I smiled and said “Really? Well, we’re taking our boy to see Dealey Plaza. We want him to get a feel for the turn and the grassy knoll and the path of the motorcade.”
“Sure” he responded. “I’ll take you there first.” I looked around and saw no one within a block. I kept an eye on him and was relieved as he went back into his “tour guide” patter. I smiled. Only one more block to Dealey Plaza and the crowd. Still I watched his hands, looked carefully for somebody hiding along that last block and listened. As he turned to cross the street, I heard him mutter “Whitey!” He quickly apologized claiming to be talking about the white cross now signal but the apology was hollow. The exclamation was venomous. “Interesting”, I thought and smiled to put him at ease thinking “Just get to Dealey Plaza and be among all those people. There I can turn the advantage.”
That one block was a nervous walk. “How do I get my gun if necessary? Where’s the trap? Does he have accomplices? Thank God, he’s continuing that annoying patter and river of lies? He’s trying to get me to relax. No way, you are 56. Your skin has no wrinkles. You might be 25. I’m glad he talks with his hands.” Still I saw no one yet and kept suspecting this guy was very dangerous and probably not alone. “How do I disengage without provoking a fight? When he ups the stakes, I’ll have to be first on my gun. He is much younger and quicker than I. And he moves fast when he decides to act. Good, he thinks I’m buffaloed. That he can lead me anywhere. Stay ready, Greg. Your wife and child depend on it.”
Relieved at reaching Dealey Plaza and finding it crowded with people, I relaxed a little but still watched him carefully. I continued to smile and announced “We’re going to where the motorcade was when Kennedy was shot.” He didn’t seem to pick up that I was directing our path. He kept up his patter. As we crossed I noticed him acknowledge the paper vendor. “Interesting. What’s his part in this? He’s seated. Hmmm? Keep an eye on him. His hands are still out. When will I get my chance to disengage?”
We proceeded on the sidewalk close to the spot where the last bullet hit Kennedy. There were a lot of tourists about. “Good, he won’t get too violent here” I thought. There was one other guy getting a “tour guide” con. “Be careful, you don’t know him. At least you don’t look like you may have much money on you.” Our guy continued his patter. I glanced around. More thoughts, “That guy in the blue shirt and ball cap near the vendor is way out of place. He’s no tourist. I bet he’s in with this guy.”
Then he made his pitch. “Kennedy was really killed by a Dallas policeman. No way could Oswald fire three shots in five seconds with a crappy rifle. The policeman was on the other side of the plaza, dropped into a secret tunnel by that walk under the bridge, came out on this side and shot Kennedy with his revolver. Let’s go see the tunnel.”
I smiled, “We’re not going to the tunnel.”
He responded, “You have to. I have lots of friends here. You don’t want to be with them. There’s one now, the guy with the blue shirt.” I had kept myself between him and my wife and child. He had to step around and towards me to point at the blue shirt. His tone was now a little intimidating. I suspected he might grab my wife’s purse and run. I thought, “Get my hand on my weapon now but don’t pull it. Wait for him to make a blatantly aggressive move. Watch for a hand to his pocket and what comes out.”
My wife and child fell for the pointing and turned. He looked at me and realized I was staring straight at him. “I’ve got lots of friends around here” he repeated, this time with a little snarl and still pointing. I leaned forward a little, no smile, he hadn’t seen my hand under my shirt. I had a firm grip on my SR9 and loosened it slightly from its holster. “I’ve got my friend with me too” I responded. I was watching for a quick aggressive move. If necessary, I wouldn’t try to clear my shirt. We were very close. His eyes flashed to my right hand and rage erupted in his face. “Yep, he is very dangerous” I thought. Be ready he might move quickly. I clicked the safety off.
I pushed forward a little more and almost snarled “We’re not going anywhere with you. We’re done here. Leave us alone.” “You owe me a $100!” he exclaimed his eyes still raging. “You better settle for $10” I replied as I held up a mashed bill in my left hand. (I had gotten it from my pocket during that one block walk. I didn’t want him to see how much money I had. I consciously did it so nobody noticed. I wanted some surprise other than my gun.) The $10 surprise seemed to throw him off a little. “I’ve got to split with (short pause) the museum. That’s not enough.”
Calmly I asked, “Julie, do you have a $10?” I could hear her open her purse. “Why didn’t you just say no” I thought. To be fair, things were happening fast and she was just a little behind. I watched him closely in case he lunged for her. “I’ve just got a $20.” “Dammit. You’ve got a lot more than that and I don’t want him to see it” I thought. With my left hand I snatched the $20 she was pulling out, concerned that I had to take my eyes from him for a second.
“$30 is all there is. I suggest you take it.” It’s strange how time slows down at points. I thought that sounded familiar. He snatched the $30 and stormed off. I moved my wife and child up the knoll and into a crowd of tourists. I turned to scan the area. He and blue shirt were both gone. I took my hand from under my shirt. (I forgot to click the safety back on.) It was just a little past 6.
Writing this has been cathartic. My wife was pissed and has been taking it out on me, complaining about the $30. I’m not happy about losing $30 but I think we came out pretty well. One or more people could have died. We could have lost a lot of cash and credit cards. We’ve been talking about it; she’s calming down and getting more appreciative of what I was willing to do to protect her and our child.
I can see at least two, possibly three, things I could have done better. At seeing the very first guy, we could have turned around and gone back. Second, I should have paid more attention to behind me as I guided my wife and child up the grassy knoll. Third, one of us could have called 911 (although that could have provoked a violent response.) My wife did decide she could have exclaimed, “Oh crap! My tampon is leaking” and bolted for the hotel.
Any other thoughts or suggestions?
That this happened in Dallas is insignificant. It could happen in any town, big or small. It’s just where it happened to my wife, my child and I. So please no negative comments about Dallas. (I like Texas.
)I have three purposes in writing. First is cathartic. Human life is precious, even that of evil doers. They were pushing to a bad end. I was willing to do anything to protect the lives of my wife and child and that included giving my life or taking the lives of the bad guys. (Luckily, they were over-confident, I gained a tactical advantage and they took a few dollars and ran.) I’d make similar decisions in a heartbeat but it is unsettling to realize how deadly the encounter could have been. Second is to improve. While I did a lot of things right, there are things I could have done better. Please feel free to make suggestions. Third, is to give others one more situation to think about and as, I believe it is, Fred says, “The mind is the most important weapon.” So here goes…
My wife, 13 year old son and I were traveling to a wedding. On June 5, we stopped in Dallas for a little in-route sightseeing. We got to the hotel (4 blocks from Dealey Plaza) at 4:30 pm. Rested, ate a little and then my wife wanted our boy to see Dealey Plaza before we went to the museum the next day. It was 5:45 and sunny. Being so close, two plus hours to dark and with the number of people in the West End, we decided to walk.
The first two blocks were very pleasant. I was in condition yellow, just looking for, but not having seen, anything suspicious. Halfway through the third block, the crowd thinned and then I noticed a lone male approaching on our side of the street. Something about him just looked wrong. (In retrospect, it was his walk. It was too purposeful, too deliberate. It didn’t fit somebody leaving work and heading home.) I hesitated, thinking “Do we cut right through the parking lot or risk passing him on the street?” He made the decision for us as he abruptly crossed at angle towards where we would cut right. I looked back at him after we passed. He had a phone out and was texting, but he didn’t turn and follow us. We continued on and the crowd thinned so that we were alone when we got to the corner. As soon as we got to the corner we were approached by another man. His approach immediately put me on guard. He came directly for us and started talking. I immediately recognized a hustler’s pattern. He could be trying to just con us for “tour guide” services or he could be setting us up. I put myself between him and my family. A quick glance over my shoulder revealed no one coming. A scan of the area showed no one around, but this guy came out of nowhere. His approach and instant conversation seemed like he knew we were coming before he saw us. I remembered the other guy texting and wondered if it was a setup.
He talked like it was a tour guide services con but there was an edge in his voice that concerned me and then he said the alarming phrase “I know where the secret tunnel is that the policeman who really shot JFK used. I’ll take you to it.” My immediate thought was “You slime. Do you really think I’m letting you lead us to some secluded spot? How do I disengage?”
He had approached too fast for me to raise a hand and tell him to keep his distance. At this point, I suspected he was a predator and very dangerous. How do I protect my family? If I tell him no thanks or buzz off, I suspected a weapon would be out in a flash and I could only feel another accomplice. (Paranoid maybe, but I wasn’t going to take chances with my wife and child.) I smiled and said “Really? Well, we’re taking our boy to see Dealey Plaza. We want him to get a feel for the turn and the grassy knoll and the path of the motorcade.”
“Sure” he responded. “I’ll take you there first.” I looked around and saw no one within a block. I kept an eye on him and was relieved as he went back into his “tour guide” patter. I smiled. Only one more block to Dealey Plaza and the crowd. Still I watched his hands, looked carefully for somebody hiding along that last block and listened. As he turned to cross the street, I heard him mutter “Whitey!” He quickly apologized claiming to be talking about the white cross now signal but the apology was hollow. The exclamation was venomous. “Interesting”, I thought and smiled to put him at ease thinking “Just get to Dealey Plaza and be among all those people. There I can turn the advantage.”
That one block was a nervous walk. “How do I get my gun if necessary? Where’s the trap? Does he have accomplices? Thank God, he’s continuing that annoying patter and river of lies? He’s trying to get me to relax. No way, you are 56. Your skin has no wrinkles. You might be 25. I’m glad he talks with his hands.” Still I saw no one yet and kept suspecting this guy was very dangerous and probably not alone. “How do I disengage without provoking a fight? When he ups the stakes, I’ll have to be first on my gun. He is much younger and quicker than I. And he moves fast when he decides to act. Good, he thinks I’m buffaloed. That he can lead me anywhere. Stay ready, Greg. Your wife and child depend on it.”
Relieved at reaching Dealey Plaza and finding it crowded with people, I relaxed a little but still watched him carefully. I continued to smile and announced “We’re going to where the motorcade was when Kennedy was shot.” He didn’t seem to pick up that I was directing our path. He kept up his patter. As we crossed I noticed him acknowledge the paper vendor. “Interesting. What’s his part in this? He’s seated. Hmmm? Keep an eye on him. His hands are still out. When will I get my chance to disengage?”
We proceeded on the sidewalk close to the spot where the last bullet hit Kennedy. There were a lot of tourists about. “Good, he won’t get too violent here” I thought. There was one other guy getting a “tour guide” con. “Be careful, you don’t know him. At least you don’t look like you may have much money on you.” Our guy continued his patter. I glanced around. More thoughts, “That guy in the blue shirt and ball cap near the vendor is way out of place. He’s no tourist. I bet he’s in with this guy.”
Then he made his pitch. “Kennedy was really killed by a Dallas policeman. No way could Oswald fire three shots in five seconds with a crappy rifle. The policeman was on the other side of the plaza, dropped into a secret tunnel by that walk under the bridge, came out on this side and shot Kennedy with his revolver. Let’s go see the tunnel.”
I smiled, “We’re not going to the tunnel.”
He responded, “You have to. I have lots of friends here. You don’t want to be with them. There’s one now, the guy with the blue shirt.” I had kept myself between him and my wife and child. He had to step around and towards me to point at the blue shirt. His tone was now a little intimidating. I suspected he might grab my wife’s purse and run. I thought, “Get my hand on my weapon now but don’t pull it. Wait for him to make a blatantly aggressive move. Watch for a hand to his pocket and what comes out.”
My wife and child fell for the pointing and turned. He looked at me and realized I was staring straight at him. “I’ve got lots of friends around here” he repeated, this time with a little snarl and still pointing. I leaned forward a little, no smile, he hadn’t seen my hand under my shirt. I had a firm grip on my SR9 and loosened it slightly from its holster. “I’ve got my friend with me too” I responded. I was watching for a quick aggressive move. If necessary, I wouldn’t try to clear my shirt. We were very close. His eyes flashed to my right hand and rage erupted in his face. “Yep, he is very dangerous” I thought. Be ready he might move quickly. I clicked the safety off.
I pushed forward a little more and almost snarled “We’re not going anywhere with you. We’re done here. Leave us alone.” “You owe me a $100!” he exclaimed his eyes still raging. “You better settle for $10” I replied as I held up a mashed bill in my left hand. (I had gotten it from my pocket during that one block walk. I didn’t want him to see how much money I had. I consciously did it so nobody noticed. I wanted some surprise other than my gun.) The $10 surprise seemed to throw him off a little. “I’ve got to split with (short pause) the museum. That’s not enough.”
Calmly I asked, “Julie, do you have a $10?” I could hear her open her purse. “Why didn’t you just say no” I thought. To be fair, things were happening fast and she was just a little behind. I watched him closely in case he lunged for her. “I’ve just got a $20.” “Dammit. You’ve got a lot more than that and I don’t want him to see it” I thought. With my left hand I snatched the $20 she was pulling out, concerned that I had to take my eyes from him for a second.
“$30 is all there is. I suggest you take it.” It’s strange how time slows down at points. I thought that sounded familiar. He snatched the $30 and stormed off. I moved my wife and child up the knoll and into a crowd of tourists. I turned to scan the area. He and blue shirt were both gone. I took my hand from under my shirt. (I forgot to click the safety back on.
) It was just a little past 6. Writing this has been cathartic. My wife was pissed and has been taking it out on me, complaining about the $30. I’m not happy about losing $30 but I think we came out pretty well. One or more people could have died. We could have lost a lot of cash and credit cards. We’ve been talking about it; she’s calming down and getting more appreciative of what I was willing to do to protect her and our child.
I can see at least two, possibly three, things I could have done better. At seeing the very first guy, we could have turned around and gone back. Second, I should have paid more attention to behind me as I guided my wife and child up the grassy knoll. Third, one of us could have called 911 (although that could have provoked a violent response.) My wife did decide she could have exclaimed, “Oh crap! My tampon is leaking” and bolted for the hotel.
Any other thoughts or suggestions?
