10-23-2019, 06:03 AM
The madness came close to us last night.
Our apartment complex was originally two entirely different facilities. We live in the nicer part; the other part is inside a fence line and is more dump-ish. The office is in there. I went there yesterday around 4PM to put more money on our laundry card (it's the cheapest deal in this area). I passed a group of young men I didn't know, along with an older one I did know. Yes, they were all black. I had a bad vibe that was unusual for me. I tried to tell myself it was nothing for them to congregate like that, but it was actually unusual. Their manner registered in my military police experience as people who were slightly tense and watchful, not just good ol' boys out having a chat. They were unemployed, and not retired like me and that other old guy.
Last night around 11:30, there was a shooting while we slept. My wife heard something her sleepy mind thought was tapping on our bedroom window, but it was gunfire across the way in that other part of the complex. Four were transported to the hospital, and I believe one died there. Crime scene tape decorated the area of the shooting and streets were blocked for a few hours. Early this morning at least two local news channel were out there (KWTV 9 and Fox 25), and I can still see some kind of official vehicles. The crime scene tape is mostly gone now, but the news crews are still out there, including one remote broadcast rig.
None of this ever threatened us. My initial guess is this was a drug deal gone bad, because the older fellow I knew hanging out with the younger guys is an alcoholic and drug user. When he walked over to that group, it was one of those rare moments when he moved with a purpose; he typically shambles along without a care in the world. Yet he stood an uncomfortable distance from them as they stood and talked quite a while.
I'm sure I will hear more about this from our rumor mill later today. As far as I know, everyone around here knows I'm ex-military police, and that my son is a sheriff's deputy. A few have told me that I am intimidating, though I have made no conscious effort to project that kind of image. So what I see here is just another symptom of the madness the Lord told me was coming.
Our apartment complex was originally two entirely different facilities. We live in the nicer part; the other part is inside a fence line and is more dump-ish. The office is in there. I went there yesterday around 4PM to put more money on our laundry card (it's the cheapest deal in this area). I passed a group of young men I didn't know, along with an older one I did know. Yes, they were all black. I had a bad vibe that was unusual for me. I tried to tell myself it was nothing for them to congregate like that, but it was actually unusual. Their manner registered in my military police experience as people who were slightly tense and watchful, not just good ol' boys out having a chat. They were unemployed, and not retired like me and that other old guy.
Last night around 11:30, there was a shooting while we slept. My wife heard something her sleepy mind thought was tapping on our bedroom window, but it was gunfire across the way in that other part of the complex. Four were transported to the hospital, and I believe one died there. Crime scene tape decorated the area of the shooting and streets were blocked for a few hours. Early this morning at least two local news channel were out there (KWTV 9 and Fox 25), and I can still see some kind of official vehicles. The crime scene tape is mostly gone now, but the news crews are still out there, including one remote broadcast rig.
None of this ever threatened us. My initial guess is this was a drug deal gone bad, because the older fellow I knew hanging out with the younger guys is an alcoholic and drug user. When he walked over to that group, it was one of those rare moments when he moved with a purpose; he typically shambles along without a care in the world. Yet he stood an uncomfortable distance from them as they stood and talked quite a while.
I'm sure I will hear more about this from our rumor mill later today. As far as I know, everyone around here knows I'm ex-military police, and that my son is a sheriff's deputy. A few have told me that I am intimidating, though I have made no conscious effort to project that kind of image. So what I see here is just another symptom of the madness the Lord told me was coming.