> > Anyhow, the story lacks credibility from that point.
>Nice that you can figure all that out in 45 seconds. Ever call the
>cops? How long does it take for them to get there?
Yeah, calling the cops can be something of an impotent threat, I know. Though the nut can't be sure of that.
I recall an incident a few years back, when a car pulled into my driveway after midnight one night and sat there blowing the car horn, flashing his lights and yelling abuse. I had just got into bed. Woke up and went out to the driveway, it turned out to be a bikey who lives at the end of the road, drunk as hell (someone else was driving him home from a bikey rally a few miles away.)
His missus was a complete nutcase, they'd been harassing us for over a year about my roosters of all things. Mostly her. Sent the council around, the RSPCA, you name it. their complaint (or hers) was that the roosters crowing disturbed their sleep. This from a fellow who roars up and down the street in a Harley at all hours of the day and night!
They had bluffed the other neighbours, one woman across the road from me was very upset when she told me that she would have to get rid of the rooster. They had even had the council send me a threatening letter, to which I replied offering a contrary legal opinion and inviting them to test the matter in court if they wanted to make my day. So the council went away.
Then his mad wife started ringing us up at all hours and hanging up as soon as we answered. This went on for about a year. But we just ignored them. No doubt living with the mad woman was hell on earth for the poor bikie though and so this night, after getting on the piss, he must have just cracked up.
When I saw who it was, I did get a bit angry though. I shouted back to my missus to call the cops and get my shotgun. I'm embarrassed to admit the shotgun remark, which she ignored of course. But she called the cops for me. By the time I'd got through to the cops, the Bikie had been driven away.
Had a heart to heart with him over the fence a few weeks later, when he stopped by and started whining about my roosters again. I told him that it was my considered opinion that his love interest was probably suffering from obsessive-compulsive or some similar psychiatric disorder. As for the roosters crowing, I said it was all a matter of what you were used to. Out here I explained, people don't even notice the noise of farm animals, its just the normal background. Though I admitted that the roar of his motorbike was a bit of a rude shock to me.
But I didn't like to complain about it I said, I expected I'd get used to the noise eventually. Certainly wouldn't be complaining to the authorities or anything. Live and let live.
Anyhow, it seemed to go well, haven't had any problems with them since. See, you just have to be sensitive, like me. ;-)
The cops didn't bother to come that night of course. The policewoman on the phone said to give them another call if he turned up again. And she implored me not to shoot anyone.
> I can tell you: it
>took them ~10 minutes to get there with the guy calling about a meth'd
>gun whacko. How long for the guy with the ax? Who knows.
See, now that's one way of speeding up the cops, tell them you've got a gun and you are going to shoot the bloke smashing up your front door with an axe. That will put a rocket under them. You don't need an actual gun for that threat though, in fact its better not to have one. Cops might take it off you if you do.
>Bill: you're a smart guy, much smarter than this fellow. What can I
>say?
One doesn't need to be a Rhodes Scholar to think up the the 'exit the back door while he's smashing in the front door with an axe' trick. But you can see my point that, if someone's bought a gun for self defense, they might tend to feel a tad silly about doing that, might look like a bit of a wus in fact. Running away from a bloke with an axe - when he has a dirty great gun! Whereas who can fault an unarmed man who skips out the back door when he sees someone coming through the front door with an axe?
Therefor, being unarmed not only makes you physically safer, but without the same risk of injury to your machismo. ;-) There's just no downside as far as I can see.
Bill Bartlett Bracknell Tas