I got a good one for you all today....
I will do my best to paint the canvas in such a way where you really get the emotions with this one.
We had not been open and running bands but maybe a month or two when this happened.
The BBQ place next door was not there yet, their building was still vacant.
So it was that, as usual, I drove to Spindale after work.
It was a pretty day out, I was in a good mood etc when I pulled into the parking lot.
As I got out of my car I notice an older man, grandfather age, sitting on a motorcycle in the parking lot in front of the now BBQ restaurant.
Thinking it is yet another adult wondering what kind of place we are yet thinking they could'nt come in (yes, you would be amazed at how many adults think they are not allowed inside here...) I walked over to him and introduced myself.
I asked him if he was waiting on a child or wanted a tour of the place.
Way to calmly, without any hesitation, he stated "No sir, I'm here to kill Timmy Johnson (No, I will never use real names in my stories folks...).
I did a double take "Excuse me?!"
Clearly, I must have heard wrong.
The gentleman proceeded to tell me that young Timmy was dating his granddaughter and was ruining her life. That she was a straight A student but he was leading her down bad roads...
Knowing Timmy....this was very likely true....
The man went on to tell me that he had given this a lot of thought and, at his age, he wouldn't be long in prison and was quite prepared to live out the remainder of his days that way.
Now folks, let me tell you something. In my years on this earth I have had the unpleasant experience of having someone put a gun to my head on more than a couple times. (We are not even counting the times I have been shot at.)
I have had calm/cool people put a pistol to my head and I have had very scared people put a rifle to my head.
Of the two options, Id rather have a scared man do it than a calm one. Why? Because a scared man is a desperate man. He has no plan, no clue where this is going.... he is looking for a better option than the one he is currently staring at. If he pulls that trigger, its more likely (in my opinion) to be by accident, a reflex from being startled etc.
A calm man, by contrast.... has thought this through and through. He already has a plan of where this scenario is going... the outcome is already planned and decided and therefore.... he is harder to change his mind. He has weighed the consequences and is comfortable with it. If he pulls the trigger...it was his plan all along.
So... when this man calmly explains his intentions, I believed him. There was no anger, no excitement... it was as if we were talking about the weather for the next week.
He explained to me that he had no intention of doing the deed on my property, he just was trying to find out if he was here or not and get a better idea of what he looked like etc.....
So, I calmly explained that he was a fool if he thought I was going to help him in any way. I was not going to even tell him if the boy was here or not.
Like gentlemen, we both had stated our intentions and drew our lines in the sand. We both respected each others opinions on the subject and I went inside to warn all my adult volunteers of the situation and to look outside and know what this man looked like.
Not surprising, he rode off.
The next week, he was back while I was still at my day job in Polk County. My adult volunteer called me to say he had returned (this time in a car) and Timmy was indeed inside the building. She then asked me what she should do.
Do??? Call the friggin police! Make sure ALL kids stay inside and lock the doors if he makes any attempt at coming off the parking lot.
The police were called and they came to talk to Grandpa.
From what I was told by the police officers, he told them, just as calmly as he had told me, of his intentions.
The police searched his car and found a VERY large knife, not quite a machete from my understanding.
So... the cops had a confession of intent to murder a teen AND had a weapon to boot!
So you know what THEY did right?
They gave him back the knife and told him to go home.
They THEN came back to my adult staff and made sure to tell her that this man indeed was to be considered dangerous and should be taken seriously.
........... wat?
About a month later.... when the police chief explained to me how he was putting immense pressure on the landlord to get us booted out of "Small town Friendly".... he used this event as a reaon of why we needed to go!
It wasnt like I told the old dude to come here! That this is where he could find him! I didnt invite the guy in nor did I throw out the teen to him!
HOW the hell was this MY FAULT? I protected the kid!
Shakin my head.... we roll on....
(For the record, we have been here over two years now and to my knowledge, the police chief and I are no longer at odds...and if we are, it is nowhere as apparent as it was. This story is NOT a mark against him in any way. He was getting TONS of calls against us through a coordinated attack by a business using their clients as patsies... I completely understand his point of view in regards to feeling like he had to contain what then seemed an imminent problem within his jurisdiction. This is NOT to say I agree with all that went down back then and how things were handled.... But, to my knowledge, we have proved ourselves by now.)
