From: Steven Stringham
Sent: Sunday, Januar=
y 11, 2004 12:39 AM
<=
DIV style=3D"FONT: 10pt Arial"> Subject: Re: [Az-Geocaching] Caching in Tucson Last Nig=
ht
RandMan,
I want to thank you fo=
r your reply. It was measured, and well thought out,
and good advice.<=
BR>
A firearm is not what I will be getting. Although, I would like=
a firearm,
I am not a hunter, and I have no real use for one (?). That, and my wife
hates the thought of one in the house. And, since I=
like my wife a lot
more than I like shooting, for now she wins.
<=
P>I respect and understand your wifes desire not to have firearms=
in the house. Everyone has their own levels of cons=
cience and fears when it comes to having weapons in a home. My=
ex and I enjoyed target shooting (we were not hunters). =
We belonged to the NRA and were members of the shooting range out at Sou=
th Mountain. My daughters were raised around guns, frequently shot =
them and have a deep respect for them. Of course, even though I tru=
sted my children around firearms, I made sure that the weapons and a=
mmo were secure. In our home we felt comfortable around guns.&=
nbsp;
I was probably being stupid i=
n that part of town at that time of night.
But, maybe not. My wife, re=
ally appreciated your comment "You have a
family to consider!". That I=
do. And I love them dearly. I am surely glad
that he did not have =
a gun (although he kept muttering about how he wished
he had on=
e).
Steven, you said you are "not a hunter, and I have no real use for one (?)." Guns are not for everyon=
e! There are a lot of gun owners that have no business carryin=
g one. Without the proper training a gun can get you in a lot of tr=
ouble. There are too many hotheads who pull guns out for the w=
rong reasons. It's a good thing that the nut you encountered didn't=
have a gun (you may not be here today had he had one!). &=
nbsp;Even though he threatened you with his bike lock, you must have come=
across to him as someone who was confident and wasn't going to back off =
from him. Had he had a gun though, the situation may have=
turned out differently! Then you would have had a "real use=
for one."
With my situation =
at 'The Lost Dutchmans Gold!" cache, there was no question in my mind tha=
t the two young men were about to rob me. Because of my actions&nbs=
p;as they approached, it was enough to put the thought in their minds tha=
t I had a gun. =
;
As for reporting it to the polic=
e. I kinda wish I did have a picture of
the guy. Just for that purpose=
After all, by raising his bike lock over
his head as i=
f to strike, could he be charged with attempted assault with
a deadly =
weapon? I don't know. There was a police car that stopped by my
car as=
I was taking notes about the cache just afterwords. I could have
stop=
ped him and discussed it with him. Instead I just waved, and he went
o=
n. If I did report him, and charges are brought to court, then I would=
need to get involved again. Would that make him seek revenge afterwor=
ds?
Not a pleasant thought. But, the other side of that is if I don't =
stand
up, then will the next guy, or the next? For that evening, I=
am OK, so I
am leaving well enough alone and thanking the Lord for my=
safety.
I understand your concern about getting "inv=
olved" and the "revenge" factor. You're right! if we as citizens do=
n't get involved when we experience a crime then we allow the crimin=
al free reign.
As for being nice to him. I do=
n't know how to utter profanities. They just
don't work out of my mout=
h. So, by being polite, I was staying strong, "No
sir, I will not!", b=
ut still not making him more angry. At least that was
my goal.
=
Evidently, whatever you said and the way you carried yourself was=
enough to put doubt in the guys mind. It worked! :D &nb=
sp;
Rand (RandMan)
ThanksSteven Stringham
StringCachers
*******************************=
************************************
Original message (=
in part) from RandMan. Sent Jan 09, 2004 at 11:45 P.M.
> Steven,
>
> "Penguins In Sonora" must have =
been quite a rush for you! I'm sure the
> issue with the guy =
on the bike wasn't about you snapping a photo of him ..
> it was ab=
out whether he could intimidate you into giving up your camera
> an=
d running off.
>
> I don't think I would have been as nice as=
you were to him. Criminals
> like him feed on intimidation a=
nd the weakness of their victims. You
> stood your ground and=
that was enough to dissuade him. Evidently he
> wasn't looki=
ng for a confrontation - if he were he would have attacked
> you.>
> You asked: "with nighttime caching, do I need to reconside=
r where and how
> I cache?" I think you are the only one who =
can answer that! How
> uncomfortable did the experience make =
you feel? Do you have enough
> confidence in yourself to hand=
le someone who may want to get physical?
> Evidently you stood your=
ground against someone who tried to intimidate
> you; but are you =
willing to take a chance against someone who may pull a
> weapon?&n=
bsp; You have a family to consider! If you do decide to do nighttim=
e
> caching alone, you may want to consider carrying a gun for prot=
ection.
>
> The individual you encountered may have a history=
of robbing people in the
> area. I would have notified the p=
olice of the situation.
>
> I do want to congratulate you on =
standing your ground. You did good!
>
> Take care,
&=
gt;
> Rand (RandMan)
>
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From listserv@azgeocaching.com Mon Jan 12 17:45:44 2004
From: listserv@azgeocaching.com (GUY ALDRICH)
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 09:45:44 -0800 (PST)
Subject: [Az-Geocaching] Highpointer's(Ken Akerman) 1000 cache
Message-ID: <20040112174544.30564.qmail@web40808.mail.yahoo.com>
Congratulations on your 1000 cache finds!
Guy
__________________________________
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Yahoo! Hotjobs: Enter the "Signing Bonus" Sweepstakes
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From listserv@azgeocaching.com Mon Jan 12 21:58:11 2004
From: listserv@azgeocaching.com (Brian Casteel)
Date: Mon, 12 Jan 2004 14:58:11 -0700
Subject: [Az-Geocaching] Anyone up for a long hike?
Message-ID: <009301c3d957$2bd5cd40$0502a8c0@fbidaemon>
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Well, it's that time again that I venture out into the wilderness in an =
effort to finally place my newest cache, and I'm looking for a hiking =
companion and possibly co-cache hider. I'm looking at a hike that's in =
all likelihood 10+ miles round-trip, and while the initial plan was to =
hike it alone, I wouldn't mind some company. The plan was to place one =
or two more caches along the hike route, to make it more worthwhile for =
cachers to go for the primary one. I'm leaving tomorrow morning, and =
the area is a few miles west of Horseshoe Lake. So I need to know by =
tonight if someone would like to join me.
Brian
Team A.I.
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