Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post

Randerolf · 01-27-2007, 12:02 AM

One. I could be dead right now.

I work at a high-end steakhouse and tonight one of our VIPs was in late schmoozing donors for one of his favorite causes. He didn’t get in until about 10:55 pm. Fast forward past a few bottles of wine, three courses of food, and bill that makes you wonder if it’s in dollars or pesos – the guests are gone and I’m ready to go home. It’s early in the morning. But the dishwasher wants me to watch him take out the trash and make sure everything is cool. The bartender and I go to the backdoor. We talk a bit. The dish washer is there. Everything is not cool. A guy is by the dumpster out back for no real reason. He sees us staring at him, so he gets in his car and pulls away and we get this feeling – man, we’ve been closed for hours.

Maybe he’s not gone. Just out of sight.

After some hesitation, the dishwasher looks outside. The man was out of view. His car is barely viewable past some landscaping, 70 degrees from the door. Waiting. We call the cops. We wait. We leave. Randerolf does not die. In the 3 years that I have worked there, the place has had two armed robberies. I was never there for either occurrence. Guns in the face. More cameras. More lights. No fatalities.

I’m glad to be typing this. There has been a fever of homicides in my city and am glad not to end up in tomorrow’s paper.

Two.

My best friend was in town from collage to see his visiting brother who is in the navy. Dinner was nice. He decides to gas up at night near his childhood home, before making the hour and a half trip back to school. He pays at the pump and gasses up, but meanwhile the station is being robbed. The guy walks outside and tells my friend to give him his wallet. He is shocked; he is looking into the muzzle of a gun. Instinct kicks in. He tells him to fuck off and they fight over the gun. My friend over powers him and wrestles the weapon away, but the guy knocks the firearm away. They dive for it. They struggle for it. Bullets fly. Fighting. The guy runs away. To the getaway car. One bullet grazed my friend’s side. One went through his arm.

Only now – and after many surgeries, therapies, and doctor’s visits -is he approaching previously held functionality of his hand.

Have you ever been near death? Near violence? What happened and how has it changed you (assuming it has)? Did it change any of your beliefs?

01-27-2007, 12:02 AM	#1 (permalink)
Randerolf Fireball Location: ~	Bang. I'm Dead. How about you? One. I could be dead right now. I work at a high-end steakhouse and tonight one of our VIPs was in late schmoozing donors for one of his favorite causes. He didn’t get in until about 10:55 pm. Fast forward past a few bottles of wine, three courses of food, and bill that makes you wonder if it’s in dollars or pesos – the guests are gone and I’m ready to go home. It’s early in the morning. But the dishwasher wants me to watch him take out the trash and make sure everything is cool. The bartender and I go to the backdoor. We talk a bit. The dish washer is there. Everything is not cool. A guy is by the dumpster out back for no real reason. He sees us staring at him, so he gets in his car and pulls away and we get this feeling – man, we’ve been closed for hours. Maybe he’s not gone. Just out of sight. After some hesitation, the dishwasher looks outside. The man was out of view. His car is barely viewable past some landscaping, 70 degrees from the door. Waiting. We call the cops. We wait. We leave. Randerolf does not die. In the 3 years that I have worked there, the place has had two armed robberies. I was never there for either occurrence. Guns in the face. More cameras. More lights. No fatalities. I’m glad to be typing this. There has been a fever of homicides in my city and am glad not to end up in tomorrow’s paper. Two. My best friend was in town from collage to see his visiting brother who is in the navy. Dinner was nice. He decides to gas up at night near his childhood home, before making the hour and a half trip back to school. He pays at the pump and gasses up, but meanwhile the station is being robbed. The guy walks outside and tells my friend to give him his wallet. He is shocked; he is looking into the muzzle of a gun. Instinct kicks in. He tells him to fuck off and they fight over the gun. My friend over powers him and wrestles the weapon away, but the guy knocks the firearm away. They dive for it. They struggle for it. Bullets fly. Fighting. The guy runs away. To the getaway car. One bullet grazed my friend’s side. One went through his arm. Only now – and after many surgeries, therapies, and doctor’s visits -is he approaching previously held functionality of his hand. Have you ever been near death? Near violence? What happened and how has it changed you (assuming it has)? Did it change any of your beliefs? Last edited by Randerolf; 01-27-2007 at 12:05 AM..