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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Elderly Ga. Man on Oxygen Foils Robbers
2005-11-21
Despite being 83 years old and reliant on oxygen tubes for a lung ailment, Harry Carpenter wouldn't let his wife of 57 years be robbed by knife-wielding intruders in his own home. Two would-be robbers bravely forced their way into the home of Carpenter and his wife, Jackie, Wednesday evening while the two were having dinner, according to a police report. One of them made Harry Carpenter sit down in the sun room, while the other went with Jackie Carpenter, 80, to get money from her bedroom. Carpenter tried to come to his wife's rescue but was threatened with the knife.

Then he got his break — his wife pretended to faint and the intruder who was holding him went into the other room to see what was happening. Carpenter shuffled to the laundry room, where he kept an old, unloaded rifle that he used to shoot squirrels, he said. When one of the intruders came back, he found Carpenter aiming the rifle at him and yelled at his companion to flee. Police were unable to locate the two suspects, who didn't get any money.
Good man. I'll bet he's a problem to his children, too. Good on him!
Posted by:Fred

#16  There was no effort to poison the opium, however.

It's poison enough already.
Posted by: Zenster   2005-11-21 20:29  

#15  Ptah, you are talking about the Opium war which was a seperate conflict from the Boxer Rebellion.

I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong but the way I recall the Chinese Government would only sell tea for silver. The British couldn't grow tea in their India colony but they could grow Opium (or at least it was plentiful there already). Besides there wasn't enough silver around and brining it from England was a nightmare so they sold Opium to the Chinese bureaucrats in exchange for silver to buy tea with. The bureaucrats then made a fortune of the Opium trade within China.

There was no effort to poison the opium, however.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2005-11-21 18:14  

#14  One of my favorite senior citizen self defense stories was when a knife-wielding maniac decided to rob this little old lady. When the police arrived it was a terrible mess--blood and pieces of flesh everywhere. According to a cop, it looked like the robber had been attacked by an enraged grizzly bear.

Then the police noticed something unusual. There were lots of bloody dimes laying around. The little old lady said that she packed her 12-gauge with them.

Then she asked, if when they were done, she could have her dimes back, as they were "lucky dimes".
Posted by: Anonymoose   2005-11-21 17:12  

#13  Actually, I believe the British-run Opium dens in the Far est were a variant on what Redneck Jim is proposing: the Boxer rebellion was partially motivated by outrage at the waste of human lives caused by the Opium dens, and that the British, in the ensuing peace treaty, required that China not restrict Opium importation by the British.

#10: B.R. I hope so too.
Posted by: Ptah   2005-11-21 15:14  

#12  I like Redneck Jim's Drug Lottery but I'd prefer that the drugs not be free, or poisioned.

Also pass a law that if anyone invovled in the Drug Lottery commits a crime an additional 10 (or more) years will be tacked onto their sentence.
Posted by: rjschwarz   2005-11-21 14:00  

#11  Good old 22lr plinger I'm betting.

Good for shooting squirrels and the squirrely.

Glad old girl was so enterprising.

EP
Posted by: ElvisHasLeftTheBuilding   2005-11-21 12:32  

#10  I bet the gun will be loaded next time.
Posted by: BrerRabbit   2005-11-21 10:42  

#9  At least by lowering the price, druggies would have to break into fewer homes to score.

I personaly favor the idea of a "Drug Lottery".
Drugs are free (The ones now illegal) just apply at your nearest Police Dept and your drug of choice will be given in modest quantities (10 Day supply) with no questions asked.

And the knowledge is distributed widely that one dose in ten-thousand (At random) is poision.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2005-11-21 09:31  

#8  Why is we would only legalize the stuff, none of this would happen /sarcasm. And just how would drugies like these get the resources to buy 'legal' drugs? Why by home invasion threatening the weakest targets.

The grammar alone makes me want to ask what you're smoking. At least by lowering the price, druggies would have to break into fewer homes to score.
Posted by: Snavimp Fleamp8940   2005-11-21 09:22  

#7  Odds the intruders were drugies?
Why is we would only legalize the stuff, none of this would happen /sarcasm. And just how would drugies like these get the resources to buy 'legal' drugs? Why by home invasion threatening the weakest targets.
Posted by: Fleack Chaving8979   2005-11-21 09:17  

#6  I don't know how many of you subscribe to the American Rifleman. Every month there is a section entitled "Armed Citizen." These are a series of factual accounts of citizens whose house was broken into, or they were assaulted, or someone had a murderous intent. They picked up the gun to protect themselves. Had they not had a gun, the outcome might have been bad for them and their loved ones. Often, these are elderly citizens. Sometimes just brandishing a weapon is enough to stop the crime.

Ditto Red Jim.
Posted by: John Q. Citizen   2005-11-21 09:08  

#5  "Unloaded?" he failed his classes in gun handling, weapons are always loaded.
If unloaded they are no more than a useless, unwieldy club.
Posted by: Redneck Jim   2005-11-21 08:58  

#4  Priceless. The only thing that could have made it better is if the gun werent empty. I suspect they old guy would have lit them up if he could.
Posted by: bigjim-ky   2005-11-21 08:38  

#3  The movie The Grey Fox shows the other side of the coin, the bad guy who spends a long term in jail and when he gets out returns to a life of crime in a very different world. Richard Farnsworth is outstanding. The Carpenter story is far too good for Hollywood to lower itself to.
Posted by: Unaing Pholuling3182   2005-11-21 08:23  

#2  Who's the next on the list of these fearless villains? The old blind lady down the street? Or is it that kindergartener with the big lollipop? They'll probably have to settle for the pregnant war widow on food stamps, she won't put up as much of a fight as the other two.
Posted by: Zenster   2005-11-21 02:39  

#1  sweet old crank with a gun..sounds like a great Western. DVD yet?
Posted by: Red Dog   2005-11-21 01:48  

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