Prepare for the Little Things Series

by Josiah922

John hit Alt-F4 several times on his computer. John knew that the key combination of Alt-F4 is a shortcut to exit a program. John was a bit of a power user. He had five different programs open usually at the same time. There was Outlook, Firefox, the Inventory program, the daily budget spread sheet and usually on or two more documents. It was the end of the day and John was heading out of town this weekend.

To say John was in a hurry was an understatement, but he was one of the last people to leave from work. It took him 20 seconds to shutdown all of the programs and slam the laptop lid down forcing the laptop into sleep mode. He undocked the laptop and placed it into the laptop bag. Turned off his overhead desk light and slid the chair into its proper place. John slung the shoulder strap over his shoulder and started walking out of the department.

John reached the elevators just as it was starting to close. A kind person in the elevator stopped the door from closing and waited for John to come in. John waved toward the man, “Thank you, but I am taking the stairs.” He immediately passed by the elevators and pushed the bar releasing the stair well door. In just one minute he traversed from the 4th floor to the 1st and was walking across the lobby going toward the parking lot.

The dark clouds had already darkened the outside. The parking lot was dark and wet as the rain came down. John reached in his laptop bag and pulled out his automatic opening umbrella. The umbrella popped open and John walked across the parking lot towards his late model Ford crew cab diesel truck. His truck was one of only a few vehicles left in the parking lot.

As he continued he cut over to the other isle where his truck was parked. He started to walk past a small red older model Honda Accord. It was then he noticed some movement within and the sound of crying. John turned to get closure to the window and saw a woman with her head leaning against the steering wheel. She was definitely crying. John tapped on the window. The woman leaned back and looked at John.

It was Jeannie Hammond. She was the new hire working reception on the 3rd floor for a different company. John had noticed Jeannie the first day she started work. He had bumped into her in the lobby and they had shared a few conversations because they both chose to use the stairs instead of the elevator. She used to be a maid working for a service in town, but she had worked her way into a better job as receptionist with this new company. She was 5’7”, about 120 lbs and had the softest long blonde hair. She wiped her tears quickly and tried to compose herself. John tried to address her, “Jeanie, are you ok?”

She pointed to her back tire, “I got a flat and I need to go pick up my boy.”

“When do you need to pick him up by?” John spoke up.

“Right now!” She teared up a little. “They charge me a dollar a minute extra if I don’t pick him up in time. I am 4 minutes late now.”

“Wow! You want me to drive you?”

Jeannie’s eyes lightened, “Oh, would you? Thank you.” Jeannie immediately opened the door and her high heels clicked against the pavement. She grabbed her purse and a small car seat out of the back seat. She stood close to John as they made their way to his truck.

John opened the back door and allowed Jeannie in helping her with the car seat as she did so. He then fired up the truck and was on the road. “Where to?”

Several minutes passed as they made their way several miles away and then finally pulled into the carport of the daycare that Jeannie had given directions to. Jeannie exited the truck and said, “I will only be a minute.”

John stepped to the back of the truck making use of the carport. He opened the camper shell and then the action packer at the back of the bed. John moved a few items then removed his camouflaged two piece rain gear. He also grabbed a pair of boots and put them both in the cab of the truck. John checked his watch. It had been 5 minutes and still no sign of Jeannie.

John walked to the front door and entered. Jeannie was standing in the lobby with her son in her hands talking with the daycare worker, “What do you mean it will be $29 tomorrow?”

The worker looked at Jeannie so matter of fact and answered, “Ms. Hammond, you are 19 minutes late and you do not have payment. Therefore a $10 late fee is being added which is due tomorrow.”

John shook his head and walked up to Jeannie pulling out a twenty dollar bill. “Hey Jeannie, why don’t you use this twenty I owe you? I was going to pay you today, but I didn’t see you at lunch.” John held out the twenty dollar bill. “Go ahead, take it. It’s yours.”

Jeannie paused for a second, then took the bill and passed it to the lady. “Thank you.”

John raised his eyebrows and started turning to the door. “Well, let’s get going.”

After a few more minutes they were back in the truck heading back to work. Jeannie and her son were in the back seat and John was driving through the downtown streets heading back to their work. John had stopped at a red light and looked in the rear view mirror, “He looks like you.”

Jeannie smiled. “I don’t know. I see a lot of his Dad in him.”

“Well, either way he looks like a real cutie.”

“He is.” Her voice changed a bit, “His name is Bradley and he is Momma’s boy. Aren’t you Bradley?” The small child giggled.

A few moments more and they were pulling into the parking lot. John looked back, “Give me your keys and I will change the flat.” She didn’t say anything and handed him the keys.

John kicked off his dress shoes and took off his tie. He then put on the bottom of his rain suit, then his boots and finally the rain jacket. A couple of moments more and John was checking her spare tire. It was one of those doughnut spare tires that were very small and only to be drive on for a few miles and very slowly. However, it was inflated to the proper specs and would work. However, John had a better idea.

The rain continued to come down and the water would make things go a little slower. John went back to the truck and retrieved a small floor jack. The jack cost only about $25 and was so much easier to use than the standard scissor jacks that came with most smaller cars today. Even though the rain continued, John was able to replace the tire and loaded everything back up. Jeannie did wonder a little when John put the flat tire into his truck.

John hopped into the cab and turned to the back seat. “A friend of mine owns a shop on the side of town. If you want, we can go ahead and replace your tire and get you home pretty quickly. I would rather you drive home on a real tire than one of those doughnuts. Is Bradley going to be ok?”

“Yes, he is probably going to take this bottle and then fall asleep.” She paused just a moment and then said, “I don’t have any money John. I was holding out till pay day, but I WILL pay you back.”

“I didn’t ask for repayment.”

“Well, I am NOT letting you do this for free. I already owe you twenty dollars that I do not have.”

“Let me ask you something. How much money did you bring in cleaning for that service you worked for?”

Jeannie looked questioningly, “I earned eight dollars an hour.”

“Not how much you earned. How much did this service charge per hour?”

“Oh, they charged forty five dollars an hour. Usually it just took two of us 1 hour for an average house. Why?”

“Well, I will barter with you. I will handle this tire business and the twenty dollars you already owe me. You come by and clean my apartment. How is this Saturday?”

“Are you serious? That is nothing compared to what you are doing.”

John giggled, “You may not say that after you see my apartment.”

Jeannie smiled, “Ok. You got a deal.”

“Good” and with that John started the truck and made his way into traffic. A few minutes later the Ford pulled into the parking lot of Bill’s Repair and Salvage. The rain had started to slack up into just a steady drizzle, but the weather man said that the rain would be on and off through out the night. John went in with tire in hand and Jeannie watched from the back seat of the crew cab.

John high fived the man behind the counter and showed him the tire. The counter man nodded and John said something else. Then the counter man shook his head and pointed up. Then John took something out of his pocket and the counter man took it and looked at it for a second. Then the counter man nodded. A second worker came in took the flat wheel and about 12 minutes later both John and the counter man were bringing TWO wheels out to the truck. The counter man made his way back to the covering of the door and held up the silver coin, flipped it into the air, caught it and then waved to John.

As they were moving back into traffic Jeannie asked, “Why do you have two wheels? And what did you give him?”

John smirked, “I am replacing you doughnut spare with a full sized spare AND I got your flat fixed. Turns out the tire just picked up a nail somewhere.”

“AND what did you give him?”

“I just paid him and gave him a dollar for his extra efforts.”

“A dollar coin?”

“Yes, it is called a silver eagle and yes it is a silver dollar. Bill and I are collectors and we use them sometimes to pay for purchases from each other.”

“I take it that coin was worth more than a single dollar?”

“Yes, quiet a bit more.”

The traffic slowed as the rain started up again. John slowed down but kept a steady pace. The small child slept lazily next to his mother in the back seat and John did nothing to chance the safety of his precious cargo.

John arrived at his work yet again and changed the tire with ease. The rain started slacking again as he finished. Then instead of returning the doughnut spare back to the trunk, he placed the new full sized rim and tire into the trunk.

He got back into the truck and said, “There you go. All ready.”

“Thank you John. You have been a saint.”

John made a small laugh, “Awww, I will get my money back when you get my apartment clean.” He giggled again.

Jeanie started to cry. “I am just having a hard time nowadays. Being a single mom is tougher than I thought that it would be. Is there anything that I can do to stop this run of bad luck that I have been having?”

John got a little more serious and with a very flat tone. “Well, you can start planning for stuff like this. Sometimes we have to prepare for the little things too.”

“Excuse me?” she stopped crying and looked at John.

“You are an adult and the mother of a wonderful son. You need to be there for him. Think ahead and prepare for things that go wrong BEFORE they go wrong. Put a twenty in your purse for those ‘just in case’ emergencies. Learn to change a flat yourself and carry a jack that will easily do the job. Put a poncho and tennis shoes in your car so you can get out in the rain without much trouble. Live on a budget and have an emergency fund so you will have the finances to handle problems when they occur. Be prepared to defend yourself while you are sitting alone in a dark parking lot. AND most of all PLAN that bad things WILL happen to you, but know that panning for a bad thing will remove the fear of it.”

There was a long pause. Jeannie cast a long blank stare at John. Jeannie said just three small words, “You are right.”

John exited the vehicle again. He stepped to the door and helped Jeannie and her son move to her car. She spoke to John through a cracked window. “OK I can get it from here.”

John smiled, “I tell you what. I will also give you an older floor jack to carry in your car. After you finish cleaning the house, I will make sure that you know how to use it and we will practice changing a tire.”

She paused and said in the most sincere way, “Thank you John.”


Bear times


Jeannie was sitting at her small roll top desk in her living room. It was a gift from John over Christmas. It was basically an antique and made when real craftsmen worried about the quality of their work. Jeannie started not to accept it, but when John said that he found it at a thrift store for near nothing she accepted. It was a good desk.

It was Saturday and Bradley was asleep. Jeannie was burying her head in her hands. She looked at the pile of bills and didn’t know how she could afford to pay everything and the one hundred and twenty three dollar bill for the dental work that she had to have. The dentist was a nice man, but he demanded payment up front and it just tapped all of her extra cash.

Just then the doorbell rang. She stood up and walked to the door checking her face and hair in the nearby mirror. She knew who it would be. John said that he would be here about ten after 1PM in order to pick up his clothes. John had asked her to mend 3 split seams in some camouflaged suits that he had.

Jeannie had wanted to go to college to study fashion design and sewing was a necessity in designing so she took up the skill when she was in high school. Who knew that she would currently be using it to earn a little extra money? However, more and more layoffs were happening nowadays and she was lucky to get hired even though the position did not paid so much. She still was interested in fashion and loved to dress well. Even though her money was stretched thin, she still afforded to by some basic but stylish outfits that would allow her to fit into the corporate room well enough.

She brushed her hair with her fingers, then opened the door. John smiled and said, “Hey pretty lady.”

She returned the smile and said, “Hey. Flattery is not an accepted form of barter here sir, but it is appreciated. I got your gear ready.” She turned to the kitchen table and continued, “I double and triple stitched those seams so I don’t think they will be coming loose again anytime soon.”

“Wow I am sure that it is fine. You have definitely got a knack for sewing. Here is the twenty I owe you,” said John as he held out a twenty dollar bill. “Listen I was thinking about the rising inflation happening. You know everything is just going through the roof. Anyways, I want to give you these too.” John held out his hand and showed her four dimes.

“Fourty cent? Thanks John. Is this like a tip?” She giggled a bit at the light joke, but knew John was up to something.

John smiled as she picked up the dimes. “Listen I got three things that I want to talk to you about. First, those are silver dimes. They are worth about one dollar a piece instead of 10 cents and their value will more than likely go up.”

Jeannie’s eyes brightened and bit while she more closely examined the coins.

Next, I mention to a few friends of mine that you were opening up a little part time sewing business and they want you to do some work for them too. One is a dress for his daughter’s dance coming up in a month and the other is just some adjustments to a suit that he has. Here are their names and phone numbers.” John handed her a note.

“Oh, ok. Thanks John. I think that I can manage that easily enough.”

“The other thing is I wanted to talk to you about the rise in inflation that I am seeing. There is a rumor at work that another small round of layoffs might be coming. There is a good chance that they will outsource my position soon.”

“Oh John I am so sorry.”

“No that isn’t it. I was worried about you,” said John and then paused. “I think that this is going to get pretty bad soon, for everybody. Maybe you will be laid off too. Anyways these fellows are part of a bartering group. They swap goods/services for goods/services. They can pay you in silver just like these or even silver eagles. These guys are trust worthy and will pay you the proper amount of silver you ask for, but they prefer to pay in silver instead of cash or check. I know that you don’t know anything about silver trade, but basically these coins will hold their value. Usually when inflation goes up, the value of coins made of precious medals goes up as well. I just wanted to say that if you wanted just plan cash for your work that I would buy any silver that you wanted to sell, but you could save these for hard times too.”

“I understand what you are saying, but I think right now I need the extra cash. I will just sell them to you then,” confessed Jeannie.

“Are you ok?”

“Well, I just had some dental work last week and it has sort of tapped me out. I just don’t know where all of the money goes.” Jeannie shook her head.

“Don’t you have a budget?” John asked.

Sheepishly Jeannie admitted that she did not. John then volunteered to have a look at her expenses and help her create one. They sat down and developed a plan for all of her bills, a miscellaneous fund and an emergency fund.

John explained that she ought to dump every bit of extra money into the emergency savings account until she reached five hundred dollars in the account. Once she had built the account up to five hundred dollars, then she would not be affected the next time she had to have dental work done or unscheduled car repairs done. The emergency account would be there to step in when she needed it. John further instructed her that after she had the emergency account at five hundred that she should use the money toward any debt to as quickly as possible get out of debt.

“So how much could you live off of? I mean, how much do you have to bring home to make ends meet?” she asked hoping to see how good John was doing following his own advice.

“Oh no. It doesn’t matter about me,” he said a little embarrassed.

“Oh come on. What’s wrong? Don’t practice what you preach?”

John smirked, “I don’t require too much thank you very much.”

“No come on give me a real amount,” she said as she balled up her first readying a pretend punch.

“OK. Ok. About four hundred dollars a month.”

“What? How do you pay for a place to live, your truck, power and debt.”

John paused and looked at Jeannie. “Jeannie you and I are friends and I know you wouldn’t do anything to hurt me. I would ask that you not share what I am about to tell you. Not because there is something wrong with it, but it is just simply no one’s business but mine.”

Jeannie nodded and answered, “Of course John. I am sorry. I should not have asked.”

“No it is not that. I want you to know this. It will help show you that everyone does not live in debt.” John paused a second, “My house is paid for. My truck is paid for. I have installed a solar system in my home so I do not have an electric bill each month. I have a septic tank installed at my home so no sewage fees. I have two water wells on my property so I do not have a water bill. Besides the loan that I took out to install the solar system, I do not owe anyone for anything. The payment on that loan is about four hundred dollars a month. I should have that loan paid off, by making quadruple payments on it, in about 4 more months.”

“Wow John I had no idea.”

“Most people have a fancy home, car and stuff that they are a slave to. I basically lived like a poor man for 2 years and put every ounce of my money toward my debt. I also spent every minute I could earning money. I worked my IT job, fixed computers for people at night, busted tables on Friday and Saturday nights, mowed lawns and picked up cans on the weekend while walking the roads for exercise. Most all of my time was spent doing something that made money even if it was just a few bucks. Now I am totally debt free except for the one loan and it is a much easier life.”

Jeannie sat back and let that settle in. What would her life be like with no debt? She could save up a little while and pay cash for just about anything. An unexpected dental bill would not be a big deal. It must be nice.

John continued, “I will also bring you a book called ‘The Richest Man in Babylon.’ You need to read it, but the basic premise is that you need to remember that 10% is everything you make is yours to keep.”

Jeannie then looked confused, “But isn’t everything that I earn mine?”

“So how much did you keep out of your last paycheck?”

Jeannie got a little frustrated, “You know that the dentist appointment took all the spare money I had and then some.”

John smiled, “That is my point. In the book it tells several stories of people who saved 10% of everything they made and invested it wisely. After several years of making wise choices they had created wealth. I will bring it and let you read it for yourself. I think that you will understand.”

John was laid off about 2 weeks later. He immediately sold some items and paid off his last bill. He was now completely debt free and would only need to earn enough money for food, any other supplies that he needed and to keep the insurance paid for health and his property. He immediately put out some feelers for work with his friends. While did not need to work much, John was never one for sitting still.

In the weeks ahead Jeannie stayed on her budget. She also started taking in a little money from people doing some odd jobs of sowing, baby sitting for others in her apartment complex and helping tutor some of them on their school work. Her biggest break came when working with one of John’s older tactical vests she got an idea for a normal leather jacket that could be easily modified to have a horizontal hidden pocket in the front of the jacket that could hide a small frame handgun with a second pocket on the other side for 2 backup clips.

With a little prodding from John, Jeannie made up three such jackets and showed them off at the next gun and knife show in town. The first two were purchased by the first two people they showed them to. She had to refuse to sell the last one so she would have something to show the rest of the vendors.

She was buying the jackets from an outlet store for forty five dollars a piece. The materials used to make the modifications cost about seven dollars a jacket. With a selling price of one hundred dollars a piece, Jeannie cleared about forty eight dollars each. Within two more months, she was selling any where between one to three jackets each week.


John2 

John got off work late today. He just could not help it. Pittsburg needed the Virtual Windows Servers configured and he was only one available in the department to do it. The company had been downsizing so much that more and more was being placed on John’s shoulders. He didn’t know how much longer he would continue working here. It was almost getting to the point that he would quit just to get a little more time to work on his other endeavors.

Once again he found himself walking across the parking lot in the rain. Well, it was really just a sprinkle of rain, but he did not like it just the same. He was leaving the Ellison Building where he worked to go home. John made it to the crew cab Ford pickup and put his laptop in the front passenger seat and closed the door on the coolness outside. Just then his cell phone rang and John answered, “Hello this is John.”

“John. Thank God,” came a female voice that John immediately recognized as Jeannie Hammond. Jeannie and John had become close friends over the last two months. Jeannie had gotten divorced only seven weeks prior to meeting John and was completely unprepared for a life on her own and taking care of a child on her own. Over the last few weeks John had tried to help Jeannie with several problems that she had gotten herself into and she had learned from the experiences becoming more able to handle herself. However, this sounded like something bigger than a flat tire.

“Jeannie. Are you ok?”

The call had much static on it, but her voice came again, “No, no….. had a wreck….. Bradley’s ok………..in a ditch…”

John thought for a split second, “Where are you at?”

The static continued, “…..on…..street……….post office.” Then the call suddenly went dead.

“Jeannie? Jeannie?” called John, but he heard silence. John fired up the Ford and rolled out of the parking lot heading north.

Jeannie had mentioned the Post Office and a ditch. There were only 3 Post Offices in town. One was downtown and the second was on the Southside, but neither was located near a ditch. However, the north side Post Office was located lower than the street in front of it and there was a long drop off from the street to the Post Office parking lot. That had to be it.

The Ford diesel truck pushed down the road. He was only 2 miles away so he would be there in a few minutes, but he could not stand the thought of not knowing what was going on. He picked up the cell and hit the send button which brought up the last ten phone numbers that were called out or called into his phone. He selected the last one and hit send. The phone immediately went to voice mail. This could be a sign that the cell phone being called was off or ran out of battery power. John continued a stead pace and pushed through the traffic despite the wet roads.

He arrived in front of the Post Office to find a Dodge Ram pickup with black brush guards on the front parked right beside the road and Jeannie’s car down the thirty foot embankment in the parking lot of the Post Office.

John slowed so he could make the corner to the Post Office parking lot entrance and pulled up about 50 feet away from her car. Jeannie was standing beside her car as a man was walking down the embankment toward her. John did not know the extent of the damage to her vehicle so he parked far enough away not to block fire and rescue trucks from getting in to it in case it caught fire. John grabbed his first aid/wreck bag out of the bed of the truck and ran to her car.

Jeannie saw him coming across the parking lot and ran around to the other side of the car and collapsed into his arms. John held her for a second and then looked at her head where it was bleeding. It was just a small cut to the forehead, but because of the many capillaries in the forehead it was bleeding profusely. He heard Bradley crying in the back ground and turned her saying, “Let me check Bradley out ok?”

Jeannie nodded and held a few fast food napkins that she had found in the car to her head as John ran to the other side of the car. As he did so he noticed that the man walking down the embankment was walking toward Jeannie. He sat his first aid bag on top of the car, reached into a small pocket on the side and flipped the switch to the camera.

John had long ago learned that the best witness to an event is the impartial eye of a camera lens. It did not exaggerate, give a miss-worded testimony or lie. It just recorded what it saw from a specific angel of view at the time of the recording. He had cut a small opening in the side pocket of his first aid kit and covered it with a tinted piece of plastic. Inside the pocket he made a smaller pocket out of elastic material to the point that it would hold the RCA Small Wonder camera perfectly. They were only about 5 feet away from the bag sitting on the truck of the car so the microphone would pick up some of the conversation. He pointed the bag at the two as they began their conversation.

John looked under the car a moment. There was not liquids leaking from the car and no smell of gasoline. The car was not smoking and the gear was in park. He felt pretty safe in keeping Bradley in the car for now seeing that the temperature outside was a little chilly.

John looked at the child for a few moments while he put on a pair of latex gloves. Airway, breathing and circulation was good as evidenced by Bradley’s crying. He did not remove him from the car seat fearing there might be spinal injuries, but he did rub his hands around the outside of the baby’s clothes looking for blood. There were a few pieces of broken glass in his car seat of which John quickly removed. John squeezed the Bradley’s finger tips for a couple of seconds till the finger nail turned white from the lack of blood, then watched as the blood immediately returned to the tips of the fingers. That meant that his capillary refill time was good as well and the child blood pressure and hydration were fine. The child was in no immediate danger that John could detect. John heard sirens and the tale-tale sound of an older federal style siren mostly used on firetrucks. They were getting closer by the second.

John then turned his attention to the conversation outside. The man was becoming a little angry toward Jeannie. John reached into the bag and retrieved a few 4 inch by 4 inch dressing pads and walked to the rear of the car. As John approached the man suddenly calmed his voice a little. “You’ll see,” is all he said as he turned and walked up the hill.

John ripped open the two packs of 4x4 dressings and handed them to Jeannie as she stood crying. “Here try these. Are you ok?”

“Yes, except for my head. I think I hit it against the side window.” She paused a moment looking at the man going up the embankment. “He asked me why I did not signal when I was slowing down to turn. He said that was the reason that he hit me. I told him I did signal. Then he pointed at my broken tail light here and said that I didn’t even have a working signal before the wreck and that is what he would tell the cops.”

“I would not worry.” John pulled out the camera and showed it to Jeannie. He pointed it away from Jeannie and toward the damage on the car. He said a little more purposefully than normal, “I was recording it just like you asked me to.” John then nodded and winked at Jeannie as he still held the camera pointing to the damage on the car, but a little closer to Jeannie.

She paused a second, but just a second. “Thanks. I didn’t know if he would say anything if he knew the camera was there.” She said as she shrugged her shoulders. John, off camera, held up a thumbs-up then continued to go around the car taping the damage.

“Bradley looks ok but we should take him to the ER just to be sure. Take him to my truck and sit down with him in there out of the chill. Tell the firemen that you two are ok but I will be taking you two to the ER shortly.” John finished taping really quickly. Then he went up the hill and video taped the truck that hit Jeannie’s car. The driver was being distracted by the police officer taking his statement. John could tell he was blaming it on Jeannie. John then went up the road a bit and taped the area where the impact had occurred to see if he could see any skid marks on the road.

When he had gotten back to his truck the paramedics were packing up to leave and Jeanie was signing a “no transport” form saying that she is refusing to be transported to the ER. The police officer was writing down information from Jeannie’s license and proof of insurance. “Miss would you like us to tow your car?”

John spoke up, “No that won’t be necessary. We will have someone pick it up.” He dialed a number on his cell phone, handed it to Jeannie and said, “Tell Bill to bring his tow truck, pick up your car and I will pay his the usual rate.” Jeannie nodded.

The officer turned to John and asked, “Excuse me. Only family members or persons involved with the wreck allowed over here during the interview. Who are you?”

Knowing that he would not be allowed to participate closely with Jeannie unless he was a close family member John spoke quickly, “I am John Bryant, her fiancé.”

Jeannie looked up at John, smiled a little and then said, “That’s right. We are scheduled to be married next month.”

“Officer may I show you something?” I t took John just a moment to fire up his laptop, copy the video file to his hard drive and then pull up the video for the officer to see. “As you can see officer, I think the fellow up there may be falsifying some of his statement,” said John.

The officer looked at him and said, “Recording someone else’s conversation is against the law sir.” John then let him listen a little further where Jeannie had confirmed her permission on tape that she knew she was being recorded. This made the recording legal because one person in the conversation knew that it was being recorded. At least that is what the conversation on the tape seemed to prove. Some states require that both people know that it is being recorded, but luckily John was not in one of those states.

John pulled out the SD card and gave it to the officer. John then said, “Please keep it for your records. I am sure with this and the fact that there were several feet of skid marks back there proving he was going quite fast before the accident will give you something to right up.”

The officer smiled and said, “Thanks. Don’t worry though. Another witness has stated that he had just flown around them before meeting her car. He was definitely speeding so this is a no brainer. Thanks again, you two are free to go.” The officer handed back Jeannie’s papers to John.

John turned back to Jeannie and she was already trying to keep his pacifier in his mouth. He was actually closing his eyes a little now, content in the warmth of the truck. Jeannie looked up at John as she said, “Bill says he will be here in 5 minutes and he will handle everything. He will also go ahead and get a quote ready for us ….. I mean me.”

“Well, let’s get you and Bradley to the ER.” John pulled out of the Post Office and went straight to the ER. After two hours they were released with Jeanie’s moderately deep cut bandaged up and doctor not finding a scratch on Bradley. John drove them to Jeannie’s apartment and explained few things that could have helped in the wreck.

John mentioned that having a well charged cell phone is a good way to communicate to the emergency personnel. Also you could pack a first aid pack in your own car just in case. Be sure to know how to use the first aid kit and properly diagnose injuries of people. John suggested a first aid/CPR course from the American Red Cross or other such organization and offered to get Jeanie signed up. Also, having a disposable camera in your car to take pictures of the damage, positions of your vehicle and other vehicles in the accident can also help. That way the insurance company has actual pictures that they can look at giving a better understanding of the accident.

Jeannie thanked John when they reached her apartment. He made sure that they were ok, then left. They would meet tomorrow on Saturday and go see Bill about the car. After getting Bradley to bed, Jeannie sat down and made notes of what happened and created a list of things needed at the store to build her own first aid kit after payday this week. Things were changing for Jeannie. Trials were coming at Jeannie, but for some reason she did not hide from them now. She learned from them, prepared for them to happen again and when they did come again she would not fear them. She would be prepared.


The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

It is said that all relationships need one good fight. That way the members of the relationship know where the boundaries are. It had happened to Jeannie and John. It was basically a simple difference of faith. Jeannie’s life was getting better and she had faith in her luck. John had faith in his plans and in his preparation. John reached a point where he wanted her to prep too much and she didn’t want it consuming her life. They simply migrated away from each other. They did not call each other as much, they didn’t have their weekly lunch with each other even after John’s layoff and slowly they let the gulf grow. Life always has a way of testing your faith.

At John insistence the cabinet maker built it in her spare bedroom’s closet. It was a deep closet sporting a measurement of about 3 foot deep. Jeannie had taken her spare bedroom and turned it into the office. The cabinet maker had changed her medium sized closet into a shallow shelved bookshelf. Well, it just looked like a bookshelf. Oh yes, it was a functional shelf, but at a moments notice the middle of the shelf divided. The opening allowed easy access to the secret space behind.

The shelf could then be closed and braced to not allow easy entry. Well, technically it would not allow hard entry either. The braced was metal and not easily defeated. The wooden shelf was just a mask that covered the other metal shield of protection. This metal covered the back of the shelf from top to bottom and was one half inch thick.

It was in this closet that Jeannie sat. She had taken a day off to get caught up on the orders that had come in for her jackets that week. She also had a few errands to run, but those were going to be done this afternoon. Bradley was at the daycare.

She was working in her office when she heard the glass break. Jeannie heard the voices of the men. She wasn’t supposed to be here. Normally she would be at work. She didn’t know what to do. She was standing by the shelf and in a moment disappeared to the secret space behind.

The men worked their way through the apartment as Jeannie turned her cell phone over in her hand. If she called the police, would the E911 system know where she was? She didn’t know. She definitely could not say anything on the phone. The men were in her office so they would hear if she was to talk at all.

With the economy failing the downtown areas were getting more and more lawless. There had been a rash of break ends just 2 miles away on the other side of downtown. No one was hurt, but the break-ins had made the news.

She bit her lip then called John. She held her phone to her ear. She really didn’t know why she called him. She still could not say anything. Then his voice came, “Hello. This is John.” She breathed and thought a little prayer. “Hello. This is John.” Came his voice again. Her finger tapped the receiver. “Jeannie is that you? I can see on the caller ID that it is your number.” She tapped the phone again. “Jeanie we must have a bad connection. I can’t hear you. Call back.” John then hung up.

Jeannie put the phone to her forehead and almost started to cry when a ruffling noise of books being moved in the cabinet startled her. She froze while the noise continued and then she heard them move to her bedroom and a few muffled words. She hit the send button twice which dialed the last number dialed again.

The phone rang just once and she heard John’s voice again, “Hello. This John.” She tapped the receiver three times paused a second tapped three more times and repeated till she heard, “Jeannie can you talk? Tap once for yes, two for no.” She tapped twice.

“Do you need help?” She tapped once.

“I am heading to your work right now. I am about 5 miles away.” She tapped twice.

“Wait, ugh, are you at work?” She tapped twice.

“Ugh. Are you home?” She tapped once.

“Alright, I am about 2 miles away. Are you ok?” She tapped once.

“What is the problem? Are you hurt?” Two taps.

“Fire?” Two taps.

“Someone there?” One Tap.

“Bad guys?” One tap.

“Do you know how many?” Two taps.

A paused settled over the phone. “Jeannie I got to hang up. I need to call the police. I will be there in a moment.”

John hanged up the phone and called 911. He told the dispatcher that a friend had just called him and said that there was someone in her home. The reason that he is calling is because the phone went dead. He gave the dispatcher the address and said that he was almost there. The dispatcher ask for him to stay on the line but he could not do that and drive so he gave his name and cell phone number and hung up.

A few more seconds passed and the phone rang again. It was the dispatcher again calling him back. He ignored the phone and pulled into the parking lot of Jeannie’s apartments as close to her door as her could. He tried very quietly the front door and it was locked. He looked at the back of apartment building and noticed a broken window. He then walked back to the truck.

John flipped his seat forward and wedged a 4 D Cell Maglite between the seat and the honk. He honked the horn of the large truck loud and long. This would accomplish two things. The first would be to gain attention from any neighbors in the area. It might agitate them into calling the police or look out the window at him. However, he wanted witnesses and agitated or not it might get their attention. The second thing is that burglars like to work without drawing attention. Making the area as loud and as attention getting as possible just might get them to hurry up their plans to leave the house and area.

He walked back to the back of the apartment building putting his 2 ounce bottle of FOX 5.3 OC pepper spray in one hand and his Glock 21 chambered in 45 caliber in the other. He waited for them to exit the building. Both exited the window one behind the other as soon as the first had gotten out, they past two pillow cases full of goodies through the window and the second was most of the way out John moved.

He came around the corner in one smooth motion spraying the pepper spray at both burglars. While making sure neither went for a gun, he continued to cover them with the Glock just in case the encounter turned deadly.

They immediately started running toward the other side of the building ignoring the goodies in the pillow cases. One of the burglars took a little of the pepper spray to the face, but it missed the most vulnerable areas of the mouth, nose and eyes. The positive thing was that both had the spray on their hands and clothes. Within a few seconds even the bit of their hands began to burn due to the incredible 5,300,000 scoville heat units that the FOX pepper spray produced. Despite the discomfort they continued to flee. John did not give chase. There still might be someone inside.

He covered the window and waited. By now he could see several people out in the parking lot wondering who was making such a racket looking at his truck. A few moments more and two police units arrived. They quickly unwedged the flashlight and then saw John at the side of the building as he covered the window. Both officers drew their weapons and one commanded John to put down his gun.

“Officers I am covering this window where two burglars just came out. I have no idea if another burglar is in the apartment. I will throw down my weapon, but please cover the window,” John yelled back.

“OK. Just put down the gun!” the officer yelled. He yelled to the other officer, “Cover the window.”

Knowing that the officers had no idea what had just happened, John could understand their point of view. Imagine rolling up on to a scene and there is a guy with a gun. You don’t know if he is a good guy or a bad guy, but he is the only on with a gun. The best course of action is to disarm him and take him into custody so this could be sorted out later.

John didn’t like being disarmed, but he needed their help right now and refusing to follow their orders would only delay the inevitable. John remembered the old saying “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

He knelt on the ground held one hand up while using the other to place the handgun on the ground. He slid the handgun away from him across the cement and put both hands back up showing the officer he was now no longer a threat. Following the officers commands he faced away from the officer and laid down face first on the cement and spread eagle. One officer continued to cover the window while the other officer handcuffed John.

Over the next few minutes several more officers arrived. John immediately relayed the account of the events of the last several minutes. Including him spraying the burglars with the pepper spray. He also added that the FOX Pepper spray came with an ultra violet dye mixed into the spray. Until the burglars washed thoroughly, they would glow under the light of a black light lamp. This would make for easy detection.

John was asked if he had anymore weapons on him. John truthfully identified the 45 caliber Derringer pistol at his ankle and the Gerber Paraframe I SS Knife he carried in his front pocket. John froze while the officer retrieved both items and continued to frisk John. As he did so John said, “Officer please tell them that my friend is inside. She is in the closet of the bedroom office. Just knock on the book case. It is a hidden safe room.” The officer answered that he would then placed him into the back of the patrol call.

With in another 5 minutes, most of which passed as slowly as a 5 year old waiting for Christmas, Jeannie was walking out of the apartment down to the patrol car that held John. They had not found anyone else in the apartment. She got her face close to the glass and began crying at the sight of him. She mouthed the words, “Thank you.”

After 2 hours the two had made their statements. Both were released after speaking with several people including the Assistant District Attorney. She just happened to be in the area and had heard the crazy story.

As they were walking out of the precinct the officer that had driven John in padded him on the shoulder. The officer said that there was a call on the radio about a city van running off of the road 2 miles from where the robbery happened. It had run off of the street just shy of the county bridge. Both men were dead, but they matched John’s description except for their clothes. The city van contained several items including jewelry and electronics. The clincher was that when the bodies were viewed under a UV light, their faces and hands glowed.  


Empowered


Jeannie was nervous as she made the call. She swallowed hard and thought about the hard conversation that she was about to have and the question that she needed answering. She had grown so much over the past few months and it was mostly due to her friend John’s teachings and help. However, nothing that they had gone through could prepare her for this. It was a serious negotiation of an important nature.

She had tried to negotiate an offer from this party before, but they evidentially never saw the advantage in making the offer to Jeanie. She had reached the end of her rope and calling on her new found strengths it was she that was going to negotiate the deal. Jeannie cleared her thoughts and made the phone call.

The phone rang and the party answered. She spoke briefly a salutation and immediately switched to ordinary conversation wanting to once again ease into the situation where an offer could be made. Seconds turn into a minute and then another minute clicked by. Finally, the discussion reached an exit point, but then her confidence kicked in and she immediately took control of the conversation and made a blatant first offer.

“John, we have been friends for a while now, but I really like you as more than that. I would like to see where that goes. Can I take you out on a date this Friday night?”

Yep things were changing for Jeanie. Her life had changed so much in the past few months. When she was first separated from her ex-husband she just cried whenever something bad happened. Jeannie was used to her husband taking care of things. Often times only after ranting and raging for several minutes, but eventually he did take care of the flat tires, extra bills and Bradley’s unexpected medical expenses. However, now it was Jeannie herself that responded to those needs.

She had money in the bank for the first time in a long time and the neatest thing about that money was the fact that it was hers and SHE controlled where it was spent and where it went. Her car was in tip top shape after she had Bill repair everything major that was wrong with it. She started carrying a car emergency kit with several needed items in it: tools, water, couple of different lengths of pressure hose, a couple of nonperishable food items in its own storage ziplock bag, a disposable camera, extra change of clothes for her and Bradley and a rain poncho. She carried in her car a car charger for her cell phone and extra cash money in her purse for emergencies. She was slowly preparing for those little emergencies and she noticed that she walked a little taller. Yes, Jeannie’s burden was a little lighter and fear did not fill her life anymore.

Bradley was already playing with Billy Jo in the floor of the living room. Billy Jo was a godsend. She was a single mom like herself and studying to be a nurse, but she was at least a good 8 years older than Jeannie. Billy Jo’s two children were older and had no trouble helping their mom take care of Bradley on the few nights that she needed a baby sitter.

Jeannie put on her best ear rings and matching necklace. She did want this night to be a real date. She had not been on one in years and she wanted to REALLY talk to John. She picked a basic black dress. She wanted something attractive, practical and feminine. Something had to be said and she wanted John not to skirt the issue of THEM anymore. She wanted him to look at her as more than a friend, because that is what she thought of John. She reached for her purse, made sure she had everything and put her matching purse on her shoulder. Jeannie put on her matching black jacket and straightened the sleeves. She fluffed her hair and slipped in to her black dress heels.

She was a bit nervous as she chatted with Billy Jo and kissed Bradley good night. She reached her car and started the drive. She started thinking about her strategy. She knew that it would take a while before anything major was to grow out of their relationship, but how could she break through that strong demeanor that John had about him. She had flirted with John in the past, but all that grew from it was a returned smile. Jeannie had no idea of how to show him that he could take a chance on her. What did she have to wear? What did she have to say? What did she have to do just to get him to start thinking about it?

Jeannie’s car pulled into the restaurant parking lot. She chose to park a little further away from the door of the restaurant but in a well lit area for security reasons. She exited the vehicle and with a “chirp chirp” set the car alarm. She placed the key of the car into her purse and started walking toward the restaurant secretly hoping that John was already there. However, this was HER date and even though he was insistent to meet her at the restaurant instead of picking him up she was still ten minutes early. Jeannie arrived early and talked to the hostess to get her name on the list waiting to be seated.

Sure enough ten minutes later the door opened and John walked in wearing an outfit a little dressier than the golf shirt and slacks he usually wore to his old job where they met. Jeannie’s heart jumped a beat and a smile grew across her face.

Each of them felt slightly out of place for a while knowing that this was a REAL “date.” Neither had been on a date for quite sometime and it took and good part of dinner before they loosened up enough to start being candid with each other about their feelings.

Jeannie paid for the meal and they walked the block to the theater down the block. It was a sci-fi movie that had a predicable plot so they did not HAVE to watch the entire episode to keep up. In truth, they seemed to watch each other more than the movie. It ended with John kissing Jeannie for the first time during the credits and then out in front of the theater as well. They walked back down the block happy about the steps they were taking toward a serious relationship.

As they cut through the alley back to the restaurant and their cars, they laughed and continue to hold each others hands. John turned to face Jeannie and pain exploded through his head. Jeannie tried to hold him up a second until his full weight came down as John fell.

The man came out of the shadows quickly and pushed John across the alley into the trash cans on the other side. The knife came out in an instant with a glint from the street lights. Jeannie’s heels clicked as she walked passed the man to help John, but the man grabbed her arm easily. “Aww ain’t you a cutie.”

John was trying to roll over. He knew that it would take a second to get his handgun into the game and he was trying so hard to focus through the pain in his head. However, the darkness was coming and he knew that he could not fight it back. Jeannie saw that John was still having trouble and knew that he could not act quickly enough.

She started to cry. “No….No Please.” She tried to twist her left arm free but the knife came closer. She stumbled and her heels came off. The man spun her around forcing her arm up behind her as he pulled her body closer to him. He thought that he would have her. She continued to cry she looked as if she was breaking again maybe having flash backs of times her ex-husband had yelled and become angered at her. He had the knife and he had the power.

Time paused, rewound and the point of view shifted.

John was trying to roll over. He knew that it would take a second to get his handgun into the game and he was trying so hard to focus through the pain in his head. However, the darkness was coming and he knew that he could not fight it back. Jeannie saw that John was still having trouble and knew that he could not act quickly enough.

She formed her own plan.

She started to cry. “No….No Please.”

On the outside she cried, but on the inside her training kicked in. Since the burglary, she had studied karate and attended regular self defense classes taught by a bar bouncer from the big city. Billy Jo had baby sat Bradley twice a week while she studied both at the gym and the range.

She tried to twist her left arm free but the knife came closer.

Of course, she knew that she could not break free, but it was just a distraction. While he worried with her left arm her right was moving. She was positioning herself to take full advantage of the situation.

She stumbled and her heels came off.

She needed footing and the dress shoes hampered that. The damp asphalt dirtied her feet, but that was the least of her worries. As at the gym/dojo her toes could now be used for extra leverage. She was steadier.

The man spun her around forcing her arm up behind her as he pulled her body closer to him.

The pain from the arm bare was nothing compared to the different holds she had put on her during training. She thought, “Get off balance a little. My center of gravity is lower. I am more stable. Good get a small feel of me. It will be the last time you ever feel a woman’s body.”

He thought that he would have her.

Oh she had no intention of going down without a fight.

She continued to cry, she looked as if she was breaking again maybe having flash backs of times her ex-husband had yelled and become angered at her.

Jeannie had long sense become empowered with her training and preparations. Woman were always underestimated, but the female lion is the one who is the hunter. The female is more often times than not the more fierce of the two sexes. She knew how to handle herself now and she knew that this was about to end. The crying was just a distraction on the outside, but on the inside she had a plan and would soon execute it.

He had the knife and he had the power.

Jeannie aimed the small black Taurus Firearms 851 CIA Revolver chamber in 38 special that she had retrieved from her waist holster. The revolver had remained hidden under her jacket all night without any detection from even John. In truth she never went anywhere with out it or one of the two other guns she had purchased recently. Jeannie held the well used handgun in her right hand and aimed it at point blank range from waist level up through the torso of the man. The gun well her most shot at the range and she knew the pull of the trigger. She quickly pulled the trigger three times.

The first hollow point bullet ripped through the man’s stomach damaging the man’s large intestine, liver, kidney and exited the man’s back. The second followed a similar path, but cut through his right lung, as it mushroomed as it traveled through his body, just missing his heart and lodging somewhere near his collar bone. The final bullet cut even straighter through the axis of his body as he fell backwards, but this fatal bullet exited through the top of his head and immediately sent the man’s soul to a very dark place.

Jeannie continued to cover the man for a second or two. Then grabbed her purse and fell back to a position near John. While keeping the revolver point toward the man she tried to rouse John, but he did not move. She holstered the weapon. He had a pulse and more than likely was just knocked unconscious by the blow. She knew it would only take her a split second to draw again. She placed his feet on top of a nearby cardboard box and retrieved her cell phone from her purse to call 911.

The second date was a little less eventful as were the third and fourth and so on. Yes, things sort of calmed down for the couple for a while. Their relationship grew and each learned from the other. Jeannie took more and more an active part in choosing her own path. The fact that she had the choice and still chose John made her even more attractive to John. In truth other preparations were made and came to top priority. Those of a wedding and a honeymoon but that is another chapter.