Patrick’s Rants

After posting my review of “Letter” you might not think that my very next trip assignment would be for the Promise Keepers, but it was. On the return trip, we stopped at the Outlet shops at Anthem for a really quick bite to eat and bathroom breaks.

As one group of men was walking toward the entrance one of them was struck by a pickup in the parking lot. He had abrasions and tire marks on his legs. The group gathered around him and subsequently around the driver of the pickup who appeared to be ready to leave the scene. Not only did he appear ready, he was yelling and began to push and shove against the men who started out with slight restrain such as holding the door of his truck closed and ended with the older man pinned against the truck by our resident DPS officer.
In the midst of the chaos, another man approached from the far side of the truck (by far side, I mean the side away from the victim who was still in the road holding the hand of his pastor who lent comfort and prayer - some might say those are both the same) and began yelling at the Keepers to let the old man go.

“He’s here every day, leave him alone,” ending with (and pardon my recollection) “Fucking bullies(?)” At which point he went inside to grab a supervisor, the old man’s wife whom he was there to pick up from work or maybe even both. Mall security was on the scene the entire time administering first aid, calling paramedics and the police.

And now, the rest of the story. The group member was transported to the hospital (I did not get an update to his condition but would be surprised if there were anything more than a hairline fracture - there was no bruising, swelling or pain - other than the road burn). The man walking into the mall had not seen the victim lying in the road and at first had thought the old man was having a heart attack - that is until he sawed him pinned to the truck with his arm behind his back and a forearm against his shoulders. Then, and this is where it gets a little fuzzy on what was really going on the the cursing man’s mind, it must have appeared that this group of men nearly all dressed alike was merely picking on an old man or perhaps was trying to make him accept Jesus as his personal lord and savior through brute force. I haven’t met any that pushy, but then the inquisition is over.

The truth is a little more scary. The old man was trying to flee. I addition he had a loaded revolver sitting on the seat of his truck (not illegal) and was threatening to shoot some of my passengers. Had he not been restrained it could have been ugly. The police did show up and did their jobs, hanging onto his gun while they took all of his information.

The rest of the trip was uneventful.