Glenn Bartley
New member
I do not know about true grit, I was scared just about to the point of the pucker factor failing me and my pants getting dirty from another type of grit. No matter how scared, I knew fighting was better than giving up each time. Maybe it was because of my training and practice, and that kicked in before I even realized I was scared. So, I reverted to my training and to my will to fight and not give up and that helped even though I was scared. Is that grit? I do not think so, I think it is just doing what ou can to make sure you get home to see the wife and kids again. Anyway, chances are, that is not what they meant when John Wayne played the part of Rooster Cogburn in the movie True Grit.
In fact, I never want to find myself in any situations like those again, but they happen now and again, as do others that could become as bad but are more often cooled down before they get that bad. If one does get that bad again though, I hope I never give up in a situation like that. Back then, I also had hoped I would never again face another situation like that but I certainly have faced some more of them over the years. I try to do the right thing each time and de-escalate a situation and if it gets worse I try to deal with as I know I should.
I just wish things like that would stop happening involving me but as recently as a few months ago I had to intervene on behalf of a man, woman and their 9 or 10 year old daughter when they were accosted by a jerk. I hosed him with pepper spray and he finally got the idea it was better to leave than hang around. I let him leave, had the husband call the police and got him arrested by them; I was out in Phoenix at the time on an assignment for work.
I have a black cloud that follows me around. Although it has made for an interesting life, it would be okay by me if I got a little more sunshine now that I am older. I am getting on in years, I suppose much as was Rooster Cogburn. Whether or not I have grit, I can tell you this, that kind of thing is 'No Country For Old Men' and I am getting there in years (I'll be retiring this year or next).
One other thing, about me and restraint. I think that it was more uncertainty than restraint that I showed in taking the warning shot. I was very young, pretty new as a border patrol agent, and the guy was unarmed but had already hurt me and was urging others to "kill him" - the him being me. I saw the other coming, he started to approach me too, from a fairly close distance, I was scaredfor my life very literally, and I fired a round that seemd to actually part his hair as it whoosed up as the bullet or muzzle blast passed over his head. It would have been a lot more intelligent of me had I shot him, but a lot harder to live with if I had done so. As it was it turned out okay and I was not tried before a jury of what would have been his peers. Still though, I could have been killed had he charged me at that point and gotten hold of my revolver. Restraint - nope; just not sure of what to do because he was unarmed but still posed a deadly threat to me. I know better now how to assess and act in such a situation.
Thanks for the compliment, it is appreciated.
All the best,
Glenn B
In fact, I never want to find myself in any situations like those again, but they happen now and again, as do others that could become as bad but are more often cooled down before they get that bad. If one does get that bad again though, I hope I never give up in a situation like that. Back then, I also had hoped I would never again face another situation like that but I certainly have faced some more of them over the years. I try to do the right thing each time and de-escalate a situation and if it gets worse I try to deal with as I know I should.
I just wish things like that would stop happening involving me but as recently as a few months ago I had to intervene on behalf of a man, woman and their 9 or 10 year old daughter when they were accosted by a jerk. I hosed him with pepper spray and he finally got the idea it was better to leave than hang around. I let him leave, had the husband call the police and got him arrested by them; I was out in Phoenix at the time on an assignment for work.
I have a black cloud that follows me around. Although it has made for an interesting life, it would be okay by me if I got a little more sunshine now that I am older. I am getting on in years, I suppose much as was Rooster Cogburn. Whether or not I have grit, I can tell you this, that kind of thing is 'No Country For Old Men' and I am getting there in years (I'll be retiring this year or next).
One other thing, about me and restraint. I think that it was more uncertainty than restraint that I showed in taking the warning shot. I was very young, pretty new as a border patrol agent, and the guy was unarmed but had already hurt me and was urging others to "kill him" - the him being me. I saw the other coming, he started to approach me too, from a fairly close distance, I was scaredfor my life very literally, and I fired a round that seemd to actually part his hair as it whoosed up as the bullet or muzzle blast passed over his head. It would have been a lot more intelligent of me had I shot him, but a lot harder to live with if I had done so. As it was it turned out okay and I was not tried before a jury of what would have been his peers. Still though, I could have been killed had he charged me at that point and gotten hold of my revolver. Restraint - nope; just not sure of what to do because he was unarmed but still posed a deadly threat to me. I know better now how to assess and act in such a situation.
Thanks for the compliment, it is appreciated.
All the best,
Glenn B
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