What counts BEOWULF, is that your decisions got you out of that unscratched. I fought back and won during an assault, and my machismo wasnâ??t any better off for it.
I live in NYC. A few years ago, coming home from a night class on a near-empty street, I saw down the block a panhandler asking people walking by if they had change. After I passed him, he came up behind me, and razored my right knee from the back (he cut open the pant leg), then grabbed me by the neck and whipped me around. My brief case went to the ground.
Here I am, one second worrying about how Iâ??m going to pass my engineering final, the next, fighting for my life. I spun around, then he slashes a 22 inch line across my coat. I would have been dead had it not been a winter day.
My EXACT thoughts, I remember like it was yesterdayâ?¦
>Iâ??ve only got 20 bucks in my wallet, what if this guy doesnâ??t like it and kills me anyway?
>Who does this scag thing he is? (I was a gymnast, and still work outâ?¦I was in prime condition)
>What if I run, and he pulls out a gun and puts one in my back? What about my wife, my kid?
>Stand and fight, at least Iâ??ll see his next move and react.
He pockets the blade, turns and grabs my case off the floor. I jump him from the back - not for the books, the case, or the 20 bucks, but for not knowing what he might do next out of spite. By now, other people saw the commotion, and were coming to offer help. We scuffled, the scag dropped my case and ran off. NYPD detectives showed me mug shots, but I couldnâ??t positively ID him.
Believe me, I donâ??t feel like a hero for what happened that night. It also doesnâ??t represent what anyone should do. Fighting my way out of that didnâ??t do anything for my ego at all. What counts is, it worked that time, and my decisions got me out of it.
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