Pepper Spray Grandmas
In the heart of Greenwood Apartments, four grandmothers – Edna, Mildred, Rose, and Alice – lived independently, on different floors. A series of robberies left them shaken and vulnerable. The incidents peaked just over a year ago on a Wednesday night when they were on their way to bingo at the corner Senior Center.
Earlier, Edna was the first victim. Returning home after bingo, she found her door ajar, her apartment ransacked, items stolen and her American Nurses Association award broken on the floor.
Rose was later robbed at the local ATM in broad daylight. She remarked how she never felt so violated.
Although all agreed that the loss of cash was inconsequential compared to the potential for getting hurt, they determined to do something.
The grandmothers convened in Edna’s living room for what was to be the first of their monthly “safety” meetings. Edna declared, “The neighborhood is changing. And we need to change, too.”
Rose suggested a neighborhood watch. Mildred proposed getting self-defense spray. Edna suggested personal alarms that emit a loud sound in case of an emergency. Alice, the least vocal of the four made a suggestion that momentarily silenced the group: Guns. And training on how to use them.
The other ladies sat back and took long sips of their tea. Edna excused herself to get more pastry. Mildred and Rose eventually remarked on the fine late spring weather they had been having.
In the next meeting, they all agreed to purchase pepper spray to be stored in their purses.
Later in the summer, they were slowly strolling to their bingo outing when Rose remarked, “That’s him.” They each looked ahead to see a man walking in their direction on the same sidewalk. Rose continued, “He’s the one who robbed me.” Rose clutched her bag tighter.
“Are you sure?” Edna was incredulous.
“I’m sure.”
The man began walking faster and the frazzled ladies stepped off the sidewalk, two on each side, hoping he would pass. But he stopped and waved a gun in a semi-circle threatening both pairs. Mildred fainted and fell flat on her back in the grass. Edna instantly kneeled to tend her.
The man reached for Mildred’s purse, now loose on the lawn.
On the other side of the sidewalk, Rose reached into her purse and surreptitiously dialed 911 without removing the phone.
Alice also reached into her purse. She made two steps across the sidewalk and pointed towards the kneeling man who had already grabbed Mildred’s bag and was stretching for Edna’s.
An operator answered the call, “This is 911, please state your emergency.” She heard what sounded like six gunshots and instantly dispatched the police to the GPS location of the caller.
What the operator could not hear was the continued clicks of the trigger being pulled when all the bullets were gone.
The police and ambulance arrived within minutes and encountered a group of elderly women, one sitting in the grass, two attending to her, and a fourth standing over a downed man who was bleeding on the sidewalk. She was still pointing a gun at him.
Police approached the group, directing Alice to drop her weapon. But she remained frozen and unresponsive. Edna loudly proclaimed, “She appears to be in shock and there are no more bullets in her gun.”
A policeman calmly approached Alice and cautiously disarmed her. Another officer removed the gun from the hand of the unmoving man on the ground.
Edna rapidly explained what happened while the paramedics attended Alice and the assailant.
A year after the shooting, the ladies were reconvened in their monthly safety meeting.
Although all the ladies had become more observant and wary around the neighborhood, Alice was the most changed. She had gone from being quiet to being withdrawn. The other ladies continued to encourage her participation at bingo and the safety meetings, but her attendance had been waning.
This was the first meeting Alice attended in three months. Since her last visit, all the legal proceedings had concluded, with Alice not being charged for the death of the assailant who passed on his way to the hospital.
Edna spoke first. “Alice, we told you it would all work out.”
Rose added, “You may have saved our lives.”
Mildred chimed in, “We know you’ve been through a lot, but we want you to know we all appreciate your courage.”
Alice didn’t speak for a moment and then directed a question to Mildred. “Why did you pepper spray that man after you were able to sit up?”
“Well, I thought he deserved a little seasoning for ruining our bingo night.”
Three grandmothers chuckled and Alice smiled for the first time in over a year.
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