A few weeks ago something pretty much unheard of where I live happened. A woman was shot to death in a parking lot in broad daylight. Police weren’t releasing too many details, other than her name and a couple of pictures of the vehicle they think that the suspect was using at the time the crime was committed. A couple of days later, the police acted on a tip and found the suspect and his vehicle in another parking lot in town. But as they closed in, he shot himself, and – despite intense medical efforts – passed away. So ends another tragic, shocking story in my part of the world – with two sets of grieving families and friends (victim’s and murderer’s).
The woman’s name sounded strangely familiar to me so I paid this story more attention than I normally would. It didn’t take me long to piece together that the victim was indeed the sister of someone that lived one house away from me during my first marriage. In another lifetime, the victim’s sister and I used to hang out once in a while when our kids were small and we were both lonely and bored out of my mind stay-at-home moms.
Then, as these things happen, I became privy to more details about the murder, through another acquaintance. Here’s what I was told.
The victim was irked that the murderer was dealing drugs in plain view in the parking lot of the victim’s building. She confronted the murderer about it and then started taking photos of the murderer’s car with her cell phone. That’s when she was shot with intent to kill (which happened), and her cell phone smashed by the murderer and left on the ground in the parking lot. The police were able to get the photos of the car from the broken cell phone they retrieved from the scene of the crime.
No doubt in my mind this woman was a Badass. She was of a certain age (very close to mine), where latent Badassery will manifest itself, whether resulting from life circumstances, declining hormone levels, increasing wisdom, or all of the above. I like to think all women eventually come into this Badass stage of life, and that it is one to be welcomed and applauded. Also known as the Zero Fucks Given, Sick of Always Being “Nice”, Sick of Taking Other People’s Shit stage of life.
However, there is a cautionary tale here. No doubt about it – realizing your true nature as a Badass is a wonderful thing…BUT! There is a BUT…and it’s a big ‘un.
BUT! PLEASE BE CAREFUL. The world needs us wise old lady Badasses (whether they know it or not) and now there is one less of us in the world. Don’t risk your personal safety to right the world’s wrongs.
You may be are fierce, but not fierce enough to stop a bullet or to overcome someone who is physically bigger and stronger than you. And then there is the futility of dealing with someone who may be mentally unstable.
Choose your battles wisely and with care, and think first and foremost of your own safety and well-being.
That is certainly the personal lesson I took away from this tragic event.
Stay safe out there fellow Badasses – and rock on,
The WB
