Two Trunklids Up and A BAD DAY.

This is an experience of some years ago and this bard's advice should you run upon this situation. I was traveling in the Jefferson County area of Alabama calling on super markets for my company. It was my habit to park away from the front door as a courtesy to their customers to leave the closer parking spaces open.

This faithful day, I did not park in the parking lot as but parked on the street in the middle of the block. I noticed two men talking next to the curb between their two parked cars with both car trunk lids up. My first assessment was one car was disabled and this was a friend helping him with getting his car back on the road. Boy was I wrong,,,big time wrong.

Suddenly the two men started swinging fists at each other and one went down in the road. One then reached into his car and out he came with the jack stand (not the jack handle but the stand) swinging it like a Louisville Slugger baseball bat. The guy on the ground came up with a knife in his hand but before he could attack, he took a crashing blow to the arm and shoulder when his opponent saw the knife. He rolled on the street like he was hit by a car. But now with his broken arm hanging down limp, he attacked the fellow welding the jack stand. Fortunately someone who knew one of the assailants got in between them and kept them from killing each other.

I went into the store visible shaken and one of the men who broke up the fight followed me in. I told him he was brave to get in between these two guys as they went bent on possibly killing each other. I ask what was the reason for the fight. He just said quietly..."They are both drug dealers and it apparently went BAD!" He said both of them were very high and it took several men to get in between them to break up the fight. I was truly lucky to get away from this without getting hurt.

I finished my business in this store and the next supermarket was in he middle of the next block. I drove around the block and parked on the side of the store again out of his parking lot. It had begun to rain and I had the windows up but soon heard something that sounded like firecrackers going off. I was getting my briefcase off the floor on the passenger side when small chunks of bricks and mortar rained down on the hood of my company car. I looked again heard the firecracker sound going off but soon realized it was rapid gunfire. More chips were now falling on my car and a ricochet soon whined over my car. My first thought was to slide down in the seat and wait this out...But something told me right away that the skin on this car would not stop a bullet.

The sounds were coming from behind me and to my left so my decision was to go right and forward away from the barrage raining down on the cars. I slid across the passenger side of my car and onto the pavement, keeping the car between me and the continuing barrage. I made my was low on the ground, onto and down the sidewalk and around the corner of the brick building. Bingo, I ran into two men hugging the building on the avenue side of the street.

I ask (without looking) what was going on. The answer one gave me was that the two men down the alley behind the store had a fight over a mutual girlfriend and they fought and the loser went home and got his rifle. He was standing next to a building shooting down the alley and the other fellow was returning fire and these were the bullets hitting the building I was now hiding behind.

I was in the service and had seen men hurt 'looking' at fires, explosions, and putting their heads up when they were told to keep them down. For some reason this training came into play and I let the drama play out without me getting hit by bullets or debris flying off the building. The Birmingham police were called but the guys were gone and the witnesses went with them. They talked to me briefly but I told the officer I was "ducking, not looking!" Good advice was his only remark.

This was not what I call a good day when within one hour you run into a drug deal and a gun fight. I was lucky or fortunate not to have gotten hurt in either confrontation. My military training was a wonderful resource that kept my head down in both situations and I am here today to tell about it. I worked on the road for 42 years and this was undoubtedly one of the worse days I can remember.