[jdandy]

Where I live there is a Marathon gas station/convenience store and a tiny post office about a mile down the road. No blinking yellow light. It's 20 miles east, and 15 miles in either direction north or south to the nearest towns. Most folks out hear live on 5 to 50 acres. There's cattle ranchers, hay fields, agricultural fields, beautiful fresh water springs that flow into the Suwannee River, and hard working country people raising families away from the big cities. It is beautiful here but it is not without crime. It was about seven years ago in the late afternoon that three people, a man, his wife, and his nephew were shot in their home execution style in the back of the head while on their knees in their dining room. This happened about a mile from my home. Two of the three killers, James Howze and Lonnie Munn, were captured three weeks later in northern Minnesota hiding in a camper near the Canadian border trying to get out of the country. The third person involved, Keith Hughes, was arrested in Suwannee County and hung himself in jail. It was a robbery to get cash from the man's safe they had heard about from Keith Hughes who knew the man and helped plan the robbery and execute three people. James Howze and Lonnie Munn were sentenced to three life terms each with no chance of parole.

These merciless brutal murders rocked our little rural community. In the three weeks before these two killers were captured everyone was on edge not knowing where they were or what might happen next. A sense of relief went through everyone once they were apprehended but our sense of peace and security was tarnished. It reminded me that violent crime can happen anywhere at any time. It often happens very quickly with little time to react. The location can be anywhere.

In the years since that crime my situational awareness has increased and my preparedness has improved. I am not paranoid, simply more aware at all times than I had been, and more prepared and trained to protect myself and those I love at all times. I wish we all lived in Mayberry with no worries, but the fact is even there safety can be fluid depending on the people present on any given day. I wish it weren't so but the facts prove otherwise. Most of us are safe in our daily lives but it is important to understand that can change in the blink of an eye.