A choice.

Here's a story that took place two weeks ago yesterday. It is a true one.

An old man is by himself in his house. He is 67 years old. He has children with grown children. His wife is running errands down town. While he is by himself in his own home, he has a visitor. The visitor is one of his neighbors, a fellow acquaintance. His neighbor does not wait outside. The old man does not lock his door during the day. A group of men are across the street, drinking beer on the porch. The old man smiles at the sounds of their laughter and the memories it brings him. The neighbor is standing in his kitchen looking around. He is 29 years old. The old man has invited him into his house many times before. He has given him rides home and to the store. The neighbor has thanked him many times. The old man is happy to help. He asks his neighbor how he's doing today. The neighbor replies by demanding the old man give him his wallet. The smile goes away from the old man's face. He no longer hears the men across the street anymore. He tells his neighbor to leave the house. His neighbor pulls out a knife.

The neighbor then cuts his throat, stabs him near his heart three times, and twice under the ribs. The old man crashes to the ground. He is in shock. The neighbor reaches and grabs the old man's billfold and disappears into the house, leaving the old man for dead. The old man sputters blood on to the floor. He is not dead. He somehow manages to make it outside. The men across the street see him. There is blood everywhere. As he stumbles out onto the street, his neighbor returns. He makes a run at the old man, but as he sees the men quickly coming to his aid, he runs away.

The old man is taken to the hospital. Two weeks later, he is in intensive care. The attacker is caught and arrested. He awaits the fate of the old man.




My father knows this old man. He told me this story last night, and I am angry enough to want to talk about it. What is there to say about this? How can we justify a man intruding into another's house and attempting to kill him for the sake of money? What drive did the young neighbor feed from? My guess is a drug addiction. Nothing else can explain it. I want to know what is going on through this man's head while he sits in jail. TO attack a man in his own home is an absolute shame. It's really hard right now to think of why this man should continue to live. If the old man had died, would he be given the death sentence? I don't know what his fate will lead to if the old man lives. The article in the paper was a few sentences. Dad found out the story from the wife of the old man. I don't see any reason why this man should ever return from jail again. The miraculous point about this story is that the old man is still alive. Two weeks later, the doctors are saying he is going to live. But does that save the neighbor who attacked him? Many goddamn months later, what will the verdict be? A few years in prison? Hope of parole? Or, something I'm beginning to like more and more, a simple bullet in his head.