I recently have been working in S Florida in and around Ft Lauderdale , an area while beautiful and with lots of money chasing itself around also has an unusually high number of homeless and, of course a pretty damned high (to my standards) level of crime. So why am I writing this? Well let me start at the beginning.

I had just arrived a day later than planned at the hotel that I had reserved and what do I find out front but about 5 police cars and a CSI unit. Well I didn't even know if it was OK to even go in, maybe they had gotten robbed or something crazy had happened. After a 6 hour drive I was ready for some rest and didn't feel like cooling my heels out front any longer so I went inside said what the hell  is going on a which got no response (I didn't really expect one),. I checked in and expressed my disappointment about not getting the same room I had been staying in (I'm a creature of habit). I grudgingly accepted the room across the hall from my usual and made my way to the elevator and up to my room.

As I get off the elevator and start making my way down the hall what do I see but the police in front of my usual room with kind of a mini command post set up in the middle of the hall basically in front of my new rooms door. Well I approach hesitantly and say hey guys this is my room here and they clear a path while making sure the door in across from me is closed. I try to get in and of course my key doesn't work so back downstairs for a replacement key and I return to the same uncomfortable procedure.

I ask the cops what is going on and they start asking me questions like when was the last time you saw the resident of this room? Did you know him? Did you have any dealings with him etc? I told them honestly that that was my usual room and I had no idea who was even in the room.  I said whoever it was could walk up and bite me on the arm and I still wouldn't know him, and by the way what is going on?  Again no response.

Well I go into my room and immediately start trying to see what's going on through the peephole. Let me tell you peepholes are not very conducive to anything besides seeing the mug of the person right in front of it, but I would not be denied!

I remained lurking at the peephole studying blurry fisheyed images for about 5 minutes until I saw my opportunity (the door was wide open and the majority of the cops were inside with the exception of the door keeper cop sitting at the mini command post) so I grabbed my wallet and went abruptly out my door and what do I see but a naked guy with a knife sticking out of his upper chest/ lower throat.

As it turns out abruptly throwing your door open with a bunch of jumpy cops at a murder scene wasn't the best idea I've ever had. After the sitting cop released my arm from behind my back approximately 1/2 a degree from being dislocated, and 3 or 4 more backed away from the gang take down they were prepared to do they finally gave me some info..

I turns out housekeeping had discovered the body and apparently someone the night before had called and asked to be connected to the room and then apparently come and killed the poor bastard..

That could have been me in a case of mistaken identity, I was a day late for checking in and they did give my customary room to someone else, 

I gotta tell you this whole episode gave me an extreme case of the creeps and that whole night (after changing rooms to the complete opposite end of the hotel), I didn't get but a few winks of sleep.

I know my  fears and concerns were basically unfounded but being that close to apparently random (to me) violence really got me thinking and we truly do live in a fucked up world where your ticket could get punched at any time. This weekend I am buying a pistol and a CCW and taking that fucker with me wherever I go. I may be overreacting but that's just me.

Has anyone else out there had an experience like this? If so I'd like to hear about it/

Oh in keeping with my lucky trend I dropped my wallet in a restroom in a gas station in a very bad part of F,t Lauderdale, didn't discover it til I got to my work, went back a total of 1 hour had passed and the person who had found it was waiting for the police to turn it over to them, this whole thing went down right as I drove up! You can't get any luckier than that!  An honest man who was still there when I got back waiting and inconveniencing himself by doing the right thing.

Well I know this isn't up to my usual fare but I just wanted to share

Choosing between a 9mm and a .40

MjrF