[silverdragontn]

Ever have the feeling that someone was up to no good? Well, as I was sitting here at 2AM reading a few threads, my dog raised his head and let out a low growl. I stopped what I was doing and listened, and heard the faint sound of an ATV coming down my road. I have had a busy weekend with all of the flooding in Tennessee, and I have been out of the house most of today checking the damage to my surrounding area, which includes the total destruction of the dirt road that I live on. My area is only accessible by ATV or helicopter until the road is fixed. At first I thought it was a neighbor down the road getting a ride home from a friend with an ATV, then I remembered that all of them are in the same boat as me, stuck at home. So I grab my pistol and flashlight and slip into my boots and step outside just in time to see an ATV with 2 riders go by. Its not uncommon to see people riding them on my road where I live at during the daytime, but at 2AM they are either drunk, up to no good, or both.

As I watched them, they turned into my mom's driveway down the road and did a few donuts in her yard, then proceeded to go to the next house and do the same - in my neighbor's garden. I noticed also that they were looking at the houses with a large flashlight as they went by. As they went further down the road and out of sight I heard 2 gunshots and shortly after that the ATV came speeding up the road and left. I thought that one of my neighbors down the road had fired a few shots to scare them off, but it could have also been the other way around. I went back inside and grabbed my rifle and medic kit and went to check on my neighbors. They were all up except for my mom, and it had been the riders that were doing the shooting, but nothing had been hit as far as we could tell. One of them was afraid it was someone looking to conduct a home invasion.

Because of the widespread flooding and some towns enacting curfews, all I could think about when I heard the gunfire was New Orleans and I kept asking myself "has Middle Tennessee sunk that low because of the flooding?". We live so far out in the county that response times for police and EMS can be insane at times, and with the road being knocked out due to flooding they would never be able to get here.

I am the only person on my road that keeps a gun close by me at all times in my house. I am the only person on my road that believes in being prepared. I think that is about to change now that my neighbors have the little wheels turning in their heads now.

I hope that everyone in Tennessee that is affected by this flooding remains vigilant enough to protect themselves and their homes...

 

[Ladysurvivalist]

Civilization or being civilized is really a thin veneer, as they say. Glad that you are prepared and so near to your mother because she needs your protection. What I hate the most is when the perpetrators are people who are in the same community as you, doing these things to their neighbors. We found out that the guy who stole several items from our garage is a neighbor 2 blocks away. Our children go to the same school as theirs. This just gets me ticked off. The Bible clearly talks about doing no evil against your neighbor who lives trustfully near you.

I'm glad you were up. I would appreciate a neighbor like you, looking out for my safety. Good luck with the flood situation - keep us posted.

 

[silverdragontn]

I'm normally up at this time of night because of the shift that I work. I tend to be a "community" security guard when I'm at home watching out for all of the sheeple in my flock. We have some trouble every now and then because we are out in the country and people think they can get away with this type of stuff and be long gone by the time the sheriff's dept. shows up. Most of the time all it takes is someone being observant, but it gets hard sometimes being a one man "neighborhood watch". I'm just glad that nobody was hurt. I'm sure that it was someone nearby because most of the other roads in and out of my neck of the woods are either flooded or too washed out, and there is a limited range for an ATV that is carrying 2 people over this rough terrain.

 

[Arrogathor]

Teenagers

You know, teenagers are clinically insane. This argument has actually been advanced in our courts and substantiated with brain scans and scientific data on the development of the brain, the purpose was, of course, to prevent teenagers from being tried as adults.

Still there is a strong scientific case for teenagers not being sane. The brain goes through a growth spurt during puberty, and then has to rewire itself, at the same time they are being bombarded with adult hormones which they don't know how to handle.

It was probably some silly teenagers. This kind of thing has always happened.

 

[bobusboy]

It was probably some silly teenagers. This kind of thing has always happened.

Um...I'm turning 20 this summer and at no point in the last 10 years; even if I was totally tanked, would i have been firing off random shots on someones property. Also I dont know any one who would do this.


quading drunk sure, but not with a firearm.

 

[corndogggy]

If your idea of conducting a home invasion is to ride up on an ATV, do a bunch of donuts in the yard, and fire warning shots... yer doin it wrong.

That being said... are you sure it was gunfire? I have crappy old trucks do stupid stuff like this next to my house all the time and sometimes they backfire so bad it sounds like gunfire.

 

[silverdragontn]

If your idea of conducting a home invasion is to ride up on an ATV, do a bunch of donuts in the yard, and fire warning shots... yer doin it wrong.

That being said... are you sure it was gunfire? I have crappy old trucks do stupid stuff like this next to my house all the time and sometimes they backfire so bad it sounds like gunfire.

I know. They would have been real dumbarses for warning everyone that they were coming if thats what they had planned. My last neighbor on my road is the one that though they might try something like a home invasion. All of my neighbors are decent people, but they can be a big flock of sheeple sometimes.

As far as the gunshots, yes they were gunshots. I have been firing guns since I was 5 and I spent time in the Army (11B) firing everything from the M9 to the MK19 and I know what they sound like. I have been fired upon both in the service and in the civilian world (even on my own property!). I have heard vehicles backfiring on my road before. Backfires don't break the sound barrier, bullets do.

Stuff like this happens around here. People poaching from the road, shooting road signs, etc. The major issue that we had was that we were cut off from law enforcement and medical help.

Sorry, not trying to argue with you. I wouldn't have posted about this if I wasn't sure about any part of it. I just wanted to show people that they needed to step up their awareness in situations like the one Tennessee is in, because Murphy's Law can bit you in the arse if you aren't prepared.

 

[dylanM]

I would keep a close eye out at who comes & goes also . They are looting the flooded areas.
Looters Hit Flooded Millington Homes
Millington, TN 5/3/2010) Shelby County Sheriff's Deputies arrested four people who they say broke into Millington homes that had been evacuated due to heavy flooding. At least one of the break-ins happened on Dawn Haven, which is a street inside a Millington mobile home park.


http://www.wreg.com/news/wreg-looting-millington,0,1561511.story

 

[jhumphrey]

I totally back silverdragon on this one, he and I are practically brothers. If he says it was gunfire, it was gunfire.

I had wondered how you faired during the weather, the city has had minimal damage. I did notice a large section of Hwy 7, just past Snow Creek Rd has been completely destroyed, the road is shut down for at least 2-6mo from what Im hearing.

I havent ventured much outside of the city, as Ive been slammed at work, but I expected looting to happen in the harder hit areas and more rural areas, it has in Nashville already, from news reports.

 

[silverdragontn]

Yeah, HWY 7 will be closed for a while. Last DOT guy I talked to told me it would be closer to a year, which is probably true considering how slow they work.

My road is going to take a lot of work to fix. Until then you have to be on foot, ATV, or come in by helicopter to get there unless you know where the trail is and have a vehicle capable of making it thru the woods and down the ridge.

One good thing is that I have bass in my creek now that have washed down from the Beaman lake!

 

[Zombiekiller09]

I live in East KY the atv's here are insane all hours of the night they go back an forth,I have a large spot where I turn when backing out of my driveway,everyone must think it's a parking spot,it's always the loud racing atv's that think it's a good spot to stop and let them idle and rev up the engines,alas there sadly mistaken with 2 small daughters in the house who are now terrified of loud atvs,It's a total lack of respect to people and property,someone stole my grandmothers roadsign a few weeks ago and a couple of days after that I my girlfriend came and woke me up saying someone was parked at the end of her drive,I walked out on my front porch there were 2 people on a side by side sitting there letting it idle,I watched for about2-3 minutes then decided something wasn't right so I go get my .45 and go out to the truck and drive up behind them as soon as I got within 10 feet they hauled a$$,I am sure they were up to no good,it is a good thing they left tho I wasn't happy about being woke up in the middle of the night

 

[wyldflwr]

I hope you're right silverdragon, and your neighbors take a hint from you and prepare. Good luck!

 

[bulrush]

Here are some more facts about teens IN GENERAL. There are exceptions and there are some very smart teens with a good head on their shoulders.

1) Teenagers take the most risks out of any age group. They lack a hormone which allows them to stop and think through their situation before acting. Some people never get this hormone.

2) Young males age 14-25 have the highest murder rate of any age group, regardless of race.

3) When people go to jail, they are mostly in this age group.

 

[LadyFenix]

Stuff like this happens around here. People poaching from the road, shooting road signs, etc. The major issue that we had was that we were cut off from law enforcement and medical help.

Sorry, not trying to argue with you. I wouldn't have posted about this if I wasn't sure about any part of it. I just wanted to show people that they needed to step up their awareness in situations like the one Tennessee is in, because Murphy's Law can bit you in the arse if you aren't prepared.

*******************
I spent years living in the country, and I went thru stuff like this CONSTANTLY. Every year, at Christmastime, people would show up with a chain saw and think they could cut down a "free Christmas tree" on my property. I put in a large garden, every year.....and people would also think that was their "free U-pick veggie garden".

I quickly learned not to leave anything of value on my front porch overnight, because those things would often be stolen during the night. During the cold weather, strangers would walk onto my property and help themselves to armfuls of wood from my supply I had stacked. Or, I would get up in the morning and see tracks from a pick-up truck across the front lawn and then notice that my woodpile was noticeably smaller than it was, the day before.

This is the "down side" to country living. I actually caught a few of these lowlifes in the act of trying to steal from me........and ran them off my property. I did have a few scattered neighbors in the area......but I believe none of them were doing this. Most likely, it was people from the near-by logging town that was severely economically depressed by hard times in the Oregon logging industry.

 

[daval]

I live besides a "rails to trails" where the government took away our trains and gave us walking trails, ... oh! except in the winter when they "rent them" to the snowmobilers to run us down on, ... as well as foxs, ... and any other critter they can terrify and mow down with their machines. I can't imagine where the sportsmanship is in this sport but it's a fun one eh? Must be, ... they are doing it all the time, ...

The weekends are awfull with gangs of motorized mufferless machines roaring past at all hours of the nite, ... and I live where it relitively uninhabited, ... that's why they tear around here I guess, .. they think they aren't bothering anyone.

The only good thing about these tards is they will have no fuel to tear around with after TSHTF because if they are this stupid now, ... I doubt they'll get any smarter after.

We don't have a big problem yet with thieves coming around and robbing because the place is run down, unmowed lawn, ... old cars in yard. (recently removed) Old falling down barn. This just makes the new barn not as noticeable The orchard doesn't look apealing at all, and it's not this year for sure, ... don't know why but there's only about two dozen plums on both trees together! and the rest are a little too young for produce yet.

Good luck with all your flooding and here's to it getting better eh?

 

[stagger61]

Silverd- Sounds like the perfect time to set up a "community" type meeting with your neighbors. Be vigilant friend, and keep your powder dry.