ANST-Announce - Michael Silverhands update

[Michael Tucker]

Hello, everyone:

I apologize for using such a big bandwidth to post this message, but I've
received so many well wishes and notes of concern, from all over the kingdom,
that I thought this would actually be the most efficient way to get the word
out, and to thank all of you who have written.

As many of you already know, I was assaulted on my way to fighter practice last
Tuesday night. I stopped to help three young men who appeared to be having car
trouble in a bad part of town (between downtown and U of H). We got their car
going, and the driver left with the car, stranding the other two. They asked if
I would give them a short lift to their home. I knew that I was taking a
calculated risk, but I accepted the risk and agreed to help them. Sure enough,
they turned out to be thugs. They directed me a few blocks away (deeper into the
bad part of town), then attempted to take my life and my car. Suffice it to say
that I endured the experience, somewhat the worse for wear but alive and
evidently not bearing any life-changing injuries (at least, none that have
surfaced so far). One eye was swollen shut yesterday, but it appears to be fine
now - temporarily quite colorful, but fine. :-)

I was fortunate that they weren't well armed, equipped only with a bottle and a
wrench; that my head was able to take repeated blows from both of them, without
me losing consciousness; that I was able to take the fight out of the car, and
so better defend myself; and that one of them decided to switch weapons from the
bottle to the SCA glaive in my car (as I mentioned, I was on my way to fighter
practice). I was able to take the glaive away from the thug after he hit me with
it once, at which point both thugs decided I was too thick-headed (and now too
well-armed, in their eyes) to continue the fight. They were evidently counting
on an easy "roll", and weren't prepared to face someone who would stand up and
fight them.

I was able to escape with only some bruises, a few stiches in my scalp, and some
sore muscles. Oh, and I had to replace the windshield in my car; one of the
thugs decided as he was running away that if he couldn't enjoy my car, he didn't
want me to enjoy it either, so he tossed a handy cinder block through the
windshield. Other than that, I didn't lose a single thing. In fact, I gained a
wrench (somehow it ended up in my car).

I spent a few hours in the Emergency Room of a hospital, and have missed a
couple of days of work. But other than that, and still feeling rather sore, I'm
fine. In a couple of weeks you won't even be able to tell anything happened
unless you look closely at my scalp. :-)

It's hard to believe that all this happened less than 48 hours ago as I write
this. But it's harder still to believe that I'm not hurt much, *much* worse than
I am, let alone that I survived at all. That was *not* my assailants' stated
intention. I have to believe that I wasn't alone out there, just as I know I'm
never truly alone when I have such a big extended family (you!) to call on in
times of need.

I still believe very firmly in the basic underlying goodness in most of us, but
I am also reminded that there are vermin out there, and we have to be careful of
them. I'm grateful to be alive, and thankful to have so many, many friends.

Yours with love,
Michael Silverhands
Baron of Stargate
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