Woman Suffers Fractured Sinus Cavity; Swollen Brain PDF Print E-mail
Opinion
Written by Jeff Garvas   
Tuesday, 16 December 2008 05:52

If the title of this article doesn't shock your conscious what will? Every time I've read this story in the Cleveland media this week I've involuntarily closed my eyes and shuddered. Before this tragic event I didn't even consider the fact that its possible to fracture a sinus cavity.

Mary Lou Ickes, a sixty-five year old woman who apparently was approached in a Canton Wal-Mart parking lot by someone seeking "a light", was herself lit up by the fists of the man pretending to have a cigarette. The media reports of swelling to her brain remind me of the violent attack this past spring in the Parma area Metroparks. That violent attack left then fifty-two year old Chevonne Eccelstone to later die in a hospital.

We all know that the holidays bring this type of animal behavior out in criminals in parking lots, and many of us who follow the concepts of self-defense have probably now walked through the scenario of some stranger asking us for a light in a parking lot and how we'd react. For one of our forum members a shockingly similar scenario played out in November, ending much better.

Sadly, human nature causes many of us and our loved ones to trust strangers until its too late. Loved ones who may never choose to carry a firearm or other means of self-defense.

I imagine for a smoker it could be a instinct to just hand out your lighter. Is it an implied trust between smokers? Did Ickes even smoke or was she turning to decline the request? Regardless, a man savagely beat a woman who likely wouldn't have otherwise resisted, simply to steal her purse. Ickes would probably have given away her purse to be spared the pain, suffering, and financial burdens she'll now endure.

If you haven't done it already, talk to all of your friends and family and remind them of some simple self-defense techniques. Even if they don't choose to carry a firearm for self-defense the right demeanor, mindset, and situational awareness could make these attackers see your loved one as too risky a target and choose someone else.