Thread by @RiverOwl83

It's the things you survive that make you strong. Just stay with me till the end and you will understand.

The link provided is to a 2 hr documentary about Hurricane Andrew which hit Homestead, FL in Aug 1992. It's a day I've never forgotten.

I suppose I should explain first.

I was 8 yrs old when my entire world was destroyed. I went from being a little kid to being a shell shocked zombie in a matter of hours. If you want the whole story, watch the whole video. The part I want to discuss starts an hour in.

After Andrew hit, Homestead went insane. It was a war zone. Looters, violence, fighting over a gallon of water. It was chaos. My family and I crawled out of the rubble that was our house and headed to the Leisure City Moose Lodge, where my mother and grandparents were members.

We grabbed all the food we could, all the supplies. Anything we thought we could use and share.

My grandfather grabbed his guns.

While we made our way across Homestead, the city we had known and loved was gone. There was nothing left but Devastation and Desperation.

Once we made it to the lodge, my grandfather started gathering the men from the other families that had arrived. He set up a perimeter around the property, and assigned patrols to keep us safe.

We were all armed.

I was 8 yrs old when my grandfather taught me to shoot.

It was done not of desperation, but for protection. Looters were rampant. People were coming from N.Fl to loot in Homestead. Humanity was out the window. So my grandfather taught me how to properly handle a firearm and how to protect my family and myself.

This memory... that feeling... of terror, desperation, anger.... I've kept that with me all these years. It's because of that memory that I will NOT give up my right to bear arms. I will keep the ability to protect myself against anything. Because... when it comes down to it...

When the world has been destroyed around you, when there's no hope you can see, the last thing you should do is disarm yourself.

Take it from someone who was taught that lesson in a brutal way. Do not give up your weapons. Make sure you can protect you and yours.

This was hard for me. I'd never seen most of that footage, because I was living it. If you watch the video, know that what you are seeing, was my home... my childhood... my life.

I've survived hell, with a gun at my side. I'll be damned if I'll give it away now.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Be safe. Be ready. Be aware. Because you never know what's going to happen.

#2A #MAGA #NRA #MarchForOurLives