A Stolen Life
Somebody I know – let’s call him John – had his entire life derailed by a single event 35 years ago. He had everything going for him; a wife, 2 preschool daughters and was in a lucrative business with an equally capable partner. Now he has nothing.
One day the business required of him to be away for a week. However, he concluded the business in 4 days and arrived home on a night flight. When he walked into his bedroom he found his partner in marriage in bed with his partner in business.
Keeping the business in the family turned out to be too much for him. He fetched his firearm in the study and went to the kitchen to bolster his nerves with a few neat brandies. Then the two lovebirds appeared. And he fired two shots at them. Missed them both and they ran to the police station only half a block away.
John was arrested, charged with attempted murder and sent for psychiatric evaluation. When the case went to trial it was discovered that the lovebirds had disappeared. No witnesses meant no case and in the end John was found guilty of discharging a firearm within the municipal boundaries; he paid a small fine and forfeited his firearm.
But his life was over. The business went to pieces during the three months while he was in arrest and his wife cleaned out the house and the bank account before disappearing. John had lost all interest in life.
He drifted from job to job; more unemployed than employed. More on the street than in a house. Not the will to continue. He was an only child and he lost both his parents on the same day two years prior to the shooting incident. No family to get him on track again.
When the lovebirds finally resurfaced ten years later they were married and John did not even know he was divorced. His children were legally adopted by their new father and when he tried to contact them he ran into a court order preventing contact.
I don’t have much sympathy with his inability to stand up again but I do feel sorry for him. I think his life was stolen from him.
PS
A lot of detail had been left out to keep the story shorter.
Comments (99)
Wow, this is a very heart wrenching story to say the least. A tragic and a very sad one. Grabbing all the truths from this morbid scenario I can't help but wondering on my line of thinking anymore: "THINGS HAPPEN FOR A REASON, if it is good glorify it, if it is bad learn from it."
I can feel him alright, I can just go deep down to his pain and if only I can scope it out, I would..His life wasn't only stolen from him, to me there is nothing worse, than that of a living dead. He is a living dead!
I am speechless and frankly, I can't seem to grasp such a brutal and cruel fate..I believe, he is beyond sympathy, beyond cure, and beyond help. To me that is, but it would take a miracle for him to get back up, that is if he has the strength to do.
My question is how to reach him and how to come across him without feeling pity but pure and straight up compassion and make him feel he is deserving to start all over again? I am, sickened and buried in my own pain, Cat. For him, that is...I can only pray, for him and his soul...
SR
But he did get the chance to have a wife and kid.
but, guess, even that can turn against you.
@wht, I am aware of your reactions and again, I believe in a situation like this, the end justifies the means but in the end, it wouldn't count so much on the justification of taking the law in your won hand, but rather, had it made the crime against him diminished? at least to his sufferings?
SR
We are about the same age and grew up in the same town but went to different schools. So we only met about five years after the incident. But I met his father a few times before his death. He was quite a prominent member in our society.
If only he had family to get him up and running again.
I have kept contact with him throughout but did not see him for about two years now. I'm not even sure if he is still alive.
The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of difficulty, challenge and controversy. (source : my boss
Feeling pitty for him doesn't helps but only strong support of friends may be of some help to open his eyes but at the end he is creator of his life and it's up to him.
It just proves once again people experience pain different. Some can get up and move on and some stay stuck.
I believe that old saying what goes around comes around so maybe those two scheming BBBBs will get their comuppence somewhere down their life.
You will never know what you have until you have lost it. Ask me. But I was lucky enough to get my life back; then you appreciate it even more.
People are not measured my how far they fall but rather by how quick they can stand up again. I do think he was too sorry for himself in the beginning. He could have gotten up then. He still had the house (inherited) and should have applied that money more wisely when he sold it.
I wouldn't go as far as Red would feel, but I can only pray for those that have committed these grievious sin. Knowing even more on the steps they took of which being married and getting allthe titles for the kids. that must have been additional slat to the injury lacerating his heart and mind even more.
My sympathy for you Cat.
Thanks for sharing.
SR
But life is such a cruel journey to most Cat. My condolences again. I pray.
SR
Most men crack up in a situation like that. I cannot really condemn him for that. As for his wife; if she had to be untrue, she could have done it elsewhere. Not in his house and his bed. I may have reacted much worse, I don't know. It is easy to point a finger but we don't know the state of mind at the time.
And why did she not let her lover out by the other door? Was it to provoke him once more?
I think you completely misunderstood my comment to Wht. I was referring to my real life; such as in my health. I lost that and was lucky enough to regain it. It was like sitting on death row waiting to be hanged and then to hear that you were pardoned.
I accidentally skipped your comment. I'm not sure about retaining the business and the children for he was detained for a few months and would have been even longer out of circulation had he actually killed them.
Representation in a murder trial would have taken care of the proceeds from selling his house. No, he would have been down and out either way. He should never have taken the gun out. The gun was for self defense and his life was not in danger.
Talk to you later Cat, I am going back to bed. snow in Seattle is way too much..
but I am going home to my city on Monday.
SR:
Sad indeed. A wasted life.
It may be that the incident pacified him. Remember, I did not meet him until a few years after the incident and do not know what kind of a man he was before. I do not know what kind of a relationship he had with his wife. I only know his story. There may be many other untold things.
Of course, it is still lala time in your part of the world. Enjoy the bed. It is 1 PM here; very hot and stuffy at present.
Yes it is sad that the human composure is so frail. That a thing that might seem trivial to us can break a person. Yet, it is possible that there is a weakness in each of us to break you in one blow. And when you have no family left to guide you back on the road, you are lost.
what I`ve concluded is, he was lousy at shooting
Yes, I would not call this trivial either; I was talking in general. We al have our own weaknesses and may not always see a problem from a different perspective.
Thanks for dropping in.
more like theft.
and your worst nightmare comes true, when you are the only one that can see what they are doing, but nobody takes your side, or cares. or believes you.
hopefully I still have time for a bit of a recovery. But it wont be in any direction I want or am skilled in unfortunately.
And it wont be over here.
hopefully next time, I wont be so stupid as to buy assets or possesons or as you say, hand over funds or investments for others to babysit. Can be lethal, especially if its nice.
hopefully they get hit by a bus or something.
will have to do some witchcraft when I get the chance.
seemed to work on my neighbour. she broke her leg, and now has even fled the neighbourhood I think.
and all I did was to put the final bullet in, was too sing and dance outside around 2am in the morning onwards, with my mp3 player in my ears.
I have often mocked him about that but I have no doubt in my mind that he could have killed them if he wanted to.
All white South Africans were conscripted into the army and we were trained to use firearms. We don't close our eyes when we fire a gun.
Think she thought I was going to shoot her.
looks like her chronies fled with her.
People are seldom punished immediately for things like this but life is a funny equalizer. If you live by the sword, you shall die by the sword; or more aptly put, what goes around comes around.
My heart really goes out to him, even though I don't know him I will keep him in my prayers!!
As I said; I have not seen him for about 2 years and do not know if he is still alive.
How we deal with it is the important point!
He could have shouted at her and threw them out, it is not "right" what they did but neither would be threatening to kill them, some of what happened to him afterwards is a result of his actions.
This is so sad and pity, wish it was not true but it would happened in real life... I don't know why my heart was felt so heavy by this story...
Anyway,have a good day !
I appreciate and admire your concern for children but I still think this guy had a raw deal; even if he had contributed to his own downfall.