"Don’t be a deer caught in the headlights of the Kenworth of life!" – Clint Smith

Trust is not cheap. It can cost you your life! The elderly woman had just been telling her daughter the day before how much she trusted her cleaning lady, how nice she was. Nevertheless, her daughter advised her not to leave the cleaning lady with her keys. She did anyway. Two days later, when the elderly woman came home at around 9:30 PM from the movies, she was assaulted in her apartment by an intruder who had let himself in with those keys. The intruder beat her into unconsciousness. Now she was barely hanging on to life in the ICU.

Be Suspicious. The morale of this story is Don’t take anything or anyone for granted! Be suspicious. Don’t give away your trust. Never give out your keys! You might end up in shock and awe, and that’s not a good thing! As the famed defensive firearms trainer, Clint Smith says, "Don’t be a deer caught in the headlights of the Kenworth of life!" That means, don’t be easily or overly impressed with people’s apparent good intentions. Most people have a dark side, and it could be a boyfriend that just got out of the pen.

Stay Aware And Stay Conscious. Trust no one. Apathy and unawareness can lead to unconsciousness—permanently!

If you look vulnerable due to physical disability or limitations as a result of aging or physical illness, expect people to try to take advantage of you. But, if you are trained to safely use and carry a firearm, and you are legally permitted to carry concealed in your jurisdiction, capitalize on the important variable of the “surprise factor”.

For example, an acquaintance who is in her sixties and challenged by lifelong orthopedic problems associated with childhood polio, surprised me the other day when she shared that she was a shooter and a concealed carry weapons permit holder. Her outward appearance is of an alert, situationally aware, confident, mature woman, with a notable postural list and limp, who walks with a cane. I would have never guessed she packs heat. In all likelihood, neither would a predatory criminal, and that spells S-U-R-V-I-V-AL for my acquaintance, and a real bad day for anyone who would attack her!

Always Carry A Flashlight. Always carry a flashlight when you are out as well as when you are at home. It will come in handy. When you go to open your car door, first check under and in your car. Before you enter your home, have your flashlight ready. When you answer your door, use your peep hole to see who is ringing or knocking. Have a flashlight ready to shine into the eyes of a potential miscreant if you choose to open your door. A bright light will temporarily blind an unwelcome caller and giver you time to slam the door shut. If he has his foot in the door, slam the light into his noggin!

Go Armed. Carry a gun, knife and flashlight on you as much of the time as you can. It’s a war zone out there! This also means having your gun in an instantly accessible place in your home should you need it. Think of it as a security blanket which means you still must establish good cover. .

Develop safe gun handling and good marksmanship skills so that they are reflexive if you should ever need to use them for real. So, go to the range regularly and practice, practice, practice your shooting skills. The lead won’t kill you, but if you are unprepared, a predator might!

Vary Your Routines. Keep your shades drawn at night. Don’t let uninvited eyes in on your party. Vary your daily routines. As we get older, we tend to become more set in our ways. This is not good. It makes us too complacent. By varying our routines, we counter complacency and add stimulation to our lives. Furthermore, predators and stalkers don’t feel comfortable if they have to track an erratic target. They like to prey on nice and predictable victims. So, don’t become predictable and don’t become a victim!

Seniors are typically thought of as being predictable because they typically are! Well, you can get your Social Security Check by mail. Just don’t check your mail at the same time every day! Don’t go shopping on the same day and same hour of the day each week. Shop on different days and preferably at more than one market.

Don’t be afraid of insulting people or being rude. Your life is worth more than that. It’s better to be thought of as rude than to be found dead. I want you to enjoy your early retirement. Don’t let some dirt bag retire you!

If you are attacked by a predator, fight aggressively in every way with great viciousness. Your attacker has no heart--not if he would prey on you. Thus, he deserves no quarter.

Convince yourself beforehand that if you are attacked you will win the fight. Convince yourself that No dirt bag is ever going to take your life before your time.

Disparity of Force. Capitalize on the obvious disparity of force between you and your attacker. That means your attacker will not expect you to fight back. That gives you the advantageous element of surprise. Additionally, if you have to shoot an attacker to stop him from killing you, or causing you grievous bodily harm, a jury of your peers will understand that were it “but for” your gun, you would have been food.

If attacked fight back viciously and but expect to get hurt, maybe badly—but fight and prevail. It’s a survival issue. Tell yourself, no matter what, you will survive. Getting hurt is better than the alternative especially if you launch a valiant counter-offensive.

This is not to say, that you shouldn’t escape or run away of you can, because you should. But if you can’t, do what you have to, to survive.

Ernest Emerson’s folding Karambit is a great knife to carry in your pocket. The pocket clip allows you to carry it clipped in your pocket at the ready. With its patented wave opening feature, you can draw the knife from your pocket in one swift motion, and as the knife opens, have it in your hand ready for deployment in a reverse fighting grip. The pocket clip can be switched to either side of the handle for left or right handed pocket carry. Cheat to Win! You are elderly. Bluff if you have to. Fake a heart attack. It will momentarily disorient your attacker, and buy you time. How you carry yourself may determine whether a predator picks you or the next person. Remember that if you look like food you will be eaten.

Get tough. Don’t feel sorry for strangers. Remember: You are on your own out there. So watch your 360 and stay safe!

SOURCES Emerson Knives, Inc. 310-212-7455. www.emersonknives.com.

Dr. Bruce Eimer is a hypnotherapist and licensed clinical psychologist, and author in Pennsylvania and the owner of Alternative Behavior Associates www.hypnosisgroup.com. He is a Life Member of the NRA, an NRA Certifi ed Firearms Instructor in Pistol, Home Firearms Safety, and Personal Protection, a Glock Certifi ed Armorer, and the co-author of Essential Guide to Handguns: Firearm Instruction for Personal Defense and Protection www.looseleafl aw.com. Bruce is a member of IALEFI, the International Association of Law Enforcement Firearms Instructors. He can be reached by email at dr.bruce@hypnosisgroup.com.