Beer, two idiots and manslaughter
Amazing Antics: Stories of Alcoholism-Driven Behaviors
Story from “This is True”by Randy Cassingham, with his “tagline:â€
“You can’t shoot me, I’m invisible!”
“FOOL ME ONCE, SHAME ON YOU: James Walter Quick, 42, and Richard Allen Johnson, 43, went hunting together, then watched a college football game at Johnson’s house in Lexington, S.C. They had $20 riding on the game, and the South Carolina Gamecocks beat the Clemson Tigers. Quick asked Johnson to pay up, but Johnson said the Tigers should have won and refused to pay. Quick, police say, went to his car and grabbed his hunting rifle, returned to the house, and demanded his $20. Witnesses say Johnson, who was still wearing camouflage clothing from the hunting trip, replied, “You can’t shoot me, I’m invisible.” Quick replied, “No you’re not,” and fired. Quick has been charged with murder. Police say both men had been drinking. (Charlotte Observer) …Who would have guessed?â€
Randy’s got it right”this could only occur when there’s drinking involved. But at the risk of ruining the humorous aspect to a possible Darwin Award winner, I have to wonder who had the higher BAL: the drunk claiming to be invisible, or the one shooting the rifle.
Quick and Johnson became acquainted after their wives, who were good friends, introduced them a couple of years ago. Quick was calmly leaning against his Corsica when police arrived and quietly made the arrest. Quick’s wife, Ann Marie Quick, said that the incident is “totally out of his nature.”Could it have been an aberration? It’s unlikely despite the lack of confirming evidence, because the two argued, it went too far and they both acted in ways that non-alcoholics wouldn’t. Will we ever confirm? Not likely, because the stigma of alcoholism keeps most relatives from coming clean. While the world would be a safer place if the secrets weren’t kept, we’ll likely have to wait for more enlightened times.
(Story and tagline from “This is True,”copyright 2006 by Randy Cassingham, used with permission.