Old and Bad-Ass

I was having a conversation with Mike Furrer (father of Olympic Rifle Shooter Amanda Furrer) recently about a mutual hero of ours, Samuel Whittemore. Sam was an ornery, grizzled, tough as nails American Patriot during the Revolutionary War.

The short story of Sam Whittemore is that he single handedly engaged an entire regiment of Redcoats as they marched back to headquarters after the battle of Lexington and Concord. At 80 years of age, Whittemore hid behind a stone wall armed to the teeth and laid an ambush on the British. He attacked with his musket, then dual pistols killing 3 and fighting off the rest with sword in hand. Eventually the numbers overtook him and he was shot in the face, bayoneted 13 times, beaten and left for dead.

Two absolutely amazing things happened next. First, not only was he found alive when the British moved on but he was actually reloading his musket in order to continue the fight. Whittemore would go on and live another 18 years to see this country founded and the first President take office.

I highly suggest you read the entire story, because the snippet above is just the cherry on top of a very bad-ass life. You can read it here: American Patriot Samuel Whittemore

As Mike and I were having a back and forth about just how badass Whittemore was, he said something that got me thinking, he said “It would be cool to be old and very very badass”.

Now, time will bring the old part to us all, but it is up to us as whether we grow soft and mushy like overripe fruit or tough and grizzled like sun dried jerky.

With that in mind I compiled a list of some recent old timers who have decided not to go gently into that good night and channel some of Whittemore’s grit in times when it was needed.

http://youtu.be/zi_xqw307mI

Jan wasn’t trying to scare the home invader away with a warning shot, she was shooting to kill and the bad guy was lucky that his head wasn’t an inch over in the other direction or else there wouldn’t be much left after the .357 made contact. 72 year old Jan seems like a very pleasant woman but tough as nails when called for.

http://youtu.be/CriVUV5lh_M

This 65 year old lady CHARGES at 5 armed thugs and they scatter like the cockroaches they are.

A 71 year old man stands up when no one else will and fights off 2 armed thugs, shooting them both with expert marksmanship.

This woman is 85 years old and not only stopped the home invader but had him on the floor, sprawled in the prone position. She basically had him arrested and all the cops had to do when they showed up was throw some cuffs on him.

http://youtu.be/OAHXplsjShA

This grandma was a cool customer while she was being held at gunpoint. She probably showed TOO much restraint and should have put a round in the guy. Oh well.

Herb wasn’t playing around. I appreciate the fact that he was willing to ensure that that robber would never commit another crime. Too bad his gun jammed.

So there you have it, the spirit of Samuel Whittemore alive and well in the hearts and minds of 60,70 and 80 year olds around the country. Age is just a number.

Of course, outside of being seniors you did notice what all these videos had in common right?

The fact that, like Sam Whittemore, these people were ARMED with GUNS. It may be too much to ask an 80 year old grandma to sword fight an attacker but giving her the tools that the 2nd Amendment enumerates? Yeah, makes a big difference in what the outcome were in these cases.

But back to my first point, just because you’re old doesn’t mean you can’t still be tough.

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