by Diana Morley
A 13-year-old Michigan boy who used a slingshot to save his 8-year-old sister from an attempted kidnapping said he was “freaking out” and simply reached for something that could stop the attack. “So I grab my slingshot and open the window and I grab two things—a marble and a gravel rock or something,” Police said Owen struck the 17-year-old assailant in the head and chest, and his sister was able to get away. —AP, May 19, 2023
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No semi-automatic rifle but a simple slingshot grabbed by a young teen saved his younger sister being abducted. A sturdy wooden Y the why of her escape—of stopping the large target wounded by a rock and a marble. The boy a marvel today who instead of grabbing his cell phone for a photo ‘freaked out’ at seeing evil. A girl’s scream, a window, a thirteen-year-old boy with a slingshot, rock and marble. A biblical story played out in Michigan—unusual— but sure did tip the scales for we the people at a loss for words over sick shooters still protected by politics.
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Diana Morley has published poems online and in journals as well as two books of poetry and a photographic/poetic documentary of Oregon’s 2020 wildfire and renewal. She writes and resides in North Carolina.