Original URL:  https://www.instagram.com/p/PMxXaWNfh0AH5Y0u90IWqCLfcvJaMzANki_T80/

Nala's Caption

Double protection!

Background Story

Nala was still working in West Palm Beach.  She hadn't yet moved home with me in the San Francisco bay area.  She would get to work almost exactly at 9 am every morning, and work until 6-7 pm.  From there, she might have a drink or two at Wine Dive downstairs from the office (while working some more), and then finally walk back to her car.  

If you're not familiar with Clematis Street and downtown West Palm Beach, it's only a couple of blocks away from a not-so-safe neighborhood.  Not by Oakland standards, of course, but still not the safest of places to be in the night's darkness, especially for a beautiful young woman walking alone to her car.  Part of that walk would be through an alley way too, because it was faster for her to get to her car.  

This was not at all a situation that I was happy with.  I didn't want anything bad in the world to happen to my Nala.  Her life had already had more challenges in it than the average person has to deal with.  I couldn't bear the thought of something bad happening to her.  So I bought her the two protective devices you see here, a pepper spray key chain, and a stun gun.  The pepper spray is strong enough to be illegal in most states, but not Florida.  

I didn't just buy them for her though, I also spent time training her on how to use them properly the next time I was with her.  We spent a lot more time than she wanted going over the proper procedure to use if faced with a situation.  If you're interested for your own loved ones, here is the self defense strategy I taught her.

1. Walk always holding the pepper spray in your dominant hand.
2. If confronted, immediately spray the pepper spray into the eyes of the assailant.  If you're in rain, step in closer.  Otherwise, stay at least a couple of feet back to increase effectiveness.
3. Immediately upon spraying, step to either the left or the right, while reaching into your purse to retrieve the stun gun.  The attacker will be at least partially blinded and will attempt to attack you where you were last seen.
4. Once the stun gun is in hand, stun the assailant either in the neck, groin, or armpit regions.  These are the most sensitive areas of the body.
5. Run and call/shout for help.

I had her practice arming and disarming both the pepper spray and the stun gun.  I also role played with her to help her understand the flow of how the typical situation would play out.  She didn't have any fun, but I felt better knowing she was prepared to defend herself.  

Today, I might have gotten her the D.A.D. instead.  Check it out.  It's a great device for people that might be susceptible to attack.

Simba's Post(s) That Day