Most important tool to bring to a confrontation

Theodore Owens proves that the most important thing to do in a crisis is to keep your calm, and to think.

Briefly, three teenagers with a shotgun and a pistol robbed Mr. Owens in E. Dallas, and, unhappy with the take, hijacked his car and kidnapped him, making him take them to more money. He eventually took them to his credit union in the DFW Airport, into which access was controlled. They had no name badge, and had to wait. He said he'd be right back, and called the cops while his kidnappers waited. DFW D.P.S. arrested all three.

Sure, a pistol on his person would have been a nice option. "'Once I kind of got a feel of what I was into, I knew they were going to bodily harm or kill me,' Mr. Owens said." But wih one man against three armed men, the odds were not particularly good for a straight-up shoot-out.

Mr. Owens was a lot more forgiving than I would have been, though: "'They were young and dumb and gullible and just looking for money,' Mr. Owens said. 'It's like a chapter out of a wild story or a major drama. I'm just grateful to be alive and thank God for it.'" Well, maybe not that forgiving-- I note that he doesn't make any prayers for their clemency.