I have never carried  a self-defense weapons. I'm not at high risk for one reason. I don't go to the mall at night (or ever if I can avoid it). I don't work downtown at night (or go downtown ever, darn it), and I don't live in a high crime neighborhood (thank God!)

It all started on Ebay. Somebody outbid or raised my bid on something so I did what I called "spite bidding" and raised their bid on something. They never raised the bid and I was stuck with a box of Dick Francis books. I figured it was a calculated risk; the guy seems to have written many books, so he must be good. I like mysteries. I was a bit concerned that the horse racing theme would get kind of boring. I went on a trip to my work and over the course of a couple days, saw two people reading Dick Francis novels. It was time for me to start on them.
It started slow, but I ended up loving it! In fact, Francis' description of a self-defense device called the kiyoga, or a spring-loaded batton, actually prompted me to buy "the fearsome thing".

Now I have to remember to carry it with me any time that I could be at risk, which is pretty much any time (except when I'm walking our three wild, over-protective, somewhat pitbull-appearing dogs). I had to laugh when I caught myself considering to bring it on our walks.

It didn't come with instructions. You swing it at the perp and it expands as the business end pops out. I think I know which end is which. Another plus is that I figured there was a low likelyhood of it hurting me by mistake. I'm not so sure about that anymore....what if I swung it while holding the wrong end? I think I should ask my karate instructor because he knows everything about self-defense. Yes, although I train in martial arts, I don't rely on that for protection. Even the  people I know who COULD rely on their martial arts for protection are armed to the teeth! They don't want to leave anything to chance, so they carry a blade strapped somewhere on their body. I'm not sure if they carry it 100% of the time. I also know that my instructor says that if we carry a knife, we should take a lesson or two to know how to use it.

When I carry it, I find myself much more suspcious. That man wearing the coveralls coming toward me in the cemetery...crazed madman or nice worker who wants to help me 'find-a-grave'? The footsteps behind me after my piano lesson....crazed killer or fellow student or parent? Who knows? I better be prepared!!!