I thoughtabouthowI wishedI had

wav yblondehairlikehers.

Mydadsaidtostayput,thathe’d

comegetme.I insistedondriving

home.Ontheway,I apologisedto

GodforthethingsI’ddonewrongin

life.WhenI pulledintothedriveway,

myparentswerestandingoutside.

Mymothercriedasshedroveme

tothehospital.Thesurgeonsaidthe

bulletwassmall,maybea .22cali-

bre,andtoodeepinthemuscleto

takeout,soit’sstillinmyarm.They

nevercaughttheshooter or came up

witha motive.

W

hereI’mfrom,welikeguns.

Theyareasmucha partof

ourstoryasJesus,cheering

ontheUniversityofAlabama,and

monograms.Evenif you’venevershot

one,youappreciatetheromance.

Thatappreciationbeginswhen

you’re young. Here is what I

“I

wasshotona Sunday.Itwas

lateanditwashotandI was

21,onmywayhomefrom

dinnerduringthesummerholidays.

I’drolledthewindowsdownbecause

thebreezefeltgood.I pulleduptoa

redlightlessthana kilometrefrom

myhomeinTuscaloosa,Alabama.

‘Yeah!’byUsherwasplayingon

theradio.AsilverToyotaTacoma

turnedthecorner.Asitpassedme,

I hearda pop.Thenmyleftarmwas

onfire.

Itneveroccurredtometocall

emergencyservices,onlytowant

mydad.I pulledintoa cornershop

acrossthestreettocallhim.I looked

atthebloodbloomingacrossmyblue

dress.Itwasnew,andI wondered

whetherthestainwouldcomeout.

ThenI lookedoverata girlstanding

inthecarpark,talkingwithtwoboys.

Herwav yblondehairshimmered

beneaththef luorescent streetlights.

READER’SDIGEST

F

ordecades,we’vewatchedasmassshootings

haveflashedacrossnewsbulletinsfromthe

UnitedStates.Thegun‘problem’isalmost

asAmericanasapplepie.Sowhycan’tthe

problembefixedandthe‘righttobeararms’

bereplacedbya confidenceinthegreater

goodguidedbycommonsense?ElainaPlott

revealsjusthowingrainedinhercountry’sculture–far

awayfromlobbygroupsandpoliticians–thissubject

remains.Herexperiencebothasanobserverandas

a shootingvictimunderscoreshowdifficultitisfor

Americans to reach consensus on gun control.

36 March 2020