One Sunday, our large group teacher arrived with a PowerPoint presentation on a flash drive which she handed to me. It was on her 10 lb., overloaded keychain. I went back and plugged the flash drive into the computer to set up her lesson.
Just before she started teaching, I tried pulling the flash drive out of the computer. It was stuck, and as I jiggled and fumbled with it and the other items on her keychain, there was a short burst of spray into the air. How odd, I thought as I examined the black handle on her keychain. I put the keychain in her purse at the back as she started her lesson up front.
A few minutes later, halfway through her lesson, she had all the kids lay on the floor, as if they were Israelites sleeping. When it was time to wake up, some kids in the back started coughing. It kept slowly moving through the crowd until the entire room, adults and kids, were hacking uncontrollably – it was HORRIBLE! We calmly got the kids with their small group leaders and led them outside for some fresh air, then down to another room where small groups could try to meet and finish.
As we tried to figure out what happened, I thought of the burst of spray. I found the teacher, explained what happened, and asked her what it could be. Oh my, she said in disbelief, her eyes growing huge – that’s PEPPER SPRAY! We realized that it had gone into the A/C system and spread through the entire sanctuary. I just maced my kids!! And I don’t think my new nickname, Mace Man, will stick for very long.
Tim Davis
