{"id":1927,"date":"2024-09-14T07:52:57","date_gmt":"2024-09-14T07:52:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/?p=1927"},"modified":"2024-09-14T07:52:57","modified_gmt":"2024-09-14T07:52:57","slug":"remembering-jeffrey-ryan-my-knight-in-biker-armor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/2024\/09\/14\/remembering-jeffrey-ryan-my-knight-in-biker-armor\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Jeffrey Ryan: My Knight in Biker Armor"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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You don\u2019t ever forget someone who protected you in what could have been a life-or-death situation. The memory of Jeff\u2019s bravery on my behalf will live on in my heart forever.\u00a0
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My story dates back to the early 1990s.  I was in my 30s, and owned a vintage store named \u201cChristina\u2019s Second-Hand Heaven\u201d located on Elida Road in Lima. My shop\u2019s merchandise came from auctions, yard sales, flea markets, and occasionally from local folks who stopped by with items they hoped to sell. The store operated on a shoestring budget, so I couldn\u2019t pay much for anything, because I never knew if I could resale it. Turning a profit on inventory was crucial to keep the little business afloat, since as a single mother it was the sole support for my young son Zach and myself. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Christina with son Zach pictured in Christina\u2019s Second-Hand Heaven early 1990s.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Besides not being able to spend\u00a0much for merchandise, I couldn\u2019t afford to hire extra employees. Although, on occasion my grandmother, a young friend named Stacey, or my neighbor Hershey, would stop by and assist me at the shop for a few hours.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still, most of the time, I was there by myself until a customer stopped in.  A couple of sketchy incidents occurred while I was working alone. Yet nothing was near as threatening as the day when Jeff courageously and somewhat supernaturally intervened to protect me. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That afternoon seemed like it was going to be uneventful. Only a few customers had dropped in, leaving me in the shop alone. Then three twenty-something men, who looked pretty rough, walked up the steps seemingly unnoticed and entered my store as the busy traffic sped by on Elida Rd. Women typically frequented my boutique-like store, and the males who did stop to browse, were usually antique collectors or connoisseurs of vintage clothing. These suspicious strangers didn\u2019t fit the typical vintage shop vibe at all. Thankfully, Jeff Ryan, a former Lima Central Catholic classmate, noticed the men, and realizing how out of place they appeared, Jeff quickly turned his Harley motorcycle into my store\u2019s graveled parking lot.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By this time, the trio had already sort of surrounded me as I stood behind the jewelry counter filled with glittering costume jewelry. Despite the sparkly appearance, the baubles were pretty worthless. Thankfully, the six-feet long glass display case acted as a barrier, separating me from the men. Unfortunately, I could sense the group\u2019s intentions were probably not good, but it was too late for me to escape.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s when Jeff walked through the store\u2019s door, and relief washed over me. I wasn\u2019t close friends with my former classmate, and I don\u2019t think he had ever visited my shop before. So, I was beyond grateful when he followed the men in that afternoon and took up a guard-like stance close by. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A dedicated motorcycle rider, Jeff must have appeared to be some kind of tough gang member to the intruders, but he wasn\u2019t. He was a good guy with a kind heart beating in his biker chest. Reinforced by his presence, the trained newspaper reporter within me tried to throw the three men off balance by rapidly asking them a few personal questions. Things like: whether they were local, what their names were, where their parents attended church? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeff stood silently, casually folding his arms over a tall metal clothing rack looking like a formidable foe. His intimidating presence, biker attire,  and solemn demeanor kept the trio\u2019s behavior in check. Although the men quickly tired of my questions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s when their obvious leader who was clutching a ratty old fur jacket said they wanted to sell me the coat. The jacket was worn, threadbare, and not anything I could resale, so I tried to politely decline. This angered the man holding the coat and he violently slammed his elbows down with a thud on my glass jewelry counter and said, \u201cLook! We want some money.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I glanced at Jeff, searching for confirmation about what to do next, and he sort of nodded. Somehow, I understood that given the situation, his nod meant to give the men some money. \u201cHow about $10?\u201d I offered, trying not to sound frightened, pretending it was a normal business transaction. Back then, $10 was equivalent to about $25 now, and I was surprised when the ring leader agreed that would be a good deal. He grabbed the $10 bill leaving the tatty fur on the counter and the three men rapidly left. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The truth is, there was rarely much cash in the register. Maybe, $40 total and I would have happily given them all of it, just for them to go away. I don\u2019t know why they settled for $10, but that left me with grocery money for the week. The really good news is, they never came back.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I remember this terrifying experience, I have always known that, if Jeffrey Ryan hadn\u2019t courageously followed those three men into my store, the outcome would probably been\u00a0tragically different.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I haven\u2019t seen Jeff in decades. I\u2019m not sure I ever got to properly thank him for his courageous act of valor all those years ago. Sadly, earlier this week I saw a mutual friend’s Facebook post that Jeff had passed away. I thought perhaps it might comfort his family and friends, if I wrote about his selfless act of bravery. Until the end of my days, I will be forever grateful to him. As a damsel in distress, he was definitely my knight in biker armor that fated afternoon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rest well, friend and classmate. I will be looking forward to seeing you on Heaven\u2019s shores one day!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Christina Ryan Claypool is a freelance journalist and inspirational speaker who has been featured on Joyce Meyer Ministries and CBN’s 700 Club. She is a frequent contributor to the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series and the author of the inspirational book, “Secrets of the Pastor’s Wife: A Novel”<\/a>. Learn more at <\/em>www.christinaryanclaypool.com<\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You don\u2019t ever forget someone who protected you in what could have been a life-or-death situation. The memory of Jeff\u2019s bravery on my behalf will live on in my heart forever.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1927","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1927"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1931,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1927\/revisions\/1931"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1927"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1927"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/christinaryanclaypool.com\/blog1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1927"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}