"It is every journalist's worst nightmare. Someone who you publicly disagreed with, editorialized against or simply reported on in an unfavorable light plots an intricate and violent plan for revenge and then executes it. [Sky-Hi News' Patrick] publisher Brower, who gave me my first job in journalism and taught me much of what I know about the craft, ended up in the position most journalists hate - being part of the news instead of reporting on it."

I knew we were in trouble when I saw the aspen tree in front of the Sky-Hi News office slam into the front window of our building.

Up until that moment it seemed unreal that the huge, ironclad behemoth rumbling down Granby’s main street had targeted me and the newspaper. Marv Heemeyer sat at the controls of the massive armored and armed bulldozer, a menacing and dark ironclad behemoth. For a second or so, probably less, Harry Williamson and I stood mesmerized by what we were witnessing. The aspen tree whipped gracefully, almost, into the window.

The machine was relentless and the front wall of our building cracked and tumbled with a sickening thud. The entire wall — drywall, windows, trim and bricks — shattered and fell like a sheet of shattered glass. It was that fast. The bulldozer roared forward toward us, unfazed, passing through as if the wall was made of tissue paper.

We turned and ran. I felt fear for the first time as I ran toward the back of the building, the clanking monster following.

Breathless, Harry and I ran out the back door. The bulldozer was now plowing down the building, right over my office, walls falling as it worked its way toward us. Shots fired by sheriff’s officers sounded tinny and small, insignificant. Only then did I realize my foolishness.

It was Marv Heemeyer. He had a grudge against me. He knew where I lived, where my wife and son were even then sleeping soundly. The house was not far away. "My house is next. He will kill my family." I thought to myself, now angry at myself for having lingered at the office, all for the sake of a big story. [read article]

Who hasn't at one time or another considered converting a bulldozer into a steel fist of retribution to smite those faceless bureaucratic emasculators who have rendered us impotent.

Unlike Marvin Heemeyer, we tend not to follow our impulse, as we generally don't have access to bulldozers.

This is why I found myself regarding Marvin's actions with a degree of astonishment and respect. The Colorado resident was aggrieved that his local council let a cement plant expand around his muffler shop. He blamed the resulting dust and noise for effectively closing his business. Not one to mope, Marvin found a new enterprise. He spent months encasing his bulldozer in steel and concrete, rendering it impervious to bullets and bombs.

I was disconcerted to see these actions described by the media as a "rampage". I don't know how many headline writers have ever had the pleasure of operating a bulldozer, but their lack of speed tends to render them virtually impossible to rampage.

One local described Marvin's actions as domestic terrorism. But he was clearly taking up the cudgel in the War against Terror - the terror of the innocent by the faceless apparatchiks of the state. He was the archetypal lone warrior waging war on an oppressive regime. What could be more American?

Marvin Heemeyer might have been an ordinary guy pushed too far by a faceless bureaucracy, or he might simply have been as mad as a bucket of spanners. But, trapped inside the cabin of his improvised behemoth, Marvin killed himself. Maybe the thought of trying to get off the inevitable parking ticket was too much for him to bear.