There was a shooting in the backyard of Lucille Ball's childhood home on the 4th of July weekend in 1927.

Lucy was 15 years old.

Lucy's grandfather, Grandpa Hunt, was overseeing target practice.

A little girl who was visiting took her turn and pulled the trigger.

A little boy, a neighbor, ran right in the line of fire.

His name was Warner Erickson.

He was 8 years old. The bullet lodged in his back.

Warner didn't die that day.

The bullet severed his spinal cord.

He was paralyzed and in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

The mind is so slow to comprehend something so shocking, something so terrible,

even if it happens right in front of you.

Grandpa Hunt was a vibrant 60-year-old man at the time.

It seemed like he was never able to wrap his head around what happened that day.

And he just became little man after that.

And Lucy, by the way, was not there at that particular incident.

And she was not knowledgeable about anything specific that happened at that particular time.

Lucy would later describe the shooting in great detail,

telling the story as if she was there.

It was, after all, a tragedy the family would process together over and over again.

But in any event, that accident changed our lives entirely.

I'm your host, Ben Mancoots.

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