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My First Open Carry In Over A Year...

jahwarrior

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2007
Messages
393
Location
, ,
...should have gone smoothly, right?

come on, it's me we're talking about! nothing's ever easy for me, man.

i had a day of nothing to do today, at least until 3PM, when i had to take my son to his pediatrician. it was a nice enough day, but the weather was supposed to worsen later, so i decided to take advantage of it, and take my son out for the day. i packed his bag, dressed him, grabbed my girl's Springfield, and headed out the door. i actually decided to dress up; for me, dressing up is clean jeans, a button down shirt, and shoes. i got a new belt from www.gibsongunleather.com, and i wanted to try it out.

i want to say here that if you don't have a dedicated gun belt, get one. i scoffed at the idea, but now that i have one, i don't know how i ever carried without one.

i first stopped at Bill's Sporting Goods in Scranton, to say hi to Ted Warholic Jr., who's now the owner and proprietor of the store. i wanted to let him know that i was once again legal to carry, and to also show off my son. he'd only seen him as a big belly until today. we chatted about an appropriate choice of rifle for kids 5-8, and about Ar15's, and debated on who makes the best 1911 for the money (i say Taurus, he says RIA). if you're ever in Scranton, and need a bike, or fishing gear, or a firearm, be sure to stop in.

anyway, first stop in Dickson City was Petsmart. i'm getting a dog this weekend, and i wanted to look at a few things i might be needing, and price them against online dealers. i wonder how odd i may have looked to people, pushing a stroller around, petting cats through cages. after about 15 minutes, i headed on over to Border's for a coffee, and to look at some books. i ended up having to feed my boy there. as i did, an middle aged looking woman looked over at us, and smiled, and just as quickly as she smiled, her look turned to one of disgust. she looked at my hip, shook her head, and walked off. whatever.

after he was fed, and burped, i threw in back in the truck, and went to Walmart. i still had some time to kill before his appointment, so i decided to run out the clock walking around. i ran into a friend of mine, who noticed i was carrying a gun. he congratulated me, and then left to catch up to his wife. i continued on to the baby section, to look at some summer outfits for the boy. a heavyset man, with three kids in tow, was pushing his cart towards me. as he passed me, he stopped short, and glared at me. "what the hell is the matter with you?"

i stopped, turned, and asked, "excuse me?"

"i said, what's the matter with you?"

"nothing, until about 2 seconds ago. why? is there something i should know about?"

"what are you doing walking around with that...thing?"

"hey, buddy, i know my kid may be funny looking, but...wait, you were talking about my kid, right?"

i figured that would throw him off a bit. he huffed a bit, then said, "are you a cop or something?"

"or something."

"what are you then?"

"sexy."

he looked like a farted on him. "what the....? are you a cop, or not?"

"not."

"then what the hell are doing, carrying that gun around? are you some kind of psycho? there are kids walking all around, are you trying to scare the **** out of them?"

"funny my kid seems just fine with it. and, nice language, in front of yours, by the way."

"don't tell me how to talk in front of my kids!"

"...and don't tell me how to walk with mine. we're done talking, buddy."

"i should call the cops..."

"don't bother, i'll call them, and file harrassment charges against you. wanna wait for them? what exactly do you think they're gonna do when they get here, anyway? i'l tell you what: jack....****. walk on, little man."

he grabbed one of his kids by the arm, hard, and stomped off.

i just shook my head. i just got this freaking license yesterday! i thought to myself. jeez.

another guy walked over to me, and said, "buddy, you okay?"

"yeah, i'm good, thanks."

"was that guy busting your balls because of the gun?"

"pretty much."

"what an ass...ah, i mean, jerk." he looked at my boy, and smiled. "people always have to have something to say. you take it easy, buddy."

"thanks, you too."

i left for the pediatrician. i'm gonna say right now, i concealed for the visit. my girlfriend was afraid they would have an issue with me carrying, and i didn't want to take the chance they'd ask me leave. it's hard to find good doctors, and my son's doctor is one of the best in the area. 3 shots, some lung ripping screams, and we were on our way home.

yeah, i'm back.
 

Badger Johnson

Regular Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2011
Messages
1,213
Location
USA
Good on you for being calm and in a way, lowering yourself to dialog with him.

Would be a hoot to say 'oh, I'm on special assignment and can't talk about it or, you know, I'd have to kill you...'. :)
 

Mr H

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2010
Messages
286
Location
AA Co., Maryland, USA
...should have gone smoothly, right?

come on, it's me we're talking about! nothing's ever easy for me, man.

i had a day of nothing to do today, at least until 3PM, when i had to take my son to his pediatrician. it was a nice enough day, but the weather was supposed to worsen later, so i decided to take advantage of it, and take my son out for the day. i packed his bag, dressed him, grabbed my girl's Springfield, and headed out the door. i actually decided to dress up; for me, dressing up is clean jeans, a button down shirt, and shoes. i got a new belt from www.gibsongunleather.com, and i wanted to try it out.

i want to say here that if you don't have a dedicated gun belt, get one. i scoffed at the idea, but now that i have one, i don't know how i ever carried without one.

i first stopped at Bill's Sporting Goods in Scranton, to say hi to Ted Warholic Jr., who's now the owner and proprietor of the store. i wanted to let him know that i was once again legal to carry, and to also show off my son. he'd only seen him as a big belly until today. we chatted about an appropriate choice of rifle for kids 5-8, and about Ar15's, and debated on who makes the best 1911 for the money (i say Taurus, he says RIA). if you're ever in Scranton, and need a bike, or fishing gear, or a firearm, be sure to stop in.

anyway, first stop in Dickson City was Petsmart. i'm getting a dog this weekend, and i wanted to look at a few things i might be needing, and price them against online dealers. i wonder how odd i may have looked to people, pushing a stroller around, petting cats through cages. after about 15 minutes, i headed on over to Border's for a coffee, and to look at some books. i ended up having to feed my boy there. as i did, an middle aged looking woman looked over at us, and smiled, and just as quickly as she smiled, her look turned to one of disgust. she looked at my hip, shook her head, and walked off. whatever.

after he was fed, and burped, i threw in back in the truck, and went to Walmart. i still had some time to kill before his appointment, so i decided to run out the clock walking around. i ran into a friend of mine, who noticed i was carrying a gun. he congratulated me, and then left to catch up to his wife. i continued on to the baby section, to look at some summer outfits for the boy. a heavyset man, with three kids in tow, was pushing his cart towards me. as he passed me, he stopped short, and glared at me. "what the hell is the matter with you?"

i stopped, turned, and asked, "excuse me?"

"i said, what's the matter with you?"

"nothing, until about 2 seconds ago. why? is there something i should know about?"

"what are you doing walking around with that...thing?"

"hey, buddy, i know my kid may be funny looking, but...wait, you were talking about my kid, right?"

i figured that would throw him off a bit. he huffed a bit, then said, "are you a cop or something?"

"or something."

"what are you then?"

"sexy."

he looked like a farted on him. "what the....? are you a cop, or not?"

"not."

"then what the hell are doing, carrying that gun around? are you some kind of psycho? there are kids walking all around, are you trying to scare the **** out of them?"

"funny my kid seems just fine with it. and, nice language, in front of yours, by the way."

"don't tell me how to talk in front of my kids!"

"...and don't tell me how to walk with mine. we're done talking, buddy."

"i should call the cops..."

"don't bother, i'll call them, and file harrassment charges against you. wanna wait for them? what exactly do you think they're gonna do when they get here, anyway? i'l tell you what: jack....****. walk on, little man."

he grabbed one of his kids by the arm, hard, and stomped off.

i just shook my head. i just got this freaking license yesterday! i thought to myself. jeez.

another guy walked over to me, and said, "buddy, you okay?"

"yeah, i'm good, thanks."

"was that guy busting your balls because of the gun?"

"pretty much."

"what an ass...ah, i mean, jerk." he looked at my boy, and smiled. "people always have to have something to say. you take it easy, buddy."

"thanks, you too."

i left for the pediatrician. i'm gonna say right now, i concealed for the visit. my girlfriend was afraid they would have an issue with me carrying, and i didn't want to take the chance they'd ask me leave. it's hard to find good doctors, and my son's doctor is one of the best in the area. 3 shots, some lung ripping screams, and we were on our way home.

yeah, i'm back.

You did fine.

The idiots will, well, be idiots.

Good onya.

Now... about the ugly kid..........

;-))
 

fjpro2a

Regular Member
Joined
Jun 27, 2010
Messages
280
Location
North Carolina
Good Discussion

Your answers to his questions were excellent. How do you keep your "cool" to be able to answer his disingenuous questions with responses that are humorous, meaningful, and right on the money? I know for a fact that I wouldn't be able to do it nearly as well.
 

jahwarrior

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2007
Messages
393
Location
, ,
Your answers to his questions were excellent. How do you keep your "cool" to be able to answer his disingenuous questions with responses that are humorous, meaningful, and right on the money? I know for a fact that I wouldn't be able to do it nearly as well.

i have a ton of experience dealing with ********, and police officers. my first bad exerience with LEO was at the Old Country Buffet. after that one, it got easier. go back and read my older posts.
 

Dreamer

Regular Member
Joined
Sep 23, 2009
Messages
5,360
Location
Grennsboro NC
Congrats on "getting legal" again!!!

And I think you handled that jerk at the WalMart very well--kept a cool head, and answered his angry, sheeple-panic idiocy with humor, satire and wit. Well done.

Carry on!
 

ixtow

Founder's Club Member
Joined
Nov 25, 2006
Messages
5,038
Location
Suwannee County, FL
Excellent way of trying to diffuse a jackoff with humor. It almost always works. I wish more OCers would try it. Almost always results in a good impression and positive conversation. Picking up points for the OC cause is like picking up chicks. Confident and good-humored goes a long way.

Some people just plain suck. Let them show you how horrible they are, and move on!

"My kid is worth it. If you'd rather whine helplessly to the coroner, that's your choice."

I can find acres of news articles that say "There was nothing I could do! How could this happen here!?!?"

'It' happens thousands of times a day SOMEWHERE, what makes you so special?

I'm not going to be one of them. Neither is my son.
 
Last edited:

jahwarrior

Member
Joined
Apr 10, 2007
Messages
393
Location
, ,
Excellent way of trying to diffuse a jackoff with humor. It almost always works. I wish more OCers would try it. Almost always results in a good impression and positive conversation. Picking up points for the OC cause is like picking up chicks. Confident and good-humored goes a long way.

HA, open carry is mainly for the ladies, anyway. women can't stay away from a nice 1911.:monkey
 
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