she's got brass... not sure about brains.

> Portland News

Brazen Store Clerk Foils Robbery Attempt
Robber Leaves Empty-handed After Clerk Demands To See Gun
POSTED: 10:50 am EDT August 6, 2010
UPDATED: 1:42 pm EDT August 6, 2010

OXFORD, Maine -- A convenience store clerk foiled a would-be robber Thursday night after she called his bluff when he pretended to have a gun in his sweatshirt pocket.

Oxford Police Chief John Tibbetts said the robber, wearing a gray hooded sweatshirt, sunglasses and a bandana across his face, entered Lampron's Lil Mart on Route 26 around 10 p.m. Thursday. The man, believed to be in his mid 20s, approached the counter and told the female clerk, "This is a robbery. Give me the money," Tibbetts said.

The clerk, thinking that she saw a soda bottle in the man's sweatshirt pocket, responded by asking the robbery to show her his gun, Tibbetts said.

The man then turned around and left the store empty-handed, he said.

I often read discussion on this board about the merits of engaging a BG, protecting property vs. life, how to respond to a hold up in a convenience store, etc...

I think this article brings up an option, that while most here might consider dimly, appeared to be a viable choice with an acceptable outcome.

Option C = calling a bluff.

got to ante-up and put your chips on the table, if your going to go that route.

If this is not appropriate for S&T, please move/delete as you deem appropriate

For many years I had a very nice female co-worker (who wound up getting demoted and then later laid off ) who had worked for Mobile for years, setting up mini-marts, training employees, etc... (she burned out in that job and came to work as a customer service rep. at the company I work at).

She also moonlighted working the register at a mom & pop gas station and convenience store, and often had "interesting" stories at the lunch room table.

Let's just say that at 300+ lbs. she could hold her own with most teenagers and small to mid size men.

She was a very kind hearted woman and extremely honest (almost to a fault, if that's possible). Yet she had learned to read people very, very well over the years and frequently had stories of wrestling cases of beer away from teenagers, etc... I think her mindset was that all of the delinquents that frequented this country store in a poor town were like her kids, and she would "set them straight".

I personally think that mind set is a carry over from generations past, when most people had some kind of conscience and could be morally cowed by a strong willed authority figure. The U.S. seems to have "evolved" into a nation with far to many viscous and cold blooded killers that would just as soon bury an "old fat lady" than have her tell them what to do. Hence the stakes are MUCH higher at the card table than they ever used to be.

I can say one thing for sure, neither my wife, nor my kids will be working in a gas station or convenience store. No way, no how.