MacTech
Member
Mom and I were out grocery shopping this evening, in a small, southern NH town near the seacoast (Dover), and just experienced a situation that had the *potential* to go bad, but thankfully it didn't, thanks to a nice vigilant couple, and myself...
I'm recuperating from a broken ankle from a car accident this January (bimolellar fracture) and i'm in a walking boot, so mobility is limited and I was extremely tired tonight....
Mom was in the store, paying for the groceries, and I went out to sit in her car to wait, I was really knackered out (sorry, sometimes Britishisms slip into my conversations, I blame too much Monty Python/Black Adder/Who's Line/Young Ones/Classic and NuWho…)….
While I was sitting, a rather sketchy looking young adult wheeled up on a bike, carrying a raty old Dunkin Donuts foam cup, his body language and general demeanor had a bit of suspicion to it, he looked shady, not due to his appearance, but due to the way he carried himself and moved around...
my instincts were put to high alert, I kept my eyes on him...
...Mom came out of the store with the cart of groceries, and scumbag's eyes immediately locked on her, her purse particularly, and he began to focus intently on her....
I made eye contact with him, gave him a cold stare, and stepped out of Moms car, turning my right shoulder slightly to face him, and angled my arm towards my right pocket, not reaching for anything, just hinting that there *might* be something there....
I then saw out of the corner of my eye, another couple at the tailgate of their truck, staring daggers at the scumbag, the combination of us three caused him to move off towards the front of the grocery store, a good distance from Mom, as he shiftily kept his eyes locked on her, fidgeting with his bile handlebars and passing the cup from hand to hand, *trying* to think, never taking his eyes off Mom....
she finished loading the groceries and as she stepped into the car, the other Samaritan asked her if she saw the scumbag, he then said it looked like he was thinking of snatching her purse, so he kept his eyes on the scumbag, she thanked him, I gave him a wave and thumbs up, and we drove off...
over at the grocery store, the scumbag was joined by another scummy looking hoodlum, both looking around suspiciously, I gave him one last evil glare as we left.
On the drive back, I asked Mom if she saw the scumbag, she didn't, she was completely unaware of him until the Samaritan told her, she was clearly in condition white the whole time, she tried laughing it off a bit (nervous laughter) and said that "I'll be all right, I know Tai Chi", half joking, half serious...
I was *NOT* serious, I was quite blunt as to how foolish it was to be in condition white and I begged her to please use this as a learning experience and to be more situationally aware, I also strongly recommended she have some form of defensive item *ON HER PERSON* at all times, be it pepper spray, a striking tool, a knife, a concealable firearm, *SOMETHING* she feels comfortable carrying *ON* her whenever she's out, it has to be on-body carry, a defensive tool in a purse is useless if the purse is stolen or taken from her
oh, and incidentally, the whole time in the encounter, I had my S&W Shield 2.0 9mm on me, and was fully prepared to use it if need be, but as it never got to the point of force being necessary, it *STAYED* concealed, it's called concealed carry for a reason
How can I go about impressing on Mom, a person who always sees the *best* in everyone, and is far more trusting than she should be, the importance of situational awareness and the importance of some form of on-body defensive tool carry? I can't be there to protect her 24/7, no matter how much I want to...
I'm recuperating from a broken ankle from a car accident this January (bimolellar fracture) and i'm in a walking boot, so mobility is limited and I was extremely tired tonight....
Mom was in the store, paying for the groceries, and I went out to sit in her car to wait, I was really knackered out (sorry, sometimes Britishisms slip into my conversations, I blame too much Monty Python/Black Adder/Who's Line/Young Ones/Classic and NuWho…)….
While I was sitting, a rather sketchy looking young adult wheeled up on a bike, carrying a raty old Dunkin Donuts foam cup, his body language and general demeanor had a bit of suspicion to it, he looked shady, not due to his appearance, but due to the way he carried himself and moved around...
my instincts were put to high alert, I kept my eyes on him...
...Mom came out of the store with the cart of groceries, and scumbag's eyes immediately locked on her, her purse particularly, and he began to focus intently on her....
I made eye contact with him, gave him a cold stare, and stepped out of Moms car, turning my right shoulder slightly to face him, and angled my arm towards my right pocket, not reaching for anything, just hinting that there *might* be something there....
I then saw out of the corner of my eye, another couple at the tailgate of their truck, staring daggers at the scumbag, the combination of us three caused him to move off towards the front of the grocery store, a good distance from Mom, as he shiftily kept his eyes locked on her, fidgeting with his bile handlebars and passing the cup from hand to hand, *trying* to think, never taking his eyes off Mom....
she finished loading the groceries and as she stepped into the car, the other Samaritan asked her if she saw the scumbag, he then said it looked like he was thinking of snatching her purse, so he kept his eyes on the scumbag, she thanked him, I gave him a wave and thumbs up, and we drove off...
over at the grocery store, the scumbag was joined by another scummy looking hoodlum, both looking around suspiciously, I gave him one last evil glare as we left.
On the drive back, I asked Mom if she saw the scumbag, she didn't, she was completely unaware of him until the Samaritan told her, she was clearly in condition white the whole time, she tried laughing it off a bit (nervous laughter) and said that "I'll be all right, I know Tai Chi", half joking, half serious...
I was *NOT* serious, I was quite blunt as to how foolish it was to be in condition white and I begged her to please use this as a learning experience and to be more situationally aware, I also strongly recommended she have some form of defensive item *ON HER PERSON* at all times, be it pepper spray, a striking tool, a knife, a concealable firearm, *SOMETHING* she feels comfortable carrying *ON* her whenever she's out, it has to be on-body carry, a defensive tool in a purse is useless if the purse is stolen or taken from her
oh, and incidentally, the whole time in the encounter, I had my S&W Shield 2.0 9mm on me, and was fully prepared to use it if need be, but as it never got to the point of force being necessary, it *STAYED* concealed, it's called concealed carry for a reason
How can I go about impressing on Mom, a person who always sees the *best* in everyone, and is far more trusting than she should be, the importance of situational awareness and the importance of some form of on-body defensive tool carry? I can't be there to protect her 24/7, no matter how much I want to...