Sato Ord
Member
Or get thrown at you depending on your perspective.
I was at my local coffee house, I don't want to get brand specific so I'll just use their initials - S-t-a-r-b-u-c-k-s.
I was in line behind a well dressed woman, and some guy came in and stepped right to the front of the line like he owned the place and the rest of us were just cattle or some such. He jostled the woman so badly she almost dropped her purse. As she juggled the purse her pistol fell out and hit the edge of the counter and then tumbled towards the floor. It would have hit directly at my feet if I hadn't caught it as it fell.
I looked at the gun, a hammerless S&W .38 special snubby. Basically a nice little hammerless chief's special, but I'm not up on S&W model numbers. Anyway, everyone, including the jerk who tried to buck the line, is now staring with eyes as wide as saucers. (Okay, pun intended: coffee house/saucers, look quick or you miss these things.)
I say "Nice gun" and quickly stuff it back into her purse.
The woman starts falling all over herself apologizing and I am ready to brush the whole thing off. She looks at me and says, almost in a panic, "Really, I have a permit to carry it."
I say, in a calm, and what I hope is reassuring voice, "I' not a cop. Really, I don't care if you have a permit. As far as I'm concerned if you can get through the background check to buy the thing you should be able to carry it. However, a purse is a not the best place. Not only can something like this happen, if someone grabs your purse from you he not only has your money, if he decides to take more he has your weapon. You should consider getting a good holster."
At this point I notice that all eyes are on me like I'm suddenly somehow in charge here, so I politely point to her coffee and say, "You might want to do something with that before it gets cold", and then I smile.
The woman, red faced but more under control, smiles back and picks up her coffee to leave.
The guy who caused the trouble decides to add, as a parting shot, "I guess I should apologize since she's carrying a gun."
The woman, to her credit kept walking toward the door.
I, however, have a problem with Political Correctness and couldn't resist. I said, "No, you shouldn't apologize because she is carrying a gun, you should apologize because you were a jerk."
The Barrista then handed me my coffee, my usual, I didn't even have to tell her what I wanted. When I started to hand her the money for it she waved that off and said the strangest thing. She said, "I'm so glad you were here to handle that. I don't what might have happened if it had been someone else."
When I asked her what she meant she said, "Suppose that gun had hit the floor and gone off?"
We all knew someone would ask that question, right?
I pointed out that such a thing was pretty much an impossibility and why. Pointing out that unless the weapon is fully cocked, which is impossible with that pistol unless someone is directly squeezing the trigger, it can't fire because modern firearms have a block that prevents hammer from accidentally hitting the firing pin.
The conversation lasted for a couple of more minutes by which time everyone but the guy I called a jerk was completely calm. He kept eying my waist line trying to see if I was carrying (I wasn't, but let him look
) and trying to screw up enough courage to trade more insults with a man who might be armed.
I simply finished fixing my coffee (I like some good strong coffee with my cream and sugar), and left.
I was at my local coffee house, I don't want to get brand specific so I'll just use their initials - S-t-a-r-b-u-c-k-s.
I was in line behind a well dressed woman, and some guy came in and stepped right to the front of the line like he owned the place and the rest of us were just cattle or some such. He jostled the woman so badly she almost dropped her purse. As she juggled the purse her pistol fell out and hit the edge of the counter and then tumbled towards the floor. It would have hit directly at my feet if I hadn't caught it as it fell.
I looked at the gun, a hammerless S&W .38 special snubby. Basically a nice little hammerless chief's special, but I'm not up on S&W model numbers. Anyway, everyone, including the jerk who tried to buck the line, is now staring with eyes as wide as saucers. (Okay, pun intended: coffee house/saucers, look quick or you miss these things.)
I say "Nice gun" and quickly stuff it back into her purse.
The woman starts falling all over herself apologizing and I am ready to brush the whole thing off. She looks at me and says, almost in a panic, "Really, I have a permit to carry it."
I say, in a calm, and what I hope is reassuring voice, "I' not a cop. Really, I don't care if you have a permit. As far as I'm concerned if you can get through the background check to buy the thing you should be able to carry it. However, a purse is a not the best place. Not only can something like this happen, if someone grabs your purse from you he not only has your money, if he decides to take more he has your weapon. You should consider getting a good holster."
At this point I notice that all eyes are on me like I'm suddenly somehow in charge here, so I politely point to her coffee and say, "You might want to do something with that before it gets cold", and then I smile.
The woman, red faced but more under control, smiles back and picks up her coffee to leave.
The guy who caused the trouble decides to add, as a parting shot, "I guess I should apologize since she's carrying a gun."
The woman, to her credit kept walking toward the door.
I, however, have a problem with Political Correctness and couldn't resist. I said, "No, you shouldn't apologize because she is carrying a gun, you should apologize because you were a jerk."
The Barrista then handed me my coffee, my usual, I didn't even have to tell her what I wanted. When I started to hand her the money for it she waved that off and said the strangest thing. She said, "I'm so glad you were here to handle that. I don't what might have happened if it had been someone else."
When I asked her what she meant she said, "Suppose that gun had hit the floor and gone off?"
We all knew someone would ask that question, right?
I pointed out that such a thing was pretty much an impossibility and why. Pointing out that unless the weapon is fully cocked, which is impossible with that pistol unless someone is directly squeezing the trigger, it can't fire because modern firearms have a block that prevents hammer from accidentally hitting the firing pin.
The conversation lasted for a couple of more minutes by which time everyone but the guy I called a jerk was completely calm. He kept eying my waist line trying to see if I was carrying (I wasn't, but let him look
) and trying to screw up enough courage to trade more insults with a man who might be armed.I simply finished fixing my coffee (I like some good strong coffee with my cream and sugar), and left.
You should apologize to everyone and leave!