Situational Awareness, glad I was packin' and all that

[Zundfolge]

Saturday evening the wife and I decided to have an impromptu picnic in Acacia Park (downtown Colorado Springs). So we stopped at Carls Jr, picked up some burgers and headed for the park.

In Acacia park there is a fountain called the "Uncle Wilbur Fountain". When the weather is warm its usually full of kids playing in the various water jets. So its a fun spot to sit and enjoy the show.

It was about dusk and we where eating on a picnic table by the fountain (if you look in the picture I linked, there are some picnic tables behind the benches ... we where seated basically behind that light pole by the kids head (which is actually a speaker pole).

There where a few children playing in the fountain, a few teen age kids hanging out and of course the requisite number of bums (the bums like the park).

Well the wife and I are seated on one side of the picnic table when a bum walks up and sits down across from us ... he says something like "boy I'm tired ... you don't mind if I sit here?" ... but we both notice his buddy walk around behind us and sit at the next table over. Once Bum #2 is seated Bum #1 at our table starts gabbing ... obviously trying to keep our attention focused on him.

Wife's purse is in the car, but I think thats what they where trying to do ... bum #2 had a big shopping bag that appeared to be empty.

At any rate, we just got up and headed for one of the park benches closer to the fountain. Our "tired" bum and his buddy with the bag get right up and walk away.

Anyway, we sat for some time watching the other people in the park and its so obvious that most people walk around in condition white its no wonder bums like these two prey on them ... its just too easy pickings.

 

[armoredman]

Good job, sir.

 

[Josey]

Mmmmmm! Carl's JR star burgers. The parks are popular for freaks, geeks and assorted weirdos. I am glad you were not attacked or robbed.

 

[smokemaker]

Aww I miss Carl's Jr... Damn!
You're right. 99% of the world wanders around in cond. white, asking to be duped, mugged, or worse. I try to sterss situational awareness to my two daughters, but they don't get it.. yet.

 

[Zundfolge]

I doubt these two bums where looking for robbery victims ... just a snatch and run type thing (but you never know how that can go ... and you never know how screwy in the head street people are).

I never felt in danger the whole time, but it pissed me off to be sized up and them think they could move in on me and my wife.

Neither of us walk around in condition white. For me it was being robbed once and having my house broken into in the same month that pretty much erased condition white from my brain ... my wife has some martial arts training and is just a generally cautious person.

I am glad I was packing, but I seriously doubt I would have needed it (especially since we didn't have what I think they wanted ... a purse) but it is comforting to know its there.

I grew up in a city without a Carls Jr, so thats been one of the added treats to moving here

Thank God for the $6 burger



Interesting thing about this park is its only one square block ... the fountain is at the South West corner (photo is taken in the south west corner of the park facing due east) ... that structure you see behind it is on the southern edge of the park and directly across the park to the north is a little building that the police use as a substation so I'm surprised the bums would be so brazen as to try this crap within view of a police substation.

 

[Standing Wolf]

I doubt these two bums where looking for robbery victims ... just a snatch and run type thing (but you never know how that can go ... and you never know how screwy in the head street people are).

Well done.

I'd guess they were looking for easy targets of opportunity—and didn't find them in you and your wife.

 

[sturmruger]

Good job staying alert Zund I am glad this turned out good instead of bad. As far as feeling in danger allot of those homeless guys are mentally unstable I wouldn't put anything past them. Were you carrying your Steyr??

If you ever move to the Midwest you will have the pleasure of eating at Culvers they have the best fast food burgers of any chain anywhere. Don't get me started on their unbelievable Frozen custard.

 

[CrudeGT]

Good job, Zund. being aware of surroundings pays off. Glad it worked out without you guys losing anything, or getting in a scuffle with some bums.

 

[Zundfolge]

Were you carrying your Steyr??

Yup!

S40 sitting IWB ... were it always is

 

[joe sixpack]

Well done Z.

I'll triple second the Culvers nomination - for their frozen custard - out of this world.

cheers, ab

 

[DigMe]

My wife and I are spending four nights in Colorado Springs next week before we head up to Estes Park. We're staying at the Cheyenne Canyon Inn. I have a New Hampshire Pistol Permit so I can carry in CO and I'll definitely be putting it to use (the permit, not the pistol....hopefully!). We'll avoid Acacia Park though!

If you ever move to the Midwest you will have the pleasure of eating at Culvers they have the best fast food burgers of any chain anywhere. Don't get me started on their unbelievable Frozen custard.

Better than In-N-Out Burger?!

brad cook

 

[George S.]

As much as I hate being tied down by electronic toys like pagers and cell phones, I would have used my cell phone to call the police after moving away and told them what happened and give a full description of them and offer to watch them until LEOs' could respond. Offer to file a complaint and tell them that you bothfelt you were in immediate danger for your safety.

Hard to say what sort of a response speed you would get if you said you were carrying at the time. Some LEO's may go into a situation like that in a very agressive manner especially if the call would go out to them as somebody in a public park with a gun.

 

[Zundfolge]

DigMe, Acacia Park is a fine place to sit a spell ... its in the middle of downtown and if the weather is nice its a real nice place to sit and watch the kids in the Uncle Wilbur Fountain (try to be there at the top of the hour, thats when the fountain goes through its routine). Lots of nice places to eat around there too.

Just don't hang out in the park at night

The Cheyenne Cañon Inn is a real nice B&B. I live about 2 miles due east of it on Cheyenne Blvd.

Its right on the edge of Cheyenne Cañon Park which has some of the best hiking trails in the area (if you drive up in there, hike the Mt. Cutler trail ... its not that difficult and will only take an hour, but you can see 7 falls from it and the back side of Cheyenne Mountain, and if you bring some binocs you can see Helen Hunt's grave). If you're not for hiking, at least drive up into it to see Helen Hunt Falls.

As for putting your pistol to use, I seriously doubt you'll have to ... one of the odd things about places that allow CCW, you rarely need to "use" it (wonder if there's a connection? )

 

[garrettwc]

Good on you Zundfolge! Your awareness avoided what could have been a bad situation.

On a side note, for those of you that live farther east, Carl's Jr is Hardee's IIRC.

 

[Zundfolge]

s much as I hate being tied down by electronic toys like pagers and cell phones, I would have used my cell phone to call the police after moving away and told them what happened and give a full description of them and offer to watch them until LEOs' could respond. Offer to file a complaint and tell them that you bothfelt you were in immediate danger for your safety.

Oh ... forgot to ad that part.

The Uncle Wilbur Fountain usually has a couple of city employees hanging out there (the call them "life guards" but mostly they just keep the trash cans empty and keep older kids from skateboarding into the fountain area) ... well the boyfriend of one of the "life guards" saw the whole thing and called in to his girlfriend's supervisor on his cell phone so they relayed it to the cops on that beat.

Colorado Springs police should take the bum problem somewhat serious as Acacia park is a tourist attraction (as is the Downtown area) and the police need all those tourists for ticket revenue


The park was full of people ... it surprises me how brazen some criminals are.

 

[DerRottweiler]

Hey Zund

I lived in the Springs back in the early 80's and the only people who used to hang out in Acacia Park back then were Pushers, Junkies, Pimps and the Hookers. You didn't even think about going there in the evening or at night.
I see some things haven't changed that much!

 

[P95Carry]

Awareness Zund ... nothing quite like it ..... glad you were alert.

The most simple and seemingly innocuous things can be other than what they seem. Sad tho that in this day and age - we have to treat many things as suspect ..... never was this way.

As I say frequently to all ... ''Never assume''.

 

[Treylis]

Good to hear.

On a side note, I've noticed that I've never gotten hassled/asked for change by bums anymore since I started carrying openly all the time. ;-) It's quite refreshing.