Dreamer
Regular Member
imported post
The video card in my Mac laptop went belly-up last night, so I had to take my laptop to the Apple Store in the Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, fo a 6:00pm appointment. Before going, I looked at their website, and it's a good thing I did. Their website says they ban all weapons--open or concealed. When I got there, I left my Para in the car (parked right out in the first row on the ground floor of the parking garage), and walked up to the door. No sign of ANY kind--Had I not checked the website first, I probably would have just walked on in, with the Para and an extra mag in my Serpa rig...
Well, I was in and out of the Apple store pretty quick--those guys are GREAT, and even though I'm about 2 months out of my extended warranty, they still are going to spiff me the repair--no matter WHAT is wrong with it--totally free of charge, including a stem-to-stern diagnostic, and de-fragging my HD while they are in there...
Anyway, on my way out, I had to use the restroom, which was down a long hallway, and had an entrance to the parking lot (on the opposite side of the mall as my car). I looked at the doors on THIS entrance (which is also where the "Security" office is) and it had a large sigh--text only--that said "NO CONCEALED WEAPONS". Hmmm...
I walked around the mall for a little while longer, and then exited from a different door than I entered closer tot he Apple store, but further from my car). Once outside, I turned around to examine any signage that might be on THIS door,and there it was, prominently displayed, one of those standard "gun in a red circle with a slash" signs.Double Hmmmm...
Three entrances. One with NO signage, and two with very different signs--one outright banning guns, and one that only prohibited concealed...
When I go back to pick up my Mac next week, I may have to stop by the security office and have them clear this up for me...
Crabtree Valley Mall, Raleigh: a BIG FAT "F"
(because not only do they prohibit firearms, their signage is inconsistent and contradictory)
After that, I got in my car and went to the other side of the mall, where there is a Best Buys and a Barnes & Noble. Driving by their front doors, I didn't notice any signs, so I put my Serpa and Para back on my belt, and walked into the Best Buys to look at some new headphones for my iPhone, a networked hard drive, and to see if they had any big Martin Logan speakers in the "Magnolia" listening room. While looking at the headpones, a young associate came up to me and asked if he could help. We talked about headphones for a while, then he asked me "is that REAL?". I told him yes, and told him what I was carrying. We talked some more about headphones, and then I thanked him and turned to go. He then said "hey do you have to have a permit for that?" and, well I just couldn't resist the chance to do a little OC public relations session. So we talked for about 10 minutes on OC in NC, and getting a CHP, and the law in general. He thanked me for the info, and I thanked him for not getting all weird about me OCing. Then he said "I just moved down here from Virginia, I'm used to seeing guys wearing guns walking around town". We both laughed, shook hands, and I left.
Best Buys at Crabtree: a Big A+ for OC!!!
Then I walked over to Barnes & Noble to see if they had the most recent issue of "Clay Shooting USA" magazine, which they did! I grabed a copy, looked at other magazines for a few minutes, then walked through their "discount" isles for a while, then up to the checkout area. Walked past a lot of customers--guys, women, mothers with little kids, and Ididn't hear a single gasp, whisper, or see a single finger point. The checkout lady saw me coming up with the sporting clays magazine in my hand and my Para on my hip, smiled a friendly smile and said "so you must be really into guns?". I told her that I was just learning to shoot clays, but I'd been into shooting sports since I was 10 years old. She asked "don't you need a permit to carry that?", and I though gosh, what are the chances of 2 favorable encounters and great opportunities to educate people in the same night, and in the same shopping plaza. So as she's ringing me up, I tell her about OC, and I wrote down the URL of this website for her, and we talked about OC and CC in NC. She seemed very interested, and was very cordial.
Barnes & Nobles Books, Crabtree: A+
On the way home, I stopped for gas at the Hess/Bojangles plaza on the west side of Greenville. I've OC'd there before and had no troubles, and it was getting late, so I left my rig on, gassed up, and then walked in to get a snack and use the head. While washing my hands in the mens room, another guy came up to the sink beside me and said "hey, that sure ani't no BB gun, is it?". I said "no, it's a .45acp, and it is VERY real". And for the third time today, he asked me if I needed a permit to carry. Well, I'd had plenty of practice by now, and was feeling pretty excited about being an advicate for OC, so we stepped out of the mens room into the store, and started talking about OC and CC and NC laws in general. He seemed very interested. He pulled out his "Disabled Veteran" ID card, and I told him he should have no problem buying a gun as long as he didn't have any history of crime, violence, or mental treatment, and he seemed very interested. I told him about OCDO, we shook hands, I thanked him for his service to our country, and went our separate ways.
Hess, Greenville (east side): A+
So it started off as a REALLY crappy day--with a dead laptop and the disheartening proposition that I'd be spending a LOT of money to get it fixed, and it turned out to be a VERY good day--free repairs courtesy of Apple's FANTASTIC customer service, and THREE very favorable OC experiences where the staff and other customers were super cool, and I had the opportunity to educate three people about OC.
Life is good.
The video card in my Mac laptop went belly-up last night, so I had to take my laptop to the Apple Store in the Crabtree Valley Mall in Raleigh, fo a 6:00pm appointment. Before going, I looked at their website, and it's a good thing I did. Their website says they ban all weapons--open or concealed. When I got there, I left my Para in the car (parked right out in the first row on the ground floor of the parking garage), and walked up to the door. No sign of ANY kind--Had I not checked the website first, I probably would have just walked on in, with the Para and an extra mag in my Serpa rig...
Well, I was in and out of the Apple store pretty quick--those guys are GREAT, and even though I'm about 2 months out of my extended warranty, they still are going to spiff me the repair--no matter WHAT is wrong with it--totally free of charge, including a stem-to-stern diagnostic, and de-fragging my HD while they are in there...
Anyway, on my way out, I had to use the restroom, which was down a long hallway, and had an entrance to the parking lot (on the opposite side of the mall as my car). I looked at the doors on THIS entrance (which is also where the "Security" office is) and it had a large sigh--text only--that said "NO CONCEALED WEAPONS". Hmmm...
I walked around the mall for a little while longer, and then exited from a different door than I entered closer tot he Apple store, but further from my car). Once outside, I turned around to examine any signage that might be on THIS door,and there it was, prominently displayed, one of those standard "gun in a red circle with a slash" signs.Double Hmmmm...
Three entrances. One with NO signage, and two with very different signs--one outright banning guns, and one that only prohibited concealed...
When I go back to pick up my Mac next week, I may have to stop by the security office and have them clear this up for me...
Crabtree Valley Mall, Raleigh: a BIG FAT "F"
(because not only do they prohibit firearms, their signage is inconsistent and contradictory)
After that, I got in my car and went to the other side of the mall, where there is a Best Buys and a Barnes & Noble. Driving by their front doors, I didn't notice any signs, so I put my Serpa and Para back on my belt, and walked into the Best Buys to look at some new headphones for my iPhone, a networked hard drive, and to see if they had any big Martin Logan speakers in the "Magnolia" listening room. While looking at the headpones, a young associate came up to me and asked if he could help. We talked about headphones for a while, then he asked me "is that REAL?". I told him yes, and told him what I was carrying. We talked some more about headphones, and then I thanked him and turned to go. He then said "hey do you have to have a permit for that?" and, well I just couldn't resist the chance to do a little OC public relations session. So we talked for about 10 minutes on OC in NC, and getting a CHP, and the law in general. He thanked me for the info, and I thanked him for not getting all weird about me OCing. Then he said "I just moved down here from Virginia, I'm used to seeing guys wearing guns walking around town". We both laughed, shook hands, and I left.
Best Buys at Crabtree: a Big A+ for OC!!!
Then I walked over to Barnes & Noble to see if they had the most recent issue of "Clay Shooting USA" magazine, which they did! I grabed a copy, looked at other magazines for a few minutes, then walked through their "discount" isles for a while, then up to the checkout area. Walked past a lot of customers--guys, women, mothers with little kids, and Ididn't hear a single gasp, whisper, or see a single finger point. The checkout lady saw me coming up with the sporting clays magazine in my hand and my Para on my hip, smiled a friendly smile and said "so you must be really into guns?". I told her that I was just learning to shoot clays, but I'd been into shooting sports since I was 10 years old. She asked "don't you need a permit to carry that?", and I though gosh, what are the chances of 2 favorable encounters and great opportunities to educate people in the same night, and in the same shopping plaza. So as she's ringing me up, I tell her about OC, and I wrote down the URL of this website for her, and we talked about OC and CC in NC. She seemed very interested, and was very cordial.
Barnes & Nobles Books, Crabtree: A+
On the way home, I stopped for gas at the Hess/Bojangles plaza on the west side of Greenville. I've OC'd there before and had no troubles, and it was getting late, so I left my rig on, gassed up, and then walked in to get a snack and use the head. While washing my hands in the mens room, another guy came up to the sink beside me and said "hey, that sure ani't no BB gun, is it?". I said "no, it's a .45acp, and it is VERY real". And for the third time today, he asked me if I needed a permit to carry. Well, I'd had plenty of practice by now, and was feeling pretty excited about being an advicate for OC, so we stepped out of the mens room into the store, and started talking about OC and CC and NC laws in general. He seemed very interested. He pulled out his "Disabled Veteran" ID card, and I told him he should have no problem buying a gun as long as he didn't have any history of crime, violence, or mental treatment, and he seemed very interested. I told him about OCDO, we shook hands, I thanked him for his service to our country, and went our separate ways.
Hess, Greenville (east side): A+
So it started off as a REALLY crappy day--with a dead laptop and the disheartening proposition that I'd be spending a LOT of money to get it fixed, and it turned out to be a VERY good day--free repairs courtesy of Apple's FANTASTIC customer service, and THREE very favorable OC experiences where the staff and other customers were super cool, and I had the opportunity to educate three people about OC.
Life is good.
