M-Taliesin
Regular Member
Howdy Folks!
Our plans for yesterday's festivities rapidly evaporated (along with my coolant) when a radiator hose burst and released said coolant into the environment. Needless to say, my car rapidly overheated.
Instead of going down to Colorado Springs for the day, we waited for the car to cool enough to put in some H20 and drive it to the shop for repair. We'd left the wife's car with them earlier in the morning for an oil change and... oh, the irony... replacement of one of her radiator hoses.
When we got to the garage, her car wasn't quite done yet so there was a delay transferring stuff from my car to her car. The usual stuff... Gun bag (replete with guns), targets, life support systems, MXT Pro metal detector, munchies, etc, etc. By the time the smoke cleared (or steam as the case actually was) it was pushing 1:00pm. We decided our trip to the Springs was not likely to be worthwhile considering the late start. So we headed over to the range.
After reducing the weight of our gun bag by the simple expedient of eliminating a couple of boxes of ammo while at the range, we left after we ran out of bullets. As we were approaching the car, I saw a man walking to his truck just ahead of us. Observing his general appearance, I asked him "Are you an LEO?" He asked what that was and I explained it. "No," he replied. "I am a security officer." His appearance led me to an almost accurate guess. Not too many people carry their weapon on a Sam Browne belt. In any event, we had a really amazing discussion of firearms and our liberty to wear them on our persons. (I.E. Open Carry!!!!) "I thank God I live in Colorado!" we both agreed, almost in unison.
Then I drove to King Soopers because I was out of soda pop at home. They have armed security guys working there, and I know them by sight, and they know me. When I strode through the door, almost immediately, a security officer fell in right behind me, nearly on my heels. Since I've learned to keep my head on a swivel when open carrying, I looked back over my shoulder. This was a guy I'd never seen before. "How ya doing?" he asked in a friendly manner when I glanced back. "Peachy neat!" I replied as I kept walking. "Good man!" he said and cut off in a different direction from mine when I turned at an intersection.
Having successfully secured a source of soda, I headed for checkout. I prefer a real live, actual flesh and blood human being to wait on me. Even it if takes a little more time, I'll opt for a human every time. So I was standing in a short line at express checkout where I was confident I didn't have more than 15 items in my possession. That security cop showed up in the self serve checkout line just to my right. Then he said something that rocked my world! "I'm delighted to see a citizen exercising his 2nd Amendment rights!" Really? Do I need my hearing checked again? "Yes," I replied. "I carry my pistol wherever I go every day!" Next thing I know, we're discussing our individual pistols. I learned his is a S&W99 and I told him about my Ruger P94 .40 ensconced in my holster as we chatted.
During the remaineder of my visit to the store, he made an effort to swing by every couple of minutes. Perhaps he was keeping an eye on me through "Detatched Contact", but he said on another swing past me "Use 'em or Lose 'em!" Referring to our Constitutional rights. "Amen, brother" I replied sincerely. As I was leaving he was again near enough to say "Keep standing for Liberty!" or words to that effect.
I walked out of the store thinking what a terrific encounter. If only all LEOs would conduct their behavior in the way this man did, what a wonderful world this would be. He didn't challenge my right to carry, but voiced support. Even if he was checking me out, he was doing so without violation of my rights. He demonstrated a terrific professional demeanor and behavior. I went home feeling delighted to have experienced this encounter and hope I see him there again one of these days.
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
Our plans for yesterday's festivities rapidly evaporated (along with my coolant) when a radiator hose burst and released said coolant into the environment. Needless to say, my car rapidly overheated.
Instead of going down to Colorado Springs for the day, we waited for the car to cool enough to put in some H20 and drive it to the shop for repair. We'd left the wife's car with them earlier in the morning for an oil change and... oh, the irony... replacement of one of her radiator hoses.
When we got to the garage, her car wasn't quite done yet so there was a delay transferring stuff from my car to her car. The usual stuff... Gun bag (replete with guns), targets, life support systems, MXT Pro metal detector, munchies, etc, etc. By the time the smoke cleared (or steam as the case actually was) it was pushing 1:00pm. We decided our trip to the Springs was not likely to be worthwhile considering the late start. So we headed over to the range.
After reducing the weight of our gun bag by the simple expedient of eliminating a couple of boxes of ammo while at the range, we left after we ran out of bullets. As we were approaching the car, I saw a man walking to his truck just ahead of us. Observing his general appearance, I asked him "Are you an LEO?" He asked what that was and I explained it. "No," he replied. "I am a security officer." His appearance led me to an almost accurate guess. Not too many people carry their weapon on a Sam Browne belt. In any event, we had a really amazing discussion of firearms and our liberty to wear them on our persons. (I.E. Open Carry!!!!) "I thank God I live in Colorado!" we both agreed, almost in unison.
Then I drove to King Soopers because I was out of soda pop at home. They have armed security guys working there, and I know them by sight, and they know me. When I strode through the door, almost immediately, a security officer fell in right behind me, nearly on my heels. Since I've learned to keep my head on a swivel when open carrying, I looked back over my shoulder. This was a guy I'd never seen before. "How ya doing?" he asked in a friendly manner when I glanced back. "Peachy neat!" I replied as I kept walking. "Good man!" he said and cut off in a different direction from mine when I turned at an intersection.
Having successfully secured a source of soda, I headed for checkout. I prefer a real live, actual flesh and blood human being to wait on me. Even it if takes a little more time, I'll opt for a human every time. So I was standing in a short line at express checkout where I was confident I didn't have more than 15 items in my possession. That security cop showed up in the self serve checkout line just to my right. Then he said something that rocked my world! "I'm delighted to see a citizen exercising his 2nd Amendment rights!" Really? Do I need my hearing checked again? "Yes," I replied. "I carry my pistol wherever I go every day!" Next thing I know, we're discussing our individual pistols. I learned his is a S&W99 and I told him about my Ruger P94 .40 ensconced in my holster as we chatted.
During the remaineder of my visit to the store, he made an effort to swing by every couple of minutes. Perhaps he was keeping an eye on me through "Detatched Contact", but he said on another swing past me "Use 'em or Lose 'em!" Referring to our Constitutional rights. "Amen, brother" I replied sincerely. As I was leaving he was again near enough to say "Keep standing for Liberty!" or words to that effect.
I walked out of the store thinking what a terrific encounter. If only all LEOs would conduct their behavior in the way this man did, what a wonderful world this would be. He didn't challenge my right to carry, but voiced support. Even if he was checking me out, he was doing so without violation of my rights. He demonstrated a terrific professional demeanor and behavior. I went home feeling delighted to have experienced this encounter and hope I see him there again one of these days.
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
