Went OC'ing with a Newbie!

Howdy Folks!
Over the past couple of days, I've been sending messages back and with a newcomer to the OC forum. His handle is Keens. We agreed to meet up this morning at the King Soopers located at 225 and Parker Road. He said he was really nervous about OC'ing, but sure would like to go run errands with me today so off we went.

I got some gas and he drove up as I was ready to pull away from the pumps. We parked and he got out of his car and came around to meet with me. "Where is your sidearm?" I asked. He did not have it on his belt. I suggested he get his gun and put it on. After all, we met up to OC, so get the gun on the belt! LOL!

As soon as he had his pistol secured on his belt in a holster, I felt like the host of Top Shot: "Competition begins now!" I chided.

Since we were already at King Soopers, and since I would need sustanance, we started out there. Went to the deli and I bought some turkey, then to find some flavored water that I wanted, and a few other items while at the store. Keens said he was really nervous, but followed my lead and observed how I move through public with the confidence I've grown since I started OC'ing. One older gentleman asked if we were detectives or something. I told him no, we are LAC's. "What the hells is an LAC?" he asked. "Legally Armed Citizen" I replied. We had a brief discussion of the legality and constitutionality of open carry and it was entirely a pleasant encounter.

After that, we went to a Verizon store because I had a question about my new phone. The gentleman who handled my questions complimented us on exercising our 2a rights. Then it was off to Best Buy to see what new DVD movies might be in the offing. I ended up applying for a credit card while there, and brought home a flick to watch. Then we headed over to Tires Plus so I could make an appointment for an oil change. Our next stop was Walmart, and we checked their prices on ammunition before checking the price on cargo pants I will buy when I get paid.

I believe I may be missing someplace that we went, but it doesn't matter. We went about our normal, law abiding business without any problems. I think Keens was surprised that we were barely noticed, let alone bothered. I explained that the only problem associated with OC'ing existed right between my own ears, and thanks to the OCDO forum, I managed to get beyond my own apprehensions. I hope that Keens is much more comfortable with the idea of open carrying after our trek than when he started out. He observed "It's like another article of clothing really." I told him yeah, that's about it. Keens did notice a couple of folks who visibily dropped their jaw when they saw our guns, but nobody made a fuss.

Since my wife was scheduled to go on patrol (ride along) with a county sheriff's deputy tonight, I had to break our visit off shorter than I'd like to get home and make sure she got going on her own little adventure.

As for Keens, he is a really nice young man, and I enjoyed the heck out of his tagging along on our trip around town today. I hope he feels more confident now than before we met. Otherwise, I'll just have to drag him back out for another day of OC'ing! I enjoyed his company and he is looking forward to attending a meet-up whenever we can arrange one. I should really get cracking on setting up something for some of us folks to gather and spend a bit of time telling our own war stories of open carry!

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

Way to lead the charge! It is important to get people to feel comfortable about open carry and sometimes a little field trip is just what you need. Often I go out with friends who don't carry. They usually make some comment towards the end like "Wow, people really don't make a big deal about you carrying?" I just say "Nope." Good job M. 100,000 more people to go....

I cannot believe what I'm reading. Such blatant irresponsibility. Here we are trying to present a positive image and you go and actually brag about such shennigans. I mean, really. BestBuy for new DVDs? Really? I heard a good quip recently, "You only go to Best Buy to see what the maximum price available is". You go there to see what's out and maybe poke around the bargain bins, but you buy online when a good sale comes up. GEEZ!

While I prefer spending $1 to rent the latest offerings from Redbox, and watch anything older than 3 months on Netflix, I really don't that that's germane to their thread.

Good for you, M-Taliesin! I'm sure Keens had a swell time.

mahkagari said:

I cannot believe what I'm reading. Such blatant irresponsibility. Here we are trying to present a positive image and you go and actually brag about such shennigans. I mean, really. BestBuy for new DVDs? Really? I heard a good quip recently, "You only go to Best Buy to see what the maximum price available is". You go there to see what's out and maybe poke around the bargain bins, but you buy online when a good sale comes up. GEEZ!

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Howdy Mahkagari!
Yes, I know. I should hang my head in shame. What with Amazon.com and other sources for my DVD addiction.
But online places are much harder to OC than a local store that we can actually walk into! After all, the point of the exercise was to help a relative newcomer to enjoy an OC experience and find out first hand that it really ain't all that big a deal. Or as I explained to him; when I first started OC'ing, I had all manner of apprehension. I sallied forth regardless of any trepidations I may have conjured, only to find that I did not encounter problems when OC'ing. The only problems that arose were located directly between my ears. So every time I OC'd, the more confidence I got. That particular thought is what I wanted to share with Keens.

My first OC experiences were purely on my own, bolstered by information I found on OCDO forum. I didn't have anybody to tag along with my first time out, and I think it may have been helpful. And I surely hope that having a companion along on his first OC in Aurora proved helpful to Keens.

You are right, however. I shouldn't irresponsibly lead a newbie into Best Buy and spontaneously apply for a charge card. Does set a bad example. At least I managed to resist the urge to have him help me lug a new 55 inch flat screen TV out to the car!!!

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

since9 said:

While I prefer spending $1 to rent the latest offerings from Redbox, and watch anything older than 3 months on Netflix, I really don't that that's germane to their thread.

Good for you, M-Taliesin! I'm sure Keens had a swell time.

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Howdy Pardner!
Well, a little humor is well appreciated. Knowing me as you do, I'll bet you can appreciate that I enjoyed the response from our fellow citizen. Oh wait, that handle is used by another person and I wouldn't want to insult anybody by laying it on them! LOL! A little humor helps us to maintain a bit of humility and remind us that "Ain't no big thing" unless we, ourselves, make a big deal out of things. I hope I never lose the capacity to laugh at myself, because I am pretty sure that if I am unable to laugh at myself, plenty of others will do so on my behalf.

One thing that bugs me is the evolution of media.
First there was Beta. Then came VHS and almost overnight all my Beta tapes became obsolete.
Then came DVD, and within the span of a heartbeat, VHS became obsolete.
Then came Blue Ray, and very soon, DVD will become obsolete.
Then came Red Box, and video stores quickly became obsolete.
Soon everything will be strictly data stream, and physical media will become obsolete.
Then came China, and I became obsolete.
I wanted to buy some media, but the American dollar had become obsolete.
And nobody could speak out, because we all became obsolete!

I think Keens enjoyed having someone to ease him into his first OC experience in a citified environment!

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

I had a blast! Thanks M-T! Please let me know when the next OC meetup is, I will definetely be there!

M-Taliesin said:

One older gentleman asked if we were detectives or something. I told him no, we are LAC's. "What the hells is an LAC?" he asked. "Legally Armed Citizen" I replied. We had a brief discussion of the legality and constitutionality of open carry and it was entirely a pleasant encounter.

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M-T, which part of King Soopers was this in? I don't recall, due to that I'm deaf in my right ear and just about deaf in the other! Now makes me wonder when someone says something next time I'm OC'ing and I just didn't hear them and continue on my business! It happens all the time, has for many years, and some people do get peeved that I "ignored" them. I wonder if I'm the "first deaf guy OC'ing" in CO? Next time we meet, show me some of your ASL skills!

Keens said:

M-T, which part of King Soopers was this in? I don't recall, due to that I'm deaf in my right ear and just about deaf in the other! Now makes me wonder when someone says something next time I'm OC'ing and I just didn't hear them and continue on my business! It happens all the time, has for many years, and some people do get peeved that I "ignored" them. I wonder if I'm the "first deaf guy OC'ing" in CO? Next time we meet, show me some of your ASL skills!

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Howdy Pard!
That exchange took place at the checkout counter. As I recall, the man asking was on my right and you had moved around to my left.
As for your being the first deaf guy carrying, that's quite probable. I haven't heard of any others myself. Might be interesting to check with some of the deaf clubs in the city to see if any have a CCW.

Meanwhile, I'd be happy to show off my ASL ability. But like I said before, I'm a bit rusty. Haven't used ASL much since leaving Illinois. I've done some translating, but have enjoyed far too few opportunities to sign. And just think how much fun it would be to OC and sign! Nobody would know what the heck we're talking about and figure we're doing something covert. Like operatives who use hand gestures to communicate an ambush or something! LOL!

Anyhow, thanks for coming along while I ran my errands!

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

M-Taliesin said:

Howdy Pard!
That exchange took place at the checkout counter. As I recall, the man asking was on my right and you had moved around to my left.
As for your being the first deaf guy carrying, that's quite probable. I haven't heard of any others myself. Might be interesting to check with some of the deaf clubs in the city to see if any have a CCW.

Meanwhile, I'd be happy to show off my ASL ability. But like I said before, I'm a bit rusty. Haven't used ASL much since leaving Illinois. I've done some translating, but have enjoyed far too few opportunities to sign. And just think how much fun it would be to OC and sign! Nobody would know what the heck we're talking about and figure we're doing something covert. Like operatives who use hand gestures to communicate an ambush or something! LOL!

Anyhow, thanks for coming along while I ran my errands!

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

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Kinda interesting that I subconsciously moved to your left! I don't know where that came from, maybe since I lost one sense, the other 4 are more sensitive?? Skip the 5th sense, it's useless. Yes, ASL is a fantastic silent language! Perfect for a covert operation, except it takes some type of a damn light to read!