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Came Up Sudden Like!

M-Taliesin

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
1,504
Location
Aurora, Colorado
Howdy Folks!
I had been off metal detecting in the late afternoon. Because I was on school grounds, I left my pistol locked up in the car as I went off hoping to find a few goodies. Because it was really pretty darn cold, I only hit the one location for about an hour, then left to hit Safeway for victuals on my way home.

After parking my car, I got out and opened the back end to fetch out my pistol so I could reholster it on my hip. I caught motion out the corner of my eye and spun around to find a bum standing a short distance away.
"Back away mister!" I ordered in a commanding voice.

The bum threw up his hands, evidently noticing the pistol (still in its holster) in my left hand.
"What's the problem. I ain't that close."
"I'll be the judge of how close I feel comfortable. Why you sneaking up behind people like that?"
"I wasn't sneaking up on you." He said defensively.
"You came up behind me, univited, and are still too close so far as I am concerned. Back off now!"
He moved away, throwing a comment that he thought I was stupid.
Well, I ain't so stupid as to let somebody come up behind me sudden-like without reacting.

With my holstered handgun secured on my hip once more, I headed into the store. The bum prowled the parking lot, and I figured he was trying to get handouts from patrons arriving at the store. I walked inside and spoke to the security officer on duty, and he said he couldn't do anything about that guy, and he's there pretty frequently. I explained that he had the right to run somebody off from private property that he is supposed to be securing, but I might as well have been talking to the Coinstar machine.

Once my shopping was done, I headed for home. In my mind, I'll be content to stick with King Soopers from now on!
After all, their security people actually do stuff to keep their store secure. Like running off panhandlers and other nuisance types.

I may sound like a hard case, but I dislike panhandlers in general, and folks approaching me univited in particular. And it is about 100% more irritating when they come up from behind like that guy did.

Maybe I should have shown him my expandable ASP baton!

Blessings,
M-Taliesin
 

mahkagari

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 28, 2009
Messages
1,186
Location
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Well, handled. Just offering advice I've been given (and only occasionally implemented in practice):

"Back away mister!" I ordered in a commanding voice.

The bum threw up his hands, evidently noticing the pistol (still in its holster) in my left hand.
"What's the problem. I ain't that close."
"Back off!"
"I wasn't sneaking up on you." He said defensively.
"Back off now!"
He moved away, throwing a comment that he thought I was stupid.
Well, I ain't so stupid as to let somebody come up behind me sudden-like without reacting.

Though I applaud you for maintaining as much courtesy as the situation warranted.
 

livetrapper13

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2011
Messages
50
Location
Colorado Springs
Just out of curiosity, how close was he when you turned around?

I also hate panhandlers. Most of the time they are harmless but you never know when they might turn ugly. And coming up from behind you, there's a red flag off the bat. Good job.
 

Polynikes

Regular Member
Joined
May 18, 2011
Messages
182
Location
Colorado Springs
Next time, you might also want to make a quick call to the non-emergency number of the local PD. If Mr. Bum wants to call in a citizen "threatening" him with a weapon, you definitely want your side of the story on record first.
 

M-Taliesin

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
1,504
Location
Aurora, Colorado
Next time, you might also want to make a quick call to the non-emergency number of the local PD. If Mr. Bum wants to call in a citizen "threatening" him with a weapon, you definitely want your side of the story on record first.

Howdy Pard!
That one reason why my first move was to fetch the store security guy. With him receiving my complaint, and the bum still lurking in the vicinity and making festive gestures (half of a peace sign) in my direction, I had myself a built in witness. The security guy wasn't willing to do anything about the bum, but he was at least there to see what my fuss was about.

Anyhow, things worked out and no harm got accomplished.

Blessings,
M-Taliesin
 

M-Taliesin

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 22, 2011
Messages
1,504
Location
Aurora, Colorado
Just out of curiosity, how close was he when you turned around?

Howdy Trapper!
I'd guestimate he was within 8 feet. Much too close for comfort, and I spent considerable time afterward for not being more alert. I don't usually get snuck up upon, and it really irked me that he got that close before I became aware of him. Prolly in large part because of a big SUV parked next to me.

If he had been somebody of nefarious ilk, things could have got ugly pretty quick. Just a reminder to dispense with any complacency before opening that car door.

Blessings,
M-Taliesin
 

livetrapper13

Regular Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2011
Messages
50
Location
Colorado Springs
Howdy Trapper!
I'd guestimate he was within 8 feet. Much too close for comfort, and I spent considerable time afterward for not being more alert. I don't usually get snuck up upon, and it really irked me that he got that close before I became aware of him. Prolly in large part because of a big SUV parked next to me.

If he had been somebody of nefarious ilk, things could have got ugly pretty quick. Just a reminder to dispense with any complacency before opening that car door.

Blessings,
M-Taliesin

I try hard to be super alert at all times, but there are those moments when i'll let my guard down. It happens to everybody, nobody can be 100% alert 100% of the time! But you sure do go to 110% after something like that happens!
 

mahkagari

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Joined
Apr 28, 2009
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1,186
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I'm pretty certain I'd be having myself an "out of body" experience!

Anyone ever have that happen? The Matrixesque "slow motion effect" is pretty common in adrenaline situations, when your awareness peaks and you take in so much information everything seems to slow down. But I've also had the the 360-view thing. Your other senses go into overdrive and hearing something behind you translates into such a clear mental image, you appear to be "seeing" in 360 degrees. That only happened to me once when some would-be gay bashers attacked me. My father had relayed the 360 effect from his days of streetfighting, so when it happened, it was such a shock, it snapped me out of it. I didn't have a chance to distinguish if it was "out of body" looking down, or it just "seeing" all around me. It felt like the latter.
 

since9

Campaign Veteran
Joined
Jan 14, 2010
Messages
6,964
Location
Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA
Anyone ever have that happen? The Matrixesque "slow motion effect" is pretty common in adrenaline situations, when your awareness peaks and you take in so much information everything seems to slow down. But I've also had the the 360-view thing. Your other senses go into overdrive and hearing something behind you translates into such a clear mental image, you appear to be "seeing" in 360 degrees. That only happened to me once when some would-be gay bashers attacked me. My father had relayed the 360 effect from his days of streetfighting, so when it happened, it was such a shock, it snapped me out of it. I didn't have a chance to distinguish if it was "out of body" looking down, or it just "seeing" all around me. It felt like the latter.

I grew into it while riding a bicycle through city traffic on a daily basis. Got to the point where I could acoustically locate cars, signal them my turning intentions, and know whether they were giving way or not by the change in sound. I still snuck a peek, though, as being wrong on a bicycle in moving traffic is a nice way to end up in either the hospital or the morgue.

I'm nowhere near as good as I used to be, as I no longer ride to and from work on a daily basis. And yes, as another individual mentioned, if you're not doing it all the time, it can become a little tiresome when you do need to use it.

Some might say, "Cycling? Really? No comparison," but I'm thinking, '57 Chevy, .357 Magnum -- What's the difference? They can both kill you. It always pays to be aware of your surroundings.
 
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