Cottonbaler
Regular Member
Part 1:
I'm an infrequent poster here but I often check in to read the latest OC news. I finally decided if I was going to be in the fight for our 2A rights then I'd better exercise them so for Christmas my "present" was a Ruger SR9 pistol (black slide), a Blackhawk single magazine carrier and an Uncle Mike's Reflex holster. After shooting it at TG&G Indoor Range and wearing it around the house to familiarize myself with the weight I decided it was time.
My wife and I were going shopping this past Sunday and after making sure she was comfortable (she was) we headed out. I figured after all the OC horror stories we read, having my wife with me might allay the fears of anyone who would see me, think "OMG!" and call 911 to report a MWAG. It was cold so I wore long john's under my jeans and a dark button up shirt tucked in with no coat which might accidentally cover my SR9.
First stop was Meijer on Dixie to fill a prescription. It was going to take about 15 minutes so we looked at kid's bicycles for upcoming birthdays. The entire time I was nervous but tried not to show it and just tried to talk with my wife just like we normally would. After 20 minutes we went back to the pharmacy and had to stand in line. Two people were before us and three after. no one seemed alarmed and the folks behind us carried on their conversation normally. When it was our turn I kept eye contact with the pharmacy tech and chatted with her while she rang us up. Transaction completed, I wished her a nice afternoon with a pleasant smile which she returned with a normal "Thank you". We walked out of the store got in our van and I finally relaxed. No problems, no strange looks and no hushed voices near us as if we deserved to be shunned. Off to Best Buy on Outer Loop.
I walked into the store looking for "No Firearms" signs (not that it would've mattered) and headed to the cameras. We picked one out that we'd had our eye on at Meijer and figured we'd go ahead and buy it there since we were also buying a laptop. That decided, we stepped over to look at the laptops and were having a conversation about a couple of them when a young employee walked up and asked if we needed any help. I asked him how to use Windows 8 to find out the laptop's brand of wi-fi card because I wanted to make sure it was Linux compatible. I explained I needed a Realtek, Atheros or Intel card but not Broadcom ( I won't bore you with the details but If you use Linux, Broadcoms are notorious for being a b*tch to configure). I continued that I wasn't familiar with the new Windows 8 interface but that I'd be wiping the HDD anyway and installing Linux Mint.
My wife stepped back as he stood next to me on my strong side and showed me how to navigate to the laptop's hardware list to see the installed wi-fi card. During our conversation I made sure to keep eye contact with him and kept my questions to the matter at hand but I did notice he looked down at my sidearm a few times. After I was satisfied I told him we'd take it and there was a camera we were going to buy as well. He told us to go over and get it and he'd ring us up at the Geek Squad counter.. Again, walked out to the van with no weird looks, no confrontations with nervous management and no hysterics.
Wound up going to Target to look at bikes since we were in the area and decided to go back to Meijer to buy a bike we'd liked while we were there earlier. Back to Meijer and again, no problems.
My thanks to all who have given OC advice over the years on this forum. I made sure I was reasonably well dressed, clean shaven and acted politely to anyone I came in contact with. And after a period of nervousness I finally forced myself to remember I was breaking no law and I had as much right to be out in public making purchases as anyone else which helped me relax.
I'm an infrequent poster here but I often check in to read the latest OC news. I finally decided if I was going to be in the fight for our 2A rights then I'd better exercise them so for Christmas my "present" was a Ruger SR9 pistol (black slide), a Blackhawk single magazine carrier and an Uncle Mike's Reflex holster. After shooting it at TG&G Indoor Range and wearing it around the house to familiarize myself with the weight I decided it was time.
My wife and I were going shopping this past Sunday and after making sure she was comfortable (she was) we headed out. I figured after all the OC horror stories we read, having my wife with me might allay the fears of anyone who would see me, think "OMG!" and call 911 to report a MWAG. It was cold so I wore long john's under my jeans and a dark button up shirt tucked in with no coat which might accidentally cover my SR9.
First stop was Meijer on Dixie to fill a prescription. It was going to take about 15 minutes so we looked at kid's bicycles for upcoming birthdays. The entire time I was nervous but tried not to show it and just tried to talk with my wife just like we normally would. After 20 minutes we went back to the pharmacy and had to stand in line. Two people were before us and three after. no one seemed alarmed and the folks behind us carried on their conversation normally. When it was our turn I kept eye contact with the pharmacy tech and chatted with her while she rang us up. Transaction completed, I wished her a nice afternoon with a pleasant smile which she returned with a normal "Thank you". We walked out of the store got in our van and I finally relaxed. No problems, no strange looks and no hushed voices near us as if we deserved to be shunned. Off to Best Buy on Outer Loop.
I walked into the store looking for "No Firearms" signs (not that it would've mattered) and headed to the cameras. We picked one out that we'd had our eye on at Meijer and figured we'd go ahead and buy it there since we were also buying a laptop. That decided, we stepped over to look at the laptops and were having a conversation about a couple of them when a young employee walked up and asked if we needed any help. I asked him how to use Windows 8 to find out the laptop's brand of wi-fi card because I wanted to make sure it was Linux compatible. I explained I needed a Realtek, Atheros or Intel card but not Broadcom ( I won't bore you with the details but If you use Linux, Broadcoms are notorious for being a b*tch to configure). I continued that I wasn't familiar with the new Windows 8 interface but that I'd be wiping the HDD anyway and installing Linux Mint.
My wife stepped back as he stood next to me on my strong side and showed me how to navigate to the laptop's hardware list to see the installed wi-fi card. During our conversation I made sure to keep eye contact with him and kept my questions to the matter at hand but I did notice he looked down at my sidearm a few times. After I was satisfied I told him we'd take it and there was a camera we were going to buy as well. He told us to go over and get it and he'd ring us up at the Geek Squad counter.. Again, walked out to the van with no weird looks, no confrontations with nervous management and no hysterics.
Wound up going to Target to look at bikes since we were in the area and decided to go back to Meijer to buy a bike we'd liked while we were there earlier. Back to Meijer and again, no problems.
My thanks to all who have given OC advice over the years on this forum. I made sure I was reasonably well dressed, clean shaven and acted politely to anyone I came in contact with. And after a period of nervousness I finally forced myself to remember I was breaking no law and I had as much right to be out in public making purchases as anyone else which helped me relax.
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