Bit of a scare at the AT&T store

[mano3]

I was at the AT&T store upgrading my old iPhones and having a nice conversation with the young lady assisting me. All of a sudden, she stopped talking. I looked up and she was looking past me and her eyes were big as dinner plates and her mouth was open - like she'd seen a ghost.

My first thought is, "Oh crap, someone just walked in to rob the place and they're coming up right behind me!"

I quickly turned and my hand went to my gun (didn't expose/draw yet) and there approaching us is an older gentleman with a big smile on his face. Seems that he's a frequent customer and friend to the gal helping me. She was 'being funny' for him...

Why am I posting this? Well, it proves to me that my whole outlook on people and places has changed since I've started carrying. I mean that in a good way. Granted, I mistook her expression as one of fear, but at least I was aware of it and was ready to react if need be. Two years ago I'd of missed the cue or just stood there staring...

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[Inspector71]

I get that look from the younger generation all the time, when I'm not even a customer or an old friend. Can't figure it out

[WHEC724]

Carrying does tend to change what we cue on. I honestly enjoy the mental exercise.

I used to give presentations for a living, and prided myself in reading my audience and adapting accordingly. Now the world is my audience, and the adaptation of my presentation is "how would I fight my way out of this, if I had to".

I really don't view my outlook as paranoia. For me, it's just an enjoyable exercise that keeps me from turning into a mouth-breather.

[mr.stuart]

I would have looked to see what was happening, but, for me, awareness is not like this. I plan to enjoy life and I will not live on edge. My hand would not have been near a gun. I say to each his own, but since you posted I suppose you wanted replies.

[joker1]

Was she hot? Admit it, you were looking to be her hero weren't you.

This is a problem in the world of situational awareness. People messing around and playing like they're gonna hurt someone. I wonder how many scenes from shows like Punk'd and Scare Tactics didn't air because someone acted accordingly and the joker (no relation) got hurt or shot?

[barstoolguru]

you can never tell who is going to robb you...
better safe then sorry



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qweyqEOlQFA

[mano3]

Was she hot? Admit it, you were looking to be her hero weren't you.

LOL! Not my type by a long shot! She really did look scared though at first...

[Dandyone]

As one that has always been borderline ADD, or perhaps ADHD (if I was younger, this would have been a diagnosis, but these things didn't exist back then...), I generally have a very hightened sense of my surroundings. Sights, sounds, even smells trigger my attention.

In all honesty, this 'condition' can be fairly annoying because blocking out distractions in order to remain attentive to one thing can be challenging (unless that one thing really grabs your attention - like rock/ice climbing, shooting, etc.).

I was trying to explain this to my wife in the context of situational awareness. In fact, the conversation was initiated by a thread that I read here about folks in a store not even noticing a lady OC'ing a Glock and spare mag. By contrast, I sometimes notice folks CC'ing - which is rare here on the left coast (Seattle, no less).

At any rate, I tell her this as we walk to dinner, and we laugh about how opposites attract. It takes a lot to grab her attention. After dinner we are walking back down the sidewalk, and I see something odd, jump in front of a car that was backing up to leave a parallel parking spot. My wife is thinking, "he must know this person..."

Nope, I noticed that her hood had somehow become unlatched. This was totally obvious to me, but I would bet that 99.99% of the population would miss that.

At any rate, it got me thinking about how much of SA can be taught/learned, and how much is simply innate ability (or, in my case, and ability that often feels like a disability!)

[varob]

Nothing wrong with keeping your SA up, but keep in mind, your gun is the last option.

[miklcolt45]

As one that has always been borderline ADD, or perhaps ADHD (if I was younger, this would have been a diagnosis, but these things didn't exist back then...), I generally have a very hightened sense of my surroundings. Sights, sounds, even smells trigger my attention.

In all honesty, this 'condition' can be fairly annoying because blocking out distractions in order to remain attentive to one thing can be challenging (unless that one thing really grabs your attention - like rock/ice climbing, shooting, etc.).

I was trying to explain this to my wife in the context of situational awareness. In fact, the conversation was initiated by a thread that I read here about folks in a store not even noticing a lady OC'ing a Glock and spare mag. By contrast, I sometimes notice folks CC'ing - which is rare here on the left coast (Seattle, no less).

At any rate, I tell her this as we walk to dinner, and we laugh about how opposites attract. It takes a lot to grab her attention. After dinner we are walking back down the sidewalk, and I see something odd, jump in front of a car that was backing up to leave a parallel parking spot. My wife is thinking, "he must know this person..."

Nope, I noticed that her hood had somehow become unlatched. This was totally obvious to me, but I would bet that 99.99% of the population would miss that.

At any rate, it got me thinking about how much of SA can be taught/learned, and how much is simply innate ability (or, in my case, and ability that often feels like a disability!)

.

I read years ago an article that said the ADD folks of tosay were the hunters/warriors of a bygone era. The skills and abilities they have naturally serve them well in those environments where multiple sensory input is high.

[mkphillips]

I get that look from the younger generation all the time, when I'm not even a customer or an old friend. Can't figure it out

Cause you forgot to put your pants on before leaving?

Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk 2

[dukalmighty]

Good thing somebody didn't have gunfire for a ringtone that went off at the same time she gave the scary look, or there may have been a lot of people making scary faces

[ericb327]

It's not the carrying that made us change our mindset. We all went through some kind of change that made us start thinking about security and our safety. The arming ourselves was secondary.

[TN_Mike]

Mano3, I have had similar things happen to me. Always glad it wasn't actually something bad going on but always also a little irritated that I was put in the situation by someone trying to be funny. I didn't find anything funny about it.

[Burns]

As one that has always been borderline ADD, or perhaps ADHD, I generally have a very hightened sense of my surroundings. Sights, sounds, even smells trigger my attention.

I have ADD too, terrible when dealing with schooling/boring jobs, but I'm pretty sure it has saved my life.