The Devil is in the DETAILS...

[ELCruisr]

Add me to the list of crowd haters. I'm also another one who is always looking around. Like I said when I inroduced myself I lived aboard a sailboat and traveled alot for 12 years and a good captain never stops scanning the horizon. It's an old habit that has carried over to the land. My wife understands but some people will ask why I don't have all my attention on them in a resteraunt or such. I also want my back to the wall and a good view of what's going on. As for malls after all those years away from them my wife and I walked into one and turned right back around and left. They can have 'em....

I also look for the ones who don't "fit" the situation. A while back I remember spotting a guy on a bike on our local bike path. I couldn't put my finger on it but he seemed "wrong". Dress and behaviour just set something off. He was going the other way so I just watched him out of sight. Ten minutes later I meet a police officer who is looking for a guy who just attempted a rape (luckily she escaped). Fitted his description and I sent him down the trail. Never mistrust those hunches....

Eric

[DefensiveCarry.com]

[cmidkiff]

+1 to the crowd haters

Unexpected 'NO WEAPONS' signs suck. Had to drive a block down the road to get a soda after filling up at an un-familar gas station. Also had to re-direct my family to a different resturaunt when the owner put a sign up. Used to go there all the time, no more.

Several of these stories make me even happier with my CCW methods. I carry in a pocket holster, usually with a larger gun in a smartcarry rig. No banging into things or printing through chairs for me!

[DaveT]

Y'all have pretty much described how I have been ever since I returned from 'Nam in 1970.... no crowds, back to the wall, constantly scanning, etc.

Was at a Chili's Restaurant with my 21 year old son not long back. While we were talking, he made this comment: "I've been watching you and one thing I notice is that your eyes are constantly moving, you never miss a thing, and you've always been that way."

My reply was simple enough: "Ya never know......."

[SARR001]

Crowds suck. I also sit in booths as opposed to chairs, gun side out, facing the door. My SO thinks it's a little weird, but she deals with it.

[David III]

I have to have a lot of personal space. My wife knows that getting me to the mall is about impossible and forget Wal-Mart. When we go out to eat, we have a list of a few little restaurants out in the sticks where the owners know us - even so, we won't go on busy nights like Fridays. I don't think any of this comes from carrying a gun, it's just part of me and always has been.
I lived outside Philadelphia for years and people there said I was paranoid. Maybe. It was very difficult to deal with how many people were around all the time.
I'm lucky now because my wife and I are not in a crowded area, and, provided I have my little 45, I am much more relaxed than the PA days. At home, it's my little gun, cameras, motion sensors and a lot of dogs. I just like to know what's going on around me. Instead of paranoia, I believe it's just wanting situational awareness.

[JimmyC4]

It looks like I'm in the minority opinion, but surely I don't mind being in crowded areas. I don't let that deprive me of anything in life I want to partake in--baseball games, concerts, etc. I am pretty casual about it, but am acutely aware of those around me...my wife carries, and joins me in noting anything out of the ordinary.

We're certainly not sheeple, but practice what I would term a "relaxed awareness" of our surroundings.