I took my family to Myrtle Beach, SC this past weekend for an annual trip with three other families. Since I am licensed in NC I printed off the state specific info on SC to make sure I follow all the appropriate rules for SC. Thanks to HandGunLaw.us for the excellent site.
After a long day at the beach I took a short nap and awoke to my wife asking where the closest drug store was located because in the rush to get out of the house for the trip she neglected to pack all her cosmetics. At the hotel we had parked in parking garage which is quite a big challenge considering we have a large SUV. She did not want to deal with taking the vehicle so she was going to take a walk to the drug store.
I figured I could get a few brownie points so I volunteered to drive her so we head off to the local Rite-Aid which was only a few blocks away. I park the vehicle in an almost empty lot and settle back in for another cat nap as my wife indicates “I will make it quick”, which for her means around 15 minutes. I’m in the driver’s seat with the doors locked and the vehicle turned off. Now an important footnote for the story ... all my vehicle windows (except the front windshield) are completely black. I have had them all “limo tinted” so they are dark as can be.
Now obviously my SA was in white at the time because I was in-fact sleeping in the car. In my half daze nap I hear a noise at the driver’s side door. Because of the way I am sitting my head is about 6 inches from the window. I open my eyes and standing less than a foot from my head is another man as he is trying to open my door. Remember … he cannot see anything in my vehicle. My first thought is “what the heck … this guy is trying to steal my vehicle … and I am in it”. I immediately sit up in the seat and sweep my t-shirt over my IWB holster to make ready access to my Glock 26 in the event this situation escalates and he has a weapon. I then think what if I am getting car jacked … are there other BG’s who have the drop on me. I quickly look in my rear view mirror and am OK from behind. I sweep my eyes to the right side mirror and am OK from the right and now I see right over the right side mirror an IDENTICAL vehicle to my own.
This all happens in a matter of seconds. Now seeing the other identical vehicle I was able to process the fact that this poor guy was just trying to get in his car and mistook mine for his. I wasn’t sure what to do next as I did not want to “scare” him by announcing my presence but after another 10 seconds of him messing with his key in my lock I rolled down my window slightly and said “Sir … I believe your car is over there”. Now as soon as the window started to roll down this guy turned completely white. He apologized and embarrassingly walked to his vehicle. I am almost certain he had to throw away his underpants when he got home.
This event completely reinforced for me that not all situations are as they appear to be. Hopefully some others will glean the same from the post.
After a long day at the beach I took a short nap and awoke to my wife asking where the closest drug store was located because in the rush to get out of the house for the trip she neglected to pack all her cosmetics. At the hotel we had parked in parking garage which is quite a big challenge considering we have a large SUV. She did not want to deal with taking the vehicle so she was going to take a walk to the drug store.
I figured I could get a few brownie points so I volunteered to drive her so we head off to the local Rite-Aid which was only a few blocks away. I park the vehicle in an almost empty lot and settle back in for another cat nap as my wife indicates “I will make it quick”, which for her means around 15 minutes. I’m in the driver’s seat with the doors locked and the vehicle turned off. Now an important footnote for the story ... all my vehicle windows (except the front windshield) are completely black. I have had them all “limo tinted” so they are dark as can be.
Now obviously my SA was in white at the time because I was in-fact sleeping in the car. In my half daze nap I hear a noise at the driver’s side door. Because of the way I am sitting my head is about 6 inches from the window. I open my eyes and standing less than a foot from my head is another man as he is trying to open my door. Remember … he cannot see anything in my vehicle. My first thought is “what the heck … this guy is trying to steal my vehicle … and I am in it”. I immediately sit up in the seat and sweep my t-shirt over my IWB holster to make ready access to my Glock 26 in the event this situation escalates and he has a weapon. I then think what if I am getting car jacked … are there other BG’s who have the drop on me. I quickly look in my rear view mirror and am OK from behind. I sweep my eyes to the right side mirror and am OK from the right and now I see right over the right side mirror an IDENTICAL vehicle to my own.
This all happens in a matter of seconds. Now seeing the other identical vehicle I was able to process the fact that this poor guy was just trying to get in his car and mistook mine for his. I wasn’t sure what to do next as I did not want to “scare” him by announcing my presence but after another 10 seconds of him messing with his key in my lock I rolled down my window slightly and said “Sir … I believe your car is over there”. Now as soon as the window started to roll down this guy turned completely white. He apologized and embarrassingly walked to his vehicle. I am almost certain he had to throw away his underpants when he got home.
This event completely reinforced for me that not all situations are as they appear to be. Hopefully some others will glean the same from the post.
