[Gary in Pennsylvania]

I didn’t get to share this with you the day it happened….but I will now.

I’ll do the funny story first:
I was in the Wal-Mart Dickson City Supercenter this past Friday. I had already dropped the oldest boy off at nursery school, so it was just me and the youngest boy (2 ½ yrs old).
Before going leaving the house, I had been doing some downstairs house projects, so I was dressed in housework casual – jeans and a older blue pocket t-shirt.

I threw the boys in the van, dropped of the oldest @ nursery, and proceeded down to Wal-mart with the wifey’s list.

I spent about 1 ½ hours in Wal-mart. I OC’d the whole time. I was carrying my stainless 3” GP-100. I really didn’t notice if anyone saw – I wasn’t paying enough attention. My son insisted he was gonna walk too.

I made it through the whole store and then we left. I picked up the oldest from nursery and then headed home.

After in the house for a few minutes, I was at the kitchen enjoying a large glass of water, my wife approached me from behind while giggling. She asked if that’s the way I was dressed in the store.
I cautiously answered yes.
She then burst out laughing proclaiming I must’ve looked like a gun carrying mental case because my shirt was totally on inside out. I’m talking thick cord-like sew seams showing on the shoulder and arms. Huge ass white tags flapping behind on the rear of my collar. The inside-out pocket out front looked all screwed up like a piece of cellophane ht with a heat gun.

I looked like a nut! …….With a gun on my hip!

So much for all the preachin’ I do regarding “We are all ambassadors for the position/role/perception we project.”

I wonder what perception I delivered on Friday!

THE OTHER STORY happened just an hour ago – again…at the same Wal-Mart. This time, the whole family was in tow…It was time to buy all the kids new socks.

So…..I have less than 20 items in my cart and I’m in the frontmost express checkout line on the GM side of Wal-Mart…ya know (for those who do) the one directly by the Wal-Mart optician center.
Anyways….My oldest girl is sick and cranky and the others are getting’ real antsy. My wife and I wanted out of there right quick.
I paid the bill and as I was loading my 4 bags in the cart…..I notice, out of the corner of my eye, a female blue-vested Wal-Mart associate hovering at me just on theother side of my cart. I mean, she was literally LEANING towards me.
I actually thought nothing of it as people often stop us to remark about our kids (I’m blessed with VERY well-behaved children!).
Finally, I glance up to meet her inquiring body language and she asks me:
“Is that….Is that a real gun you’re wearing?”
Now, my gut reaction thinking wanted soooo badly to reply “No ma’am. It’s fake. I just never grew out of playing cops and robbers from my childhood!”
But…..I have to be an ambassador, so I just look back down at what I was doing in the cart and simply reply “Yes Ma’am.”

Then she follows up with a real hum-dinger! She asks, with concern in her voice, “Are you actually allowed to have a gun in the store?”
I’m now thinking – ‘Hey! You’re the freakin’ blue vester here! Plus….If I wasn’t allowed, would I just have the ole roscoe hangin’ off my hip like that?!?”

But the nice Gary simply replied “Yes ma’am.”
We then walked off. She probably stood there dumbfounded afterwards….I dunno, cuz I never looked back at her after the first glance.

I won’t say it was a negative experience…..but just that she had a direct conversation with me in the same manner as I would expect here to have with a coworker ABOUT me.

------------------

I also OC’d in Friendly’s, Dunmore today. And while changing my youngest’s pull-up in the bathroom, an 11yr old-or-so boy asked me point blank if I was undercover. I wanted to jokingly say “Not anymore, you just BLEW my cover.” But….I just answered “No”.