Thursday, July 1, 2010

Gun Talk.

In the daytime, I am mother, financier, housekeeper, maid, butler, secretary, curator of small mammals, inventor, nurse, tutor, teacher, launderer, and answerer of phones.

In the evenings, I am the menial, last person whom the consumer deals with at the grocery store. I am the checker. I take abuse, foul language, eye-rolling and tongue lashings from many people.
Two weeks ago, I was able to add: gun threaten-ee.

Mind you, I am the wife of a former Marine officer. I don't take gun talk lightly. Especially if you are going to be brazen enough to threaten me, or my family.
When your receipt shows a charge and the two very nice ladies at the customer service desk are trying (very nicely) to help you understand that it was the flex spending charge because of your pharmacy items and you threaten to bring back your gun and kill people, you'd better be prepared to spend a night behind bars.
Really. I was threatened with a gun.
After Amanda and I tried very nicely to explain that this $11.xx number was what he could have put on his FSA card, if he had insurance through his employer, even after I showed him that his Benedryl and one other item were pharmacy items that added up to his $11.xx, he was belligerent still and told us that he was going to go home and add it up on his calculator and if it didn't add up right he was "going to come back with my gun and shoot everyone".

Now I am here to tell you that that is a first for me. I have been threatened by drunks, drug addicts, roommates, children, teenagers. None of which I have taken very seriously, but this gun thing, I don't think is a very funny joke. It's a very sick one if you ask me. I may have overreacted and told too many people. I told one of the night managers, who was there and she grew concerned and her face got big and flushed and then, she did the right thing. She called the Loss Prevention manager, who was cooking dinner for her family, and then she called the police dispatch.

I have to tell you right now, I was terrified. I'm all about the right to bare arms, but there's nothing that says you get to threaten people with them. Unless you're protecting your freedom of speech, then you're just dumb, because that kind of thing will get you thrown in jail.

When the police officers arrived, I made a formal statement and then I stayed out in the LP room to help identify the perp and just get off the sales floor. I was in no shape to see people at the moment. It took roughly 35-45 minutes to get images for the police officers. I think if anyone ever sees the man again, he will be permanently trespassed from the store I work at and he will probably be arrested for oh, I don't know, attempted stupidity!
I just don't feel safe at work any more.
Wish me luck.