Always hear about it here as a joke, but today it finally happened. I was in Starbucks and there was a lady with her daughter. She was ordering ahead of me, and the girl turned around and asked if I was a cop.
Promptly, I smiled at her and the mom (who now turned to look at me), and said "No, I am not." She didn't ask much more after that, and the mom went back to her coffee order.
Roughly 2-3 minutes later, I'm sitting at one of the tables with my coffee and tablet, I feel a presence at my right side. I look over and it's the little girl again. The mom is on her phone sitting in one of the sofa-chairs.
I look down at her, and she asks, "If you aren't a policeman, why do you have a gun?"
Lovely as she's being, her mom really needs to keep her closer... I reply calmly in a way that a child might understand, "Not only policemen can have guns, many people have them to protect themselves."
Forgetting my hands were full with my coffee and tablet, she quickly reaches to the gun and grabs it... lifting it perfectly out of the holster. I drop what I'm doing and regain control of it.
Oh my god... it really happened. A 5-year old took my gun? How could I face the world.
On which excuse will I rely on when the mom finds out what just happened? Tell her the daughter is out of control? No, it would make me seem like an irresponsible gun owner... I can't give someone anti-gun ammo.
Luckily, the mom was still on the phone and hadn't noticed. The store was pretty empty aside from us.
So I hopped out of my chair, told the girl "Look at the first letter of each line", and walked out to my car, and off to work.
Promptly, I smiled at her and the mom (who now turned to look at me), and said "No, I am not." She didn't ask much more after that, and the mom went back to her coffee order.
Roughly 2-3 minutes later, I'm sitting at one of the tables with my coffee and tablet, I feel a presence at my right side. I look over and it's the little girl again. The mom is on her phone sitting in one of the sofa-chairs.
I look down at her, and she asks, "If you aren't a policeman, why do you have a gun?"
Lovely as she's being, her mom really needs to keep her closer... I reply calmly in a way that a child might understand, "Not only policemen can have guns, many people have them to protect themselves."
Forgetting my hands were full with my coffee and tablet, she quickly reaches to the gun and grabs it... lifting it perfectly out of the holster. I drop what I'm doing and regain control of it.
Oh my god... it really happened. A 5-year old took my gun? How could I face the world.
On which excuse will I rely on when the mom finds out what just happened? Tell her the daughter is out of control? No, it would make me seem like an irresponsible gun owner... I can't give someone anti-gun ammo.
Luckily, the mom was still on the phone and hadn't noticed. The store was pretty empty aside from us.
So I hopped out of my chair, told the girl "Look at the first letter of each line", and walked out to my car, and off to work.
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