There are times...

by John Meeker , LOL, there. worked as a locksmith in a, Thursday, June 07, 2012, 19:54 (4341 days ago) @ anachronism

hardware store: edge of the ghetto/decaying Victorian neighborhood. After my first 'held-up' I armed myself. About a week later a kid came in and kinda nervously was standing at the counter. From my seat at the bench, I asked what he needed. He fidgeted a bit, then blurted out, "This is a holdup".

I had vowed never to lay on a floor again, waiting to be shot or not. His announcement turned me ice-cold. I moved not a muscle -- but looked him dead in the eye. For a very long slow instant he looked back, then suddenly said, "I was just kidding!!!" and left quickly.

I kinda sat there for a moment absorbing the event, when one of the other employees turned to me and said, "Man, I hope you never ever look at me, like you looked at him."

So, yeah, sometimes.