I live in northern Arizona, in a rual community with little crime, however we do have a lot of thefts, due to meth. I don't worry too much about Tanglebones being stolen, but I do worry.
In early March, I took my bike into a local McDonald's. It was the town's highschool lunch hour, kids everywhere, some already obvious miscreants, meth heads like their folks, so I wasn't about to leave it outside chained to the nonexistent bike rack.
Standing in line in the packed lobby, a man entered and soon asked me to take the bike outside. As the manager didn't have a problem with Tanglebones, I ignored him. He responded by poking my shoulder and repeating himself. I looked over at him on my left side and said, "Line's too long, no way, I'm hungry."
"I don't care who or what you are, take that d@¥m thing outside!" (poke poke poke)
"No, and don't touch me again."
"Look, D!¿%*€×¥, take it out or I will!" (poke poke)
As I kicked my stand down, the manager spoke up, as the last statement was outright screamed.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"F$@& that! Look at this bleep! No way!" that's not exactly all he said, but it was mostly profane. All the while he's poking me as hard as he can with two fingers. As he finishes swearing he gives me a rough shove.
Things escalated very quickly when I was pushed into a knot of young women, soaking several with their own spilled sodas, and getting a bit soggy myself. The guy was my hight, roughly fifty pound heavier, as I regained my balance, stepping back toward him in the process of detangleing with the girls, he shoved at me again.
Immediately behind me (now my right as I turn to face him) is a room divider. His face hit it pretty hard, before I frog marched him out the door, one arm twisted in a modified hammer lock. He took off and I was treated to a free lunch while I awaited the police. I gave my statement, the officers reviewed the security footage, wished me a good day and left.
Now it should be noted, I am a lifelong martial artist and a fairly good one. Also, I carry, pants on, gun on, that's how I get dressed. The police were quite impressed with how I handled the situation, and commended me on my aplomb. I think they were surprised I didn't shoot him, considering my generation's propensity for frivolous armed combat and looking for bad guys to shoot it out with.
The morals of the story? 1. Don't care how "hangry" you are, keep your hands to yourself. 2. Cops are people too, treat them with respect, and they (probably) won't call their buddies up and have a "boot party". 3. When a group of pretty young women buy you lunch, remember to ask for at least one phone number!
I didn't post this to brag, but to point out that people are getting offended at everything. Nobody else in the restaurant cared that I had my bike in the lobby, and I've seen the same thing in big cities,though with a pedal bike. Perhaps it was the motor that irked him? Maybe his wife makes him ride with her? Maybe on a tandem and she won't pedal? Whatever it was, he went looking for a fight, he found a wall, a door jam, and the bumper of a large dodge pickup, all on the way out. Ok I'll admit it, I pushed his head down and booted his ass, and he hit that bumper pretty hard.
Could I have handled it differently? Yes. Could it have been worse? Maybe. It's over now, done, so I won't worry about it much. What makes me worry is that I didn't do a thing to provoke this guy, just brought Tanglebones into the local McDonald's so some butthead didn't steal it. Let's all make a point, the next time something really ticks you off, just let it go.
In early March, I took my bike into a local McDonald's. It was the town's highschool lunch hour, kids everywhere, some already obvious miscreants, meth heads like their folks, so I wasn't about to leave it outside chained to the nonexistent bike rack.
Standing in line in the packed lobby, a man entered and soon asked me to take the bike outside. As the manager didn't have a problem with Tanglebones, I ignored him. He responded by poking my shoulder and repeating himself. I looked over at him on my left side and said, "Line's too long, no way, I'm hungry."
"I don't care who or what you are, take that d@¥m thing outside!" (poke poke poke)
"No, and don't touch me again."
"Look, D!¿%*€×¥, take it out or I will!" (poke poke)
As I kicked my stand down, the manager spoke up, as the last statement was outright screamed.
"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"F$@& that! Look at this bleep! No way!" that's not exactly all he said, but it was mostly profane. All the while he's poking me as hard as he can with two fingers. As he finishes swearing he gives me a rough shove.
Things escalated very quickly when I was pushed into a knot of young women, soaking several with their own spilled sodas, and getting a bit soggy myself. The guy was my hight, roughly fifty pound heavier, as I regained my balance, stepping back toward him in the process of detangleing with the girls, he shoved at me again.
Immediately behind me (now my right as I turn to face him) is a room divider. His face hit it pretty hard, before I frog marched him out the door, one arm twisted in a modified hammer lock. He took off and I was treated to a free lunch while I awaited the police. I gave my statement, the officers reviewed the security footage, wished me a good day and left.
Now it should be noted, I am a lifelong martial artist and a fairly good one. Also, I carry, pants on, gun on, that's how I get dressed. The police were quite impressed with how I handled the situation, and commended me on my aplomb. I think they were surprised I didn't shoot him, considering my generation's propensity for frivolous armed combat and looking for bad guys to shoot it out with.
The morals of the story? 1. Don't care how "hangry" you are, keep your hands to yourself. 2. Cops are people too, treat them with respect, and they (probably) won't call their buddies up and have a "boot party". 3. When a group of pretty young women buy you lunch, remember to ask for at least one phone number!
I didn't post this to brag, but to point out that people are getting offended at everything. Nobody else in the restaurant cared that I had my bike in the lobby, and I've seen the same thing in big cities,though with a pedal bike. Perhaps it was the motor that irked him? Maybe his wife makes him ride with her? Maybe on a tandem and she won't pedal? Whatever it was, he went looking for a fight, he found a wall, a door jam, and the bumper of a large dodge pickup, all on the way out. Ok I'll admit it, I pushed his head down and booted his ass, and he hit that bumper pretty hard.
Could I have handled it differently? Yes. Could it have been worse? Maybe. It's over now, done, so I won't worry about it much. What makes me worry is that I didn't do a thing to provoke this guy, just brought Tanglebones into the local McDonald's so some butthead didn't steal it. Let's all make a point, the next time something really ticks you off, just let it go.