Do You Have A Plan?

[RJ]

My dear wife is still mostly at the eye-rolling stage.

At least she let's me sit facing the door. I would say that is about the extent of it.

Well I take that back. After a few years on the road in the RV we at least pay attention to what's happening walking into and out of WalMart.

Awkwardly, I can't say my SA is laser-keen; I had a guy get the drop of me within 6 feet at a WalMart in SE San Antonio. He was on crutches. Geez. :/

But still. I do try and keep my head on a swivel and am generally aware of those within my line of sight and/or movement. I've discussed the concept of "unexpected movement towards you is one of the key pre-assault indicators" with her so there have been times where "something odd" happens. Mostly we deal with it by avoidance or walking faster/changing direction.

Knock on wood I've not even had to put my hand on my carry gun, ever.

[GAP]

Yes, and you need to remember that despite how aware you feel, be prepared to be surprised.

Quick story:

I consider myself to be someone who is well aware of my surroundings. I don’t scare easily, I locate exits, check out the individuals around me, etc. Well, one day in particular I realized just how vulnerable I really am. I was working from home and randomly decided to take a garbage bag from my kitchen to the can outside. I didn’t look, I just unlocked the front door and opened it. Within that same period of a few seconds, some guy had already opened my screen door and was staring at me face-to-face. Nothing was between us, except for about six inches of air. I dropped the bag and was about to clock him, but then he asked if I would vote for our local Republican representative. He ended up just being some guy that was going door to door asking for votes.

Luckily for him, he wasn’t a Democrat.

Joking aside, I was scared shitless and completely vulnerable to an attack.

Lesson learned.

[BobM]

My daughter and her husband stopped at a carry out once a few years ago. She told me she climbed over to the drivers seat while he went in. When he came back she told him she planned on leaving if she saw something going down inside. He was appalled she would leave him there. I told her that's what I would have wanted her to do if she was with me.

[Totem Polar]

That’s the thing with even good SA; things can still go sideways. Stuff happens.

I’m pretty sure I’ve told this story before, but; years ago Mrs SS and I met some traveling, retired friends downtown for lunch. Afterwards, we agreed that a quick driving tour of the town would be fun for them (both had reduced mobility), so I left them to close out the tab, and headed up the street to retrieve the econobox we had at the time (2006 Elantra).

I’m moving shit from the back seats to the trunk to make room for my guests, and I see these two skells partway up the block doing the panhandle thing, hitting people up, but they’re far enough away that I don’t care, so I make another trip into the backseat to get the last of the junk. I grab the last stuff, and rotate to clamber out, and I see that both these guys are MUCH closer, and beelining for the open rear passenger door, on the sidewalk side (I’m stuffed into that tin can behind the driver’s seat) I have just enough time to palm my Emerson knives CQC-7, when the leader of the duo starts to climb into the car. His buddy is standing outside, with his back to us, blocking the sudewalk from view.

Guy #1 has both his hands on the opening, puts his left foot in, and starts in with, "hey I bet you can spare a buck for us..." when I pop the Emerson open with the thumb disc. A liner lock is louder than one might think inside a Hyundai Elantra. At any rate it was a pretty short conversation; no harm, no foul, nobody damaged.

Point being, I totally saw those guys, but misjudged how motivated they were. Interesting event. Can’t be perfectly aware all the time; it’s just not realistic. JMO.

[Eric_L]

Yes, and you need to remember that despite how aware you feel, be prepared to be surprised.

Quick story:

I consider myself to be someone who is well aware of my surroundings. I don’t scare easily, I locate exits, check out the individuals around me, etc. Well, one day in particular I realized just how vulnerable I really am. I was working from home and randomly decided to take a garbage bag from my kitchen to the can outside. I didn’t look, I just unlocked the front door and opened it. Within that same period of a few seconds, some guy had already opened my screen door and was staring at me face-to-face. Nothing was between us, except for about six inches of air. I dropped the bag and was about to clock him, but then he asked if I would vote for our local Republican representative. He ended up just being some guy that was going door to door asking for votes.

Luckily for him, he wasn’t a Democrat.

Joking aside, I was scared shitless and completely vulnerable to an attack.

Lesson learned.

If I could be so presumptuous as to comment.....

William April has said you should slow or stop anytime you are leaving one space and about to enter another. Look first then go. Leaving your car whilst exiting to parking lot, coming out of store to parking lot, etc. However I don’t check when I leave the house so I’m not making commentary on you.

[Salamander]

My wife grew up in NYC and misses very little. Once when we were still in Chicago (so more than 17 years ago) we were on the subway late in the evening, standing because we were just on for a couple stops, when some guy stuck his hand in her bag from behind. I'd barely gotten my weight shifted forward and started to move when she hit him with an elbow and I'm pretty sure I heard a rib crack. End of pickpocket problem. She's above average with a revolver too, although she chooses not to carry.

The irony was that we were on the way home from the gym after work downtown, and her bag held only stinky workout clothes.

At work, I do drill my field biologists on situational awareness. The wildlife folks usually don't need more than a basic discussion, they're already looking for small elusive creatures and a big clumsy human is a piece of cake for them. The botanists are another story, they spend hours with their heads down estimating cover or keying things out. On a large partially wooded and very sketchy site the last couple summers I would try to sneak up on them. First couple of times I was standing two feet away to watch them jump when they finally looked up. By the second year I couldn't get within 50 yards without being seen. Big improvement. They were also drilled on having escape routes pre-planned, not bunching up, always having pepper spray handy, etc.

[Cypher]

If I could be so presumptuous as to comment.....

William April has said you should slow or stop anytime you are leaving one space and about to enter another. Look first then go. Leaving your car whilst exiting to parking lot, coming out of store to parking lot, etc. However I don’t check when I leave the house so I’m not making commentary on you.

I was thinking when I read this that I do these things. When I open my front door I look up and down the hallway before I step out. I check out the entryway at the end of the hall before I walk out onto the landing of the stairs and the whole time I'm walking down the stairs I'm scoping out to parking lot around my car.

I don't do these things because I'm some high-speed, switched on, operator. I do them because I live in a city that is over run with homeless people.

The homeless population in Colorado Springs tripled after marijuana was legalized and one of the primary reasons is that people came here for the legal weed and then found out that employers were still requiring drug tests.

There really aren't any good or safe neighborhoods in Colorado Springs anymore. There are homeless camps everywhere and the police don't really want to do anything about it because all they're really doing is moving the problem from one part of the city to another. Currently there are 3 homeless people living in vehicles parked on the street outside our apartment complex. The police have been called multiple times and apparently there's no law against living in your car in Colorado Springs as long as the vehicle moves every 72 hours. So these people drive your car around the block every day moving a couple parking spaces and they're good if they have to piss they hop out of the car and piss right in the street. I have no idea where they take a dump.

So I said all that to say this you have to pay attention around here because I've opened the door and found them sleeping in the hallway. To my knowledge this is never happened to us but one of our neighbors said she was sitting in her living room the other night and she looked over at the door and she could see somebody standing out there ( I guess his shadow was on the floor at the bottom of the door) she said he tried the knob very quietly and as soon as it moved her dog went nuts and he left.

No joke a couple weeks back I went to Walmart with my wife and there was a homeless guy sleeping in the cart return.

So because you are liable to encounter one of these Street Rats just about anywhere you do have to pay attention before you walk out your door. You have to pay attention before you get into or out of your car. They even find him sleeping in odd corners of our church and m

[Darth_Uno]

That’s the good thing about living out in Bufu; the only thing likely to surprise me is a deer with a weird sleep schedule, or a trash panda.

Deer will hit the road; raccoons will challenge you to trial by combat for property rights.


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[blues]

That’s the good thing about living out in Bufu; the only thing likely to surprise me is a deer with a weird sleep schedule, or a trash panda.

Deer will hit the road; raccoons will challenge you to trial by combat for property rights.


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Possums have game. (That hiss'll get your attention.)

Weirdest thing I had recently was a weasel that bluffed charged me and the dog as we were out for a late night walk a couple months ago. That weasel had murder in his heart.

[Darth_Uno]

We have a fair bit of possums. Before I let the dogs out at night I hit the flood light to make sure there’s none in (or near) our yard. My rat terrier will vault our 4’ fence like it’s not even there. And guess whose job it is to go get him.

I’ve never shot a possum, because that’s just more work for me, but if they see you walking down the deck steps yelling, “hey, hey, git,” they usually will. Unlike Democrats.