Yesterday I got an unexpected message from an old friend asking if I wanted to go get some breakfast at Ihop on rt 13 across from the airport. Now this is actually an ex of mine so naturally I am preparing to die, writing down my final wishes, strapping on some good old kevlar and my trusty smith and wesson. On my way out of the door I even hugged my daughter a little tighter and reminded her of how much I love her.
Well anyway enough with the sentiment of being brutally murdered by my ex, I am still alive. Spent a delightful 40 minutes or so in that Ihop, got a few looks while I was going to our table, especially from the family across from us. Thankfully I had a few interviews yesterday so I was dressed professionally and not in my usual (very comfortable) tactical response uniform pants and hoodie. It helped when I gave a friendly smile over and asked if everything was okay. They asked if I was a LEO and of course I immediately told them I was not. Becoming more and more shocked by the second I took the opportunity to explain that it is perfectly legal to open carry. As it turns out the man at that table was concealing what looked like an LC380. He informed me that it is quite dangerous to announce that you are armed like that. To which I responded, "I understand the dangers, and I have trained and practiced for them because my life depends on it. However when you look at how impossible it truly is for a man of my age to receive a CCDW in Delaware, there truly is no option. I will never stop carrying, because I care about seeing my daughter again... I care about you getting home with your family in one piece too." A polite handshake and smile later and we were off.
Next on her list of things to do I decided to join her on. Going to the farmer's market. We walked the farmer's market for a good hour with no one giving me any looks or saying anything to me. Talked to a security officer there for a few minutes as well. No one seemed to care except me. I would not recommend going there without a CCDW or even at all if you can avoid it. Every person set off my radar. Every person had me drawing lines in the sand. The best people in the world are surely not found there, and too many of them are people I recognize from mugshots. Too many people, too many felons, too little space. I was watching so many hands at once that I didn't even look at a single product in any store.
We eventually landed in shellhammer's which for me is an off-limits activity. Knife and CQC time if the SHTF. Why yes armed criminal you may have my wallet, because even if I had my gun it's not worth using it in every situation.
Before anyone comments on that remember that most lethal encounters occur within arms reach, the reason pocket guns are so popular is because they are easier to handle with a 300lbs
standing on your neck.