Scary/Strange Encounter at Walmart

[YuppieKid]

Originally Posted by steel4me

1) what do you mean wear your sub on a NATO?

2) i like walmart tremendously ... how do you think I saved up to buy my 2 rollies?

I go to Wal-Mart often, and I never worry about some punk looking to steal my watch ..

[Todd V]

Next time, see if he tails you into the ladies' undergarmet section. If he does... he either wants your watch or your phone number, I guess.

I'm glad nothing happened! Be safe...

[YuppieKid]

Originally Posted by Todd V

Next time, see if he tails you into the ladies' undergarmet section. If he does... he either wants your watch or your phone number, I guess.

I'm glad nothing happened! Be safe...

mugger that I've ever seen ....

[JJ Irani]

Originally Posted by steel4me

JJ,
Just be careful ... Crap happens whenyou let your guard down.
I was also thinking that in today's digital age, crooks can work as teams ... one dude stay in walmart and checks out potential clients ... if he thinks it is worth it, using a cell phone, he tells his buddies the description of the potential hit ... so his buddies are ready in the parking lot while the first crook acts like he is shopping and all is cool .... pretty smart idea .... divide and conquer ....

12 years in this country, my friend......never even had someone looking at my wrist!!

[haakon59]

Scary encounter--glad you came through it OK.

[YuppieKid]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

12 years in this country, my friend......never even had someone looking at my wrist!!

[GoldenBear]

I don't know where the guy lives, but I've never seen anything or anyone at a Wal-mart worth stealing...LOL. I went to two AD's in S.F. yesterday. Millions of $$'s in inventory and even more walking in and out of the store to take a look at their stuff. Better pickings than a Wal-Mart for anyone interested in a "5-finger discount" unless the guy was stealing a 10-gallon jar of mustard...LOL....Be safe everyone. Remember, it's just a watch and not worth more than your life.

[Incurable]

What time is it? Time to back off and go about your business... The circumstances you describe would send me from condition yellow->orange->red for sure. This was no coincidental encounter.

[Incurable]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

12 years in this country, my friend......never even had someone looking at my wrist!!

They're probably too busy admiring your flock...

[steel4me]

thank god i drive a real beat up car for everyday use, worth about $800 ... so even if his buddies were waiting for me, after they looked at my clunker, they said to each other "must be a fake rolex!" .... "lets cancel that hit"

[frostie]

Originally Posted by Incurable

They're probably too busy checking out your flock...

[frostie]

Here in greece nobody will realise that you are wearing a rolex and even if they realise that you have a rolex watch on your wrist 99.9% of the people will claim that it is definetely a fake. So everything is cool here

[pilapandet]

I think you are a bunch of paranoia. Com on, some one in Wal-Mart maybe admired your watch and just want to check it out. Have you ever check out at some one else watch?
I do. Or, maybe you see a pretty woman pass by, have you ever stare to admire her beauty? It does not mean you are going to rape her. Wouldn't you?
I am a very small guy only 5' 1 and 3/4". I wear my watch everywhere throughout the world without think twice of being attack of being rob to get my watch. That include very poor country like Thai, Lao, and Vietnam. Off course, if you got to some insecure place beside The Wal-Mart, that is different story. If you going to wear you beautiful watch and hire under your long sleeve shirt, then it is better off to leave at home in your safe. Then go back to Wal-Mart buying a brand new Timex or even Seiko so you can have something for time.

[steel4me]

Originally Posted by pilapandet

I think you are a bunch of paranoia. Com on, some one in Wal-Mart maybe admired your watch and just want to check it out. Have you ever check out at some one else watch?
I do. Or, maybe you see a pretty woman pass by, have you ever stare to admire her beauty full? It does not mean you are going to rape her.

It is one thing to admire from a distance and another to follow. All depends on who is doing the admiring. i don't like the look of certain admirers, period. if you approach a beautiful woman normally, she'll respond ... if you approach her while your other hand is on your crotch, she will most likely not like you....so yes, you are very right, up until yesterday all was cool and suddenly it seems my virginity has been taken away at Walmart!

[Gil F.]

Originally Posted by YuppieKid

mugger that I've ever seen ....

That's hilarious!

In all seriousness, I always try to be aware of my surroundings too. I don't think Steel is paranoid at all ... you know when someone is not acting right, and his description makes it appear that he was, in fact, being stalked a bit. Not too far from where I live, a gangbanger wouldn't think twice about checking a person out and then meeting them for a jack in the parking lot.

Bottom line, I listen to my "uh-oh feeling," and when I get that, my hackles go up. Not too long ago, I had stopped for gas at night, pumped it, and got in my car. I was just about to close my door, when I heard someone approaching my driver's side, and I closed it quickly. That guy came from nowhere and asked for directions, but he was acting fidgety and kept one hand out of my line of sight. I knew if he was armed, I wouldn't be able to get to my weapon in time, so I barked at him, "HEY, keep your *#(#ing hands where I can see them!" He immediately backed away and disappeared around the building ...no visible means of transportation.

Absolute paranoia is absolute awareness, in my book, and I don't trust someone to behave the way they (or we) should. Size doesn't much matter when one is facing a gangbanger that has been State-raised and is holding a weapon.

Had something happened, a Rolex isn't worth it. It's good that you were vigilant and that you were confident under the circumstances.

Glad you are safe and Rollie is intact.

[DS/B MINI S]

Awareness is the Key

My wife and I had a bad experience with Walmart after her purse was stolen. We haven't shopped with them since (3 years), and I don't miss it a bit.

[CPCC]

Very smart of you not to go staight home. I would not have thought so quickly. And you can never be too careful. Glad everything went well.

[steel4me]

Originally Posted by cpcc

Very smart of you not to go staight home. I would not have thought so quickly. And you can never be too careful. Glad everything went well.

thanks ... i did not leave immediately .... I went into the elctronics section knowing they have the most surveillance cameras so if the crook does something at least I'll have him on tape from many different angles ... plus my kids wanted some nintendo ds stuff so I was checking out prices for about half an hour .... then before I exited the store, I really made sure I knew exactly where I parked my car and then went for it all the time making turns looking for crooks ....

So if you remember any wacky guy turning in circles in the parking lto, it was me!!

[frostie]

Originally Posted by steel4me

So if you remember any wacky guy turning in circles in the parking lto, it was me!!

[bran]

The same thing happened to me last night at a Chinese take out restaurant. It is the best in town, but in a bad part of town. I was wearing my YG DD and a gang looking guy asked how much I would take for it. I told him it had belonged to my father and was not for sale at any price. His comment was, "what would you do if someone tried to take it." I told him that was the good thing about the concelaed carry laws in North Carolina. Someone tries to harm you, even if they are just trying to steal you watch, you have the right to defend yourself. He had just heard the owner of the restaurant ask how things were going at my church and his next comment was, "I didn't know preachers packed." I told him this one does and it helps when your wife is a former ATF agent. He didn't give me another look.

[DSJ]

I'm a former cop - always be aware of your surroundings. Be confident and assertive around potential marauders. If you can and are comfortable with it, a CCW is another good insurance policy. Much of the time, I have Austrian steel and polymer with American lead and brass to protect my family and property.

[ducatigirl]

Originally Posted by frostie

Here in greece nobody will realise that you are wearing a rolex and even if they realise that you have a rolex watch on your wrist 99.9% of the people will claim that it is definetely a fake. So everything is cool here

i disagree... i've gotten quite a few looks when i wear mine, and my model is understated. but so far it has always been in admiration/recognition that it is a rolex. once i took a cab to the airport and the driver complimented me on it. i was so surprised! because he only got such a quick glimpse when i was getting in the cab.


never got the feeling that someone was looking at it to steal it... though my friend was walking in the center of athens the other day and someone grabbed her mobile phone out of her hand, so you never know...

but you are right, the majority of people won't recognize a rolex when they see it.

and also, i think a lot of people in wearing them here are wearing fakes. i've noticed a lot of fakes in the cafeterias!

steel - if i was you, i would have gone to walmart security and given them a heads up... that does sound like a fishy story, and though they didn't follow you home, if they saw your license plate number, it is possible for them to get your address, if they have the right contacts. though i wouldn't be worried, they sounded too sloppy (obvious) to be organized pros.

[GoldenBear]

I wouldn't give steel any more reasons to be paranoid!!!

[slojoh]

it always pays to be aware of your surroundings.! You did good.

[marshallr47]

Originally Posted by CoopJr

Sounds like one of those VanBuren Boys! You shoulda flashed the "4's" and everything would have been cool!

. Seinfeld fan as well I see?

[DC watchman]

Originally Posted by Gil F.

That's hilarious!

In all seriousness, I always try to be aware of my surroundings too. I don't think Steel is paranoid at all ... you know when someone is not acting right, and his description makes it appear that he was, in fact, being stalked a bit. Not too far from where I live, a gangbanger wouldn't think twice about checking a person out and then meeting them for a jack in the parking lot.

Bottom line, I listen to my "uh-oh feeling," and when I get that, my hackles go up. Not too long ago, I had stopped for gas at night, pumped it, and got in my car. I was just about to close my door, when I heard someone approaching my driver's side, and I closed it quickly. That guy came from nowhere and asked for directions, but he was acting fidgety and kept one hand out of my line of sight. I knew if he was armed, I wouldn't be able to get to my weapon in time, so I barked at him, "HEY, keep your *#(#ing hands where I can see them!" He immediately backed away and disappeared around the building ...no visible means of transportation.

Absolute paranoia is absolute awareness, in my book, and I don't trust someone to behave the way they (or we) should. Size doesn't much matter when one is facing a gangbanger that has been State-raised and is holding a weapon.

Had something happened, a Rolex isn't worth it. It's good that you were vigilant and that you were confident under the circumstances.

Glad you are safe and Rollie is intact.

I can't tell you how many times I have taken my sub off in the car and put it in the inside zip up pocket of my barbour that I wear for casual occasions, like running errands to big box stores that happen to be on Rt I here in Alexandria. Anyone who is familiar with the area knows that this is not a great area at night.

There is a reason why I don't wear a leather jacket or a north face in these areas. Sometimes I don't even wear a watch....

You can be the biggest and baddest SOB on the block. As Gil said; it does not make much of a difference if you are up against one or more graduates of your local correctional facilities who are more likely than not either armed with an actual weapon or a profound sense of nothing left to loose.

[dubyatf]

Originally Posted by Ed Rooney

You should have hit him with a rolled up Tazmanian Devil floormat or sprayed him with Armour All.

If all else failed you could have given him a Yosemite Sam mud flap upside the head followed by a WD-40 eye-wash.

[GrandDaddy]

Sterling, were you the one stalking Steel? I know you have a habit of following customers wearing Rolex watches at your store and try to be their friends. Were you at Wally World around 6:00 PM that day?

Originally Posted by USMCsilver

Always know your surroundings. You never know when someone may want your ring, watch, or even the $0.73 you have jingling in your pocket.

To be oblivious to the world is to be oblivious to life!

[arttay10]

Originally Posted by JJ Irani

Thanks goodness for a safe haven like New Zealand. NEVER had any kind of similar encounter here.....ever!!!

I could probably be wearing a couple of full gold Rollies up each arm, and nobody would really bother to notice!!

'SHEEP' - dont have an eye for materialistic possessions as a rule of thumb.

[Peter Hightower]

Living in Canada has its advantages and disadvantages I guess as compared to other countries. Stricter gun laws but way weeker criminal sentences. I agree that a criminal getting 200 years in jail is extreme but it sends the message that he will not do whatever he/she did again. And the only way out of jail is in a wooden box ! I think criminal court judges here are afraid to hand out tough sentences. I know as I have been in law enforcement over twenty years and rarely does a repeat criminal get a lengthy sentence. Anyway thats a whole other topic. Bottom line is this:
Do what you need to do to go home at the end of the day. If you can talk your way out great, or get down and dirty.