A Night To Remember (Although I'd Rather Forget)

I swear, I'm geting too damn old for this shit. Had some major drama last night at the store - and I was almost ready to just say "fuck it" and give it up. I had a customer... no, let's call it like it is - a fuckin' piece of trash theif, come up behind my counter last night. I had a line of customers, back to the coffee pots - and i'm just chugging along - ringing them up and making small talk - moving them out quickly and efficently. Out of the corner of my eye, I sense movement. I don't have much perephial vision on my right side due to childhood accident, but I still saw a flash of movement. A guy has come up behind the counter and is trying to grab some cigs off the rack behind me. And no one in the crowd is saying a damn thing. I went over and asked him what the fuck he was doing - and he had no business behind my counter. He didn't get any cigs cause i shoved him about three feet back away from the cigs. And then I saw beer in his pockets - a 24oz Bud - and about lost it. I reached into his pocket and grabbed my beer - and shoved him again down onto the sales floor away from behind the counter. The customers in line, watching all this - are hollering and bitching about hurry up - they need to go. (Real sensative sorts - the sorry bastards).... I tell the little theiving bastard to get the fuck out of my store now - and he runs for the door. I pick up the phone to call the law - and the assholes in line are loudly bitching about I need to hurry up and they need to go - all sorts of bullshit. And the phone call won't go through. The phone up by the cash register is a total piece of shit - and the call won't go through. So I hit the police panic button - and go back to ringing up my pain in the ass customers - satisfied that the dumbass didn't get any cigs or beer - I went back to ringing up the people. This little SOB, as soon as I'm distracted with the customers again - comes in and heads to the back of the store - grabs a 12 pack of Bud Bottles - and tries to run out the door with it. I see him and start to go over the counter, but he drops the beer as he hits the door - and keeps going. Beer and busted glass are everywhere. And still no sign of the law although it's been two - three minutes already. BJ is there - he was out in the parking lot - and he doesn't say a word - but just goes to get a broom and dustpan and starts cleaning up the mess. And then, the law finally arrives. I talk to Carlysle while still ringing up customers - they just keep coming and the line isn't getting any shorter. I give a description of the guy and tell what happened - and a couple of the people in the parking lot also describe the guy and mention that he got into a silver car parked on the side that was sitting and waiting. They think they know who the guy is. The crowd didn't let up for over an hour - and I was on the register, non-stop until well after 2;30 in the morning. This incident happened around 12:30am - 12:45... And it gets better. I'm stressed out and totally pissed off. I can't believe the little SOB came up behind my damn counter. I can handle shoplifters and people trying to run out the door with beer - that's all part of the job. But he came behind my counter and tried to get cigs off the wall display behind me - while I'm right there busy with a line of customers. That takes fuckin' balls. Ten years ago - I would have snapped and just went ballistic on his ass - but I know now that if I did that last night, every single person standing in line would have just walked out - with their merchandise in hands while I was busy - and probably grabbed more on the way out the door. And we would have lost several hundred dollars in inventory. Plus most of the trash around here carries blades or worse - and I'm not getting myself hurt for that damn store. I got a little physical - and shoved him a couple of times, plus reached into his pockets and grabbed out my beer. That was enough. And I think I used every cuss word in the book and was pretty much a major combination of psycho and intimidating.

Anyhow, things calmed down a bit. Then Chris (another LPD) cop comes back. Peggy (my manager) is trying to call me. My freakin' phone isn't ringing. The door to the office is closed - and once we open it, we can hear a faint ringing. The ringer on the phone at the front - is dead. And it gets so noisy in the store with all the talking and hollering, you can't hear the phone in the back ringing. Why do customers (usually black males) feel compelled to walk into a place of business and holler at the top of their lungs and loudly recite rap lyrics while hollering at top noise level with their friends? Don't they realize just how fuckin' irritating that is? Oh yeah - they probably do. It's all part of their "thug" routine and street-trash gimmick.

Back to waht I was talking about. Peggy is trying to call. The store from Hamlet is trying to call. But I can't hear the phone ringing because our phone - which only dials out about 1/2 the time - doesn't have a ringer that works - and the customers in the store won't shut their mouths long enough for anyone to hear themselves speak, much less hear a phone ring in the back office.

BJ went ahead, and without my asking, did my parking lot, the bathrooms, emptied the trash cans, and mopped my floor. I couldn't get away from the register long enough to do jack shitt... At 3:00 am - I locked my store doors for my mandatory hour that I use to stock the coolers and do whatever floor work that needs to be done - and just sat in the back room and smoked about three cigs in a row. It all started to hit home and my nerves went whacko. I don't usually smoke, but it was either that or drink a beer - and I don't think that would be allowed. I did my coolers and went back over the bathrooms and got myself back to normal.

But I just realized how lax I'd become. The bastard came up behind my counter, with a store full of customers, to steal. That just won't cut it. I talked to Peggy (my manager) this afternoon - and she told me that detectives came by and got the tape from the store from last night - we have cameras that record everything - and said they were going to make an arrest on someone. If they needed me, they'd call me, but the cameras are pretty self explainatory - and you can see (and hear) just about everything. I've got a few ideas for a set of swinging doors - or some kind of barrier to block off the opening to the register area - and I'll mention those to Peggy in the AM. When I think how close things could have come to major problems - I'm getting a bad case of the willies. I'm really too old for this shit, but as I said earlier, it's part of the job and one of the risks involved.

Enough on that. Did the regular Sunday family thing with Tatz, Tian, & the kids today. I made baked beans and deviled eggs. What fun! We cut up and had fun - and it was a good afternoon. I think I want a new tattoo.

Damn, look at the clock. Almost time for work. And I haven't talked about Patrick, H. & G., D., or Greg yet! Maybe tomorrow morning. I'm outta here. See ya!

-Doug