Wet work 3

Once again I was shopping in Lowes over the weekend with some friends( I won't got to the HD if I can avoid it). We had just completed our shopping and finished paying for the items. My friend took her son to the bathroom and her husband and I waited by the registers. As we waited I unintentionally slipped into LP (loss prevention) mode. (I've been known to do that from time to time, I've always been heavy into security) Something had caught my eye. I had noticed a customer displaying all of the classic shoplifter moves. I watched him as he turned and headed down a aisle and ripped into the package he was carrying. Old feelings and training pumped me up. When I was a LP for Home Depot I would have had a shoplifting apprehension out of that, I kind of miss the job, there was something cool about it. I guess I enjoy the chase, the predator in me really comes out. I learned when I was a bouncer that I had a sadistic streak in me. So I guess I learned from being a LP I have a hunter steak too.

The job was interesting BUT there are a ton of dangers, some obvious, some not. If you decided, or have a opportunity to become a store detective/asset protection/loss prevention associate. Keep in mind it is not a job for the faint at heart. I was probably the most dangerous job I've ever had. And that's saying alot ; I've been armed security (several times), a Bouncer in NYC (several times), and a US Army Infantry Officer. But all those jobs you have immediate back up or guns or tools of the trade (wink, wink). You don't get to carry weapons as a LP, alot of the time you don't have any back up. It's just you walking up on a person stealing alone. There were times I had to walk up and stop a person for shoplifting while he was with a larger group. You have to be able to read people and decide if they are a threat or not. Even still sometimes you still get it wrong and things go south.

The store I had been working in had been getting hit by a gang of Africans using stolen credit cards to purchase high dollar gift cards.(days before I detected and cancelled $9,000 worth of fraudulent gift card purchases). Jan 03 i was working alone, C my partner was off that day and my supervisor A was out to lunch (not that she could have helped). It was brought to my attention that a customer was purchasing about $800. worth of gift cards using a credit card, with Virginia Drivers license at one of our registers. We had previously alerted the store staff that they need to contact us if someone fitting this profile attempted to buy high dollar gift cards. I went over to check out the purchase with the head cashier. At the register was a African gentleman, 40ish, bald well dressed. I spoke to him and took the ID and credit card from the cashier. After checking the ID I realised that it was fake, and this was going to be a case of credit card fraud. I spoke briefly with the guy and he kept saying" my wife is waiting for me in the car". I told him there was a problem with the card and he should come with me to the office to verify the purchase. The man nodded to me and walked with me further back into the store. We managed to walk pass the Pro Desk when the guy turned and started to punch me. I don't remember how many punches he threw, they either didn't land or hurt. I do remember reaching out and grabbing his coat at the shoulders and twisted him into a judo throw. Later I would learn my throw got him airborne. The fucker landed perfectly in a boxed tub sitting on a heavy push cart. See this I jumped on top of the guy and put my knee right square in his chest pinning him. The fucker continued to fight even as I held him down. I mean I was kneeling down on him, with his head pinned against the push cart handles. That fucker was strong. Here I am wrestling with this prick in the middle of a crowded store, thinking somebody is going to run up and kill me. My store manager Joe came running over and yelled "What's going On!" I managed to say "This bastard's robbing us!" Joe then grabbed the fucker's arm and the three of us continued to wrestle for what felt like hours. Joe's yelling at the Pro Desk to call the cops, and I'm trying to covertly choke the bastard out. Meanwhile he's trying to bite, punch, and kick. Then out of nowhere a customer comes up and places a piece of rug behind the fucker's head. Both Joe and I looked at the customer in pure disbelief, he was concerned that the guy was comfortable. DUH! We continued to struggle until the first Union Police Officers showed up. They came in like the Calvary and I was very happy to see them. As Joe and I stood up and released the guy the cops closed in on him. The guy had balls he jumped up and tried to get away from them. Then the second pair of cops came running in, followed by another pair. The fucker was now fighting with the first set of cops when the rest came crashing in. All of a sudden it was six on one and they took him to the ground. In seconds as much as he tried, it was over.

That arrest became a turning point for me. None of the security jobs, I've had pays enough to put myself at risk. I was done, the pay and the bullshit is not worth the violence and constantly looking over my back that went with the job. The kicker is that no matter how good C and I were at the job, Depot refused to promote us.

In the end I learned alot and proudly and professionally did my job, I wish it ended better but it was not meant to be.

Vacation Dreams

I have just returned from a vacation that included memorial weekend. Boy it started out pretty good. I had alot of truck related repairs and improvements planned out and was all set to tackle them. The first was stripping and repainting mt daily driver step bars. Unfortunately the bolts on both sides were rusted tight. I knew I had to get a professional involved. So I drove down to Mike's (my mechanic/ friend) who has a shop down on rt9 in Linden. His guy struggled and struggled, finally he snapped one bolt off on both sides of each step bar. Great I had planned to have the entire job done by that afternoon. Anyway once off I had found that both step bars were rusting from the insides. Both had 2 to 3 pounds of rust flakes side out of them when I picked them up. Ruined... four years of Northeast winters had done them in.

Okay with day one main goal sandbagged, I went back to the house and rust proofed my bed box and the replacement wheel well I bought for the Blazer. That kept me occupied for the rest of the day.

The second day I drove up to work (where I keep my project Blazer) and spent the next four hours removing the ratted out carpet and padding on the Blazer. I had alot of fun working on the truck, things are so simple and basic, on the C5 opposed to my 2003 Silverado. I like simple. Unfortunately for me I found new (new to me) rust holes in the Blazer cab bed.

This was of course unplanned and has thrown my restoration project behind schedule. I now have to figure out how to replace and repair not only the tailgate area, but now the center portion of the bed. Ah challenges.

The next day I was at the Blazer again, this time to replace the rusted out wheel well. Removing the old one was pretty easy, just messy. It was also the hottest day of the month 95+. the replacement took three hours and it was very straight forward. In the end I was amazed at how much of the old well was gone.

The replacement however is not a perfect match for the old one so the battery tray and cooler tank won't go back in their original places. I'll have to come up with another fix.

This was how I spent my first three days of my vacation, I hadn't known then that that would be the high point of my vacation, after that their was unexpected family commitments and alot driving. I did get to have dinner with friend from my Bouncer days. So people won't understand working on a 22 year old truck as fun, especially over a vacation week. But for me I've always enjoyed working with my hands, and tinkering with machines. I guess I got it from my dad. My only regret about my last vacation is that I didn't get to spend anymore time with my project.