Here is a true story.

A few summers ago I worked the weekend night shift as a cashier at No Frills Supermarket in Blair. 10 PM – 7 AM Friday & Saturday. There is a whole different race of human beings out there in the world and if you’ve never worked nights in a public place, you may not have met them.
Around 3:30 one Sunday morning, when the staff was down to just me and my manager, a group of four young men swaggered in. They were pierced and wearing silver or gold rings in absolutely every place you could think of piercing without causing brain damage: necks, noses, tongues, cheeks (I mean the ones on their faces – I didn’t ask about the others), ears, eyebrows. They were tattooed all up and down their arms with skull & crossbones, barbed wire “bracelets”, serpents, dragons, swords and so on. Only two of them had hair: one wore an orange Mohawk and the other had shaved his entire head except for a l-o-o-o-ng braid down his back.
Anyway, they bought some food at the deli and sat down on the bagging counter and ate talking in low voices. I strained to hear what they were saying, but couldn’t understand a word, though I imagined I heard “I’ll go first,” and “make a run for it,” and “we’ll be in KC by 6.” I kept glancing at them and they kept glancing at me and my manager. Then I’d glance at my watch and try to watch them out of the corner of my eye.
Before long, my manager went to the back of the store for something and I was left alone with this motley looking crew. I tried to keep myself busy straightening out the gum and candy in my check-out aisle and when I looked up, the bald one with the braid was coming toward me, holding something in his hand, keeping it down at his right hip. He was looking right at me, his face expressionless. My mouth went dry and I nearly yelled out my manager’s name in a cry for help, when he brought his hand up, showed me a bag of trash from their meal and said, “Do you have someplace I could throw this away?”
I nearly collapsed with relief.

Have good weekend everyone!