Kilted, Nose to Nose with a Befuddled Drunk

[Riverkilt]

So midafternoon yesterday my lady, her adult daughter, and I are shopping in downtown Flagstaff, AZ. We're in a western store where the daughter is buying some boots. A sign says there's a discount for government employees so my lady goes out to her car to get her Indian Health Service ID badge to save some bucks.

She comes in and says she caught a drunk putting a six pack of empties in the back of her pickup truck. Now I may be 61 and fat but I grew up boxing from about 9 through college, did the cop gig, and have done years of take downs on psychiatric wards, and I just ain't afraid of much. So it ain't long until I'm outside looking for this guy.

He's just returning from having put his empties in the store dumpster. Two store employees have followed me out to investigate this drunk in their parking lot. He's about 6'2" and 250 lbs easy.

Of course the drunk takes exception to the sudden attention. The employees hang back and just stare him down. He wants to know what I want. Just tell him politely that it was my lady's truck he was dumping his empties in....and we go from there to staring each other down and having less than polite converstation. He's doing the math...one of him, three of us...his lady is outside their car doing her "come on honey, lets go" speech.

The, sometimes less than polite discussion, lasts maybe five minutes...no one advances...he finally heeds his lady's advice and gets in his car and drives off. I got his license number and called the local PD with the plate and car description so hopefully they can get him off the road.

No clue if they got him or not.

But, this guy, this hostile drunk with an attitude, never once made a comment on my kilt (USA Kilts Thompson gray semi-trad). The tone of the conversation made it a natural insult for him to resort to. But he never did. He did keep looking at it and seemed confused or baffled by it. I never used the line but had it ready if he got physically hostile...something to the effect of do you really want to fight a 61 year old man in a kilt?

Or maybe he figured anyone with the juevos to be kilted could take him...who knows. Sad he was that drunk that early in the day....heck, maybe he could have pummeled me and his confusion over me being kilted and assertive saved my life....

Ron
I coulda took him...I really could have...he was too drunk to have any reaction or coordination, but too hostile to try and keep out of the car.