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So I stopped by the DFW National Cemetery to visit my dads grave yesterday and minutes after getting there I hear a truck pulling up behind me. This isn't altogether unusual since he's buried near the street and near the beginning of that section so I'm used to it. But what was different was hearing someone coming up behind me so I turned around and it was an older Mexican guy, maybe 10-15 years older than me, dressed in slacks and a button up shirt.
He started talking to me in Spanish (and for those of you who know me I don't habla) and the first thing I noticed is he had a medium size towel covering his left hand. Alarms are going off in my head and I stepped back and looked around to make sure he was by himself which he was. He continued talking to me for another minute before I stopped him and told him I don't speak Spanish, the whole time I'm looking at his left hand.
So he starts to give me a sob story that he lost his job that day and his wife doesn't know yet and I'm still looking at his left hand. I start to rotate a little bit so my left side is facing him so I can use my left arm to block or grab him but still keep my right side and arm free so I can reach my gun. He started asking asking me who I was visiting and I told him it was my dad. He goes on to tell me that his son served in Afghanistan and when he came back he was never right in his head. At first I thought his son was buried there but than he said something else to lead me to believe he was still alive. The guys story wasn't panning out in my head and all this time I'm still looking at his left hand covered by a towel.
So finally he came back to his story about losing his job and I'm ready to get him out of there. I reach into my left pocket and pull out a ten I had in there and handed it to him. He looked at it and that's when he put the towel in his pocket and shook my hand and thanked me. He said a few kind words about my dad and his military service and left.
As I watched him drive off I wasn't sure what just happened. For one I was worried that I got to fixated on him and that someone could have snuck around behind me. Second, I don't know what the deal was with the towel wrapped around his hand. Was he going to try and rob me by saying he had a gun underneath the towel? I don't know if I should have acted more aggressive with my posture or stayed calm the way I did. I almost thought about putting my hand on my gun but still keeping it covered by my shirt and holstered.
I'm a little concerned though about what happened as my mom goes to the cemetery a couple of times a week as we live nearby. I'll definitely keep an eye out for him and his white truck. What do you guys think about it? Am I being a little paranoid or do you think something might have been up besides simply asking for money?
He started talking to me in Spanish (and for those of you who know me I don't habla) and the first thing I noticed is he had a medium size towel covering his left hand. Alarms are going off in my head and I stepped back and looked around to make sure he was by himself which he was. He continued talking to me for another minute before I stopped him and told him I don't speak Spanish, the whole time I'm looking at his left hand.
So he starts to give me a sob story that he lost his job that day and his wife doesn't know yet and I'm still looking at his left hand. I start to rotate a little bit so my left side is facing him so I can use my left arm to block or grab him but still keep my right side and arm free so I can reach my gun. He started asking asking me who I was visiting and I told him it was my dad. He goes on to tell me that his son served in Afghanistan and when he came back he was never right in his head. At first I thought his son was buried there but than he said something else to lead me to believe he was still alive. The guys story wasn't panning out in my head and all this time I'm still looking at his left hand covered by a towel.
So finally he came back to his story about losing his job and I'm ready to get him out of there. I reach into my left pocket and pull out a ten I had in there and handed it to him. He looked at it and that's when he put the towel in his pocket and shook my hand and thanked me. He said a few kind words about my dad and his military service and left.
As I watched him drive off I wasn't sure what just happened. For one I was worried that I got to fixated on him and that someone could have snuck around behind me. Second, I don't know what the deal was with the towel wrapped around his hand. Was he going to try and rob me by saying he had a gun underneath the towel? I don't know if I should have acted more aggressive with my posture or stayed calm the way I did. I almost thought about putting my hand on my gun but still keeping it covered by my shirt and holstered.
I'm a little concerned though about what happened as my mom goes to the cemetery a couple of times a week as we live nearby. I'll definitely keep an eye out for him and his white truck. What do you guys think about it? Am I being a little paranoid or do you think something might have been up besides simply asking for money?
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