First bad encounter! Long.

[EBCIII]

So I went out an old public school today after hours. Was hunting the grassy areas next to the sidewalk. A lady walked up and started talking to me. I took my headphones off to hear her.

She was asking me who I was and what I was doing. I told her and she replies " You can't do that here, you need to leave". So I explained again that I was covering all my holes, showed her the trash I had found, and then said " It is a public school, and I pay my taxes". ( I probably should not have said the last part but she was going off on me).

I then told her it was no biggie I will just leave. She proceeds to start to write down my plate # of my car. So I said do you want me to go talk to the principal? She says yes. We go get the principal, and she stands there and says, in friont of the other lady. " You can hunt anytime after school hours you want".

Wow what an experience. All this over .16 in change, Beale.

[gordiesgirl]

Some people just want to find fault with anyone. Glad it all worked out. Good luck.

[julieburger]

Gotta smile when someone like that gets shown up. It would have been hard not to stick my tongue out and say naneenaneebooboo.

[FinalLastDays]

Being the gentleman that I am, I would make every attempt to hunt as close to the womans house while remaining on the school property as possible! Hehee! And when I know for sure the woman would be looking at me through her window, I would dig a target and raise my hands high in the air - get up and do an indian dance - maybe a kartwheel or two and just let her wonder what all you found. She would wonder until her dying day what you found when maybe she will learn that you only found a pulltab!

[MinelabMan]

Sorry to hear that Beale, and I bet she was sorry that she called your bluff, but glad that she did, nothing to stop you now!

It takes all kinds, glad to know that the principal was sane!

[Orthosophy]

Originally Posted by EBCIII

So I went out an old public school today after hours. Was hunting the grassy areas next to the sidewalk. A lady walked up and started talking to me. I took my headphones off to hear her.

She was asking me who I was and what I was doing. I told her and she replies " You can't do that here, you need to leave". So I explained again that I was covering all my holes, showed her the trash I had found, and then said " It is a public school, and I pay my taxes". ( I probably should not have said the last part but she was going off on me).

I then told her it was no biggie I will just leave. She proceeds to start to write down my plate # of my car. So I said do you want me to go talk to the principal? She says yes. We go get the principal, and she stands there and says, in friont of the other lady. " You can hunt anytime after school hours you want".

Wow what an experience. All this over .16 in change, Beale.

I hate to sound like a prick, but those kind of people keep bad things from happening at the school. She was probably ruder than she needed to be, but put yourself in her shoes. A strange person show up with a tool you may not understand. They have something that looks like it's for digging, but could be some kind of weapon, and you may even have a kid there. What would you do? I've escorted what I knew was a totally innocent guy out to his car because he was stand on the sidewalk by the buses and forgot to stow his carpet cutter. He was creeping the kids out. We can't take any kind of chances around the kids. What would happen if some guy we saw with a detector pulled what that guy did in Colorado? They'd crucify us if they found out we knew about him ahead of time, not to mention our own consciences. It may not sop people from doing it, but at least you can check them out, if you're a halfway decent administrator. It's a five minute phone call to the principal or superintendent, to do something you love.
I don't mean to sound like a jerk.

[FinalLastDays]

Originally Posted by Orthosophy

I hate to sound like a prick, but those kind of people keep bad things from happening at the school. She was probably ruder than she needed to be, but put yourself in her shoes. A strange person show up with a tool you may not understand. They have something that looks like it's for digging, but could be some kind of weapon, and you may even have a kid there. What would you do? I've escorted what I knew was a totally innocent guy out to his car because he was stand on the sidewalk by the buses and forgot to stow his carpet cutter. He was creeping the kids out. We can't take any kind of chances around the kids. What would happen if some guy we saw with a detector pulled what that guy did in Colorado? They'd crucify us if they found out we knew about him ahead of time, not to mention our own consciences. It may not sop people from doing it, but at least you can check them out, if you're a halfway decent administrator. It's a five minute phone call to the principal or superintendent, to do something you love.
I don't mean to sound like a jerk.

I must admit, you do raise an excellent point.

[Buster]

Way to keep cool and asking to see the principle was great. The principle most likely had a metal detector hidden in the back office for personal use after school hours. Calm always prevails. Good job.. Buster...

[MinelabMan]

Originally Posted by Orthosophy

...but those kind of people keep bad things from happening at the school. If Beale's intentions were like the kids in CO, she'd be the first one killed. She was probably ruder than she needed to be, but put yourself in her shoes. If I were in her shoes and saw someone with a detector, I would as most people would, know what it is. If I didn't and thought it was something dangerous, I (especially if I were a woman), wouldn't approach but call the police. A strange person show up with a tool you may not understand. They have something that looks like it's for digging, but could be some kind of weapon, and you may even have a kid there. What would you do? If I were in her shoes and saw someone with a detector, I would as most people, would know what it was. If I didn't and thought it was something dangerous, I (especially if I were a woman), wouldn't approach but call the police). I've escorted what I knew was a totally innocent guy out to his car because he was stand on the sidewalk by the buses and forgot to stow his carpet cutter. He was creeping the kids out. We can't take any kind of chances around the kids. What would happen if some guy we saw with a detector pulled what that guy did in Colorado? They'd crucify us if they found out we knew about him ahead of time, not to mention our own consciences. It may not sop people from doing it, but at least you can check them out, if you're a halfway decent administrator. It's a five minute phone call to the principal or superintendent, to do something you love.
I don't mean to sound like a jerk.

It just sounds to me like the lady was just a busybody and wasn't really concerned about Beale being dangerous.

If she worked at the school and was concerned for safety, she should have called the police. If she understood what he was doing, she should have consulted with a superior.

The same applies if she was a neighbor. Either one of these scenarios, she acted inappropriately.

[davidrrt1]

I think she overreacted. Congrats to you and the principal.