Shopping for Excitement

Wherein I witness a scene worthy of being written into some story!

Yesterday I took my kids to a city, to a big mall, to do a bit of back-to-school shopping. This is a big deal because we live in the boonies. It was fun to be part of a huge crowd, the selection, the hustle bustle. But we got a bit more excitement than we'd bargained for.

After waiting for daughter 1 to try on some clothes, the four of us were waiting in the lineup to pay. And waiting. This was about the fifth line of the day and we were all getting a little weary. Suddenly out of the corner of my eye I see something go whizzing by. I feel a breeze as someone has just narrowly sprinted around me. Instinctively I check and all my kids are accounted for. And then over the tops of the clothing racks I can see the heads of two guys running full tilt through Big Department Store floor. They were taking different paths but going in the same direction.

The kids and I sort of looked at each other. We made up scenarios for why those guys were acting like that. (Late for an appointment? Pranksters? They just did something bad and were booting it outta there?) We haven't moved one inch in line.

Not three minutes later we hear loud swearing and cursing. About 15 feet away two men and a woman are steering an unshaven older man through the store aisle. They have the man's hands pinned behind his back. This odd parade has stopped because a kid and a stroller are blocking the aisle.

Cursing man shouts, "Effing security guards! You'll hear from my lawyers!" and "Eff! My lawyers are going to deal with this!!"

Man that man could yell. Nothing wrong with his lungs. Anyway, the mother of the kid and the stroller twigs in to what's going on and gathers her kids out of the way. The alleged shoplifter is lead away down the shopping aisle right beside us, hollering all the way.

My kids and I are kind of stunned for a second. Then wow! We just witnessed a takedown. They remark that little kids shouldn't hear bad words like that. Conversation ensues about what might happen to the man now. Does he go to mall jail? Will the police come? and the like. Sure made the rest of the time in line pass quickly.

Of course, if you were going to write about it you'd need to add a lot more to elevate it above mere incident status. But so many jumping off points for creating a story...so many ways to add it into a story to develop a plot....

I think so, anyway.