Motel Security

Over 30 years ago in Florida, I worked for a contract security firm, and I had the distinct displeasure of filling in for the regular guard at a local motel. It seems the night clerk had been held up at gunpoint more than once, so management's solution was to have an unarmed guard on the premises from sundown to sunup.

(I became really familiar with this mindset through many years of security work. If you hire an armed guard & he shoots someone, you could lose money in a lawsuit. On the other hand, if someone shoots your unarmed guard, all you lose is the cost of a help-wanted ad in tomorrow's paper.)

I was reminded of this a couple of months ago, when my family and I stayed in a sleazy motel in New York State. The motel was recommended by the church we were visiting, so we made our reservations, sight-unseen. Then we arrived, and knew we were in a quality establishment by the "No Refunds" sign prominently posted in the lobby.

But if you travel, you face certain risks, even in more upscale hostelry. Last month, my barber sent me the link to this discussion thread on Ruger Forum in which various contributors recount their close calls in motels.

It will serve as an exercise in mindset and tactical thinking to review and evaluate these experiences.

My barber is one of the contributors. Can you guess which one?

Here's the link:

Shooting Outside My Hotel Room