Losing the Moment

So a couple of Saturday's ago.
We had this semi weird incident at work.

Where a gentleman had come into the store...probably within the first hour or so of us opening, and had been talking to our cashier about adoptions, when he suddenly was like "Where's my Light? I had a light!" 

...I'm guessing Lightbulb? 
Which customers do come into the store for reptile lights and aquarium lights so it would make sense he would come into the store with one.

Only.
He hadn't come into the store with a light.
The cashier told him so.

They had a bit more conversation before the customer wandered off deeper into the store.

Which is when the cashier asked a manager over the radio if they would go check in on the guy and see if he needed help because he 'seems a little lost.'

So the manager dutifully walks over and finds the customer in the back of the store and asks what he can help the customer find.

To which the customer stated that they were looking for the 'plumbing department'

….We don't have a plumbing department.
Like I doubt the fish filters would be considered "plumbing"

The manager instead directed the customer to the Lowes a couple of stores down from us. 

But it was still odd. 
Like how can you walk into a pet store and think you're in a hardware store?

We watched him leave and head off towards Lowes.

And didn't think much more on it.

Until around lunch time?
I looked outside and noticed a cop car parked in our parking lot.
And it was odd because the stalls are parallel to our store. And the cop was parked perpendicular to the store. Facing us. So like he was taking up three parking spots.

Weird. But cops do weird things.
But again I glanced out.
And there's now another unmarked car sitting next to the first cop car.
An unmarked police car?

And a little bit later. Like another ten or fifteen minutes I look out...
And there's like a group of officers with two more police cars gathered in front of our store talking to somebody in a white car that was parked right next to the entrance doors.

We had no idea what was going on.
One cop came in and asked if we had cameras to the parking lot...which we don't.

So we were thinking that maybe someone had had their car broken into? Or been hit in the parking lot?

But it was quite the police presence for one car. Especially with no lights flashing and the officers kinda just standing around talking to the driver.

Which eventually the driver got out of the car....

And it was the dude from earlier.
The one looking for the plumbing department. 

O.o
Had his car got broken into? 
Like in the end the cops took a couple pictures and like wrote things down and then left. 
Leaving the customer with his car. And the guy left like ten minutes later....

But we heard from some people checking out in line.
That apparently the guy had been making a nuisance of himself over at the Lowes. 
And that the store had called the cops on him because of it. 

Which left me wondering...what had happened over there?

I figured I'd never know.

But. 

Today while checking out a customer in line.
And she mentioned she worked at Lowes.

So I was like "OH hey! What happened with that weird person?" 

She was like "We get a lot of weird people...."
So I clarified. "The one where you had to call the cops on because he was acting weird a couple weekends ago?"

And she was like OH. I KNOW THAT GUY. I MISSED MY LUNCH THAT DAY BECAUSE I HAD TO GO THROUGH THE SECRUITY CAMERAS WITH THE COPS.

Because apparently.
The customer had gone over to Lowes FIRST before coming to our store.

He'd parked in their parking lot. Wandered around and shopped and bought stuff. Left the store. Got into his car and drove over to our store.

Where he then had the incident with us.
And he apparently went back to Lowes on foot.
Did even more shopping.

And when he walked out of the store.

He couldn't find his car.

He wandered the parking lot like crazy (so the cameras prove) trying to find it before basically saying "It's been stolen!" 
(I guess he didn't remember he'd parked in front of our store?)

And so the cops were called in for the missing vehicle....

Which may be why the cops were staking out our store because they'd found the car and were waiting to see who would come claim it? -Just my theory there.

And all the while the Lowe's employee was going over the security camera footage with the cops -because Lowes watches their parking lots unlike us- and showed them proof that he'd gotten in his car and drove away---

So like.
I'm not sure what happened with the customer.
But something wasn't right....
Like I wondered if he suffered a moment of short term memory loss or something?
Or I suppose drugs or something could be a factor too
But something happened to make him forget like the 15 minutes or so that was his journey to our store and back to Lowes.... 

Hopefully he's okay....

But I am glad to know the other half of the story too. As that makes a lot more sense really...


Until you next see these words;
I'll be watching the leaves.
Enjoy the day!

-Sarnic Dirchi