I have to share this with everyone, even though it is completely unrelated to kilts.

Yesterday I finished the first of two advanced lab training courses here in Sugarland, and I'm here over the weekend because I have another beginning Monday in Houston. Well, one of my classmate's has a rental car and he's not flying out until this morning. There was a girl from Nigeria in our class who wanted to go to a mall (first time in the USA) So, he was more than glad to take her and asked if I'd like to go. "Sure, why not."

So, we wonder the mall separately for about an hour. During that time I draw money from an ATM machine and purchase some chocolate from Godiva. We meet back up and head out. When we're in the parking lot the Nigerian girl expresses she would like to go to an electronics store for a USB hub and cable. "You got it, we'll go to Best Buy or Circuit City or something." We pull up next to a security guard and ask for directions to one of them. He gives us directions and off we go.

We had just pulled out of the main parking lot when rental cops surrounded us from all sides. It was like a "flashlight swat team" or something. INSANE. We're all obviously stunned and sit in shock. The first rental cop comes up to the window and tells us we have to wait where we are as there is a Police Officer who needs to speak with us. This guy was so amped he was actually kind of making me nervous. You know the type... he's short of breath.. huffing and puffing... looks like he's going to cry. Well, we sit but ask why we're being held. He says the officer will explain. He then tells us to turn the engine off. My classmate simply says "no, we're not in a police state. I will do NO such thing." The mall cop keeps telling him to turn it off but he becomes more aggravated each time and refuses.

After a few minutes a cop shows up and asks for our IDs (the two of us and not the Nigerian girl.) We again demand to know what's going on and he says he will explain back at the mall that we HAVE TO come with him. He then takes our IDs and get in a mall van and instructs us to follow him. At this point I'm beginning to wonder if one of my classmates pulled a Wynona and looted a bunch merchandise in the mall. I don't know them after all, and we were all separated for about an hour.

We get to the mall and are directed to a back room. It was a surveillance room with cameras and a mixture of mall cops and real cops. The main cop is on a cell phone and asks us both a bunch of questions about where we work and where we're from. He keeps asking me if I have a white ATM access card. I tell him I don't know what he's talking about, but that I did use the ATM and I have a gold bank card. After many questions and lots of chatter on his cell phone he hangs up, hands me my ID, and says "Oh, just a mistaken identity." Now I am furious. "You THINK????" I retort. "I need an explanation NOW." He goes on to tell me that there is a man in Houston who owns several hundred ATM machines and has some disgruntled employee they suspect of stealing money from the machines. He further tells me this employee's company vehicle is at the mall (the owner has a GPS unit on the vehicle.) I ask "so, are you seriously going to tell me this employee looks like me? Stretched ear lobes, arms and neck tattooed??" "Are you SERIOUSLY tell me that? Cause I think it sounds like BS." "Yep, believe it or not he does... bald headed and everything," he states.

I was obviously free to go at this point. But, man, I was disgusted the whole night. What a bunch of nonsense.