Life can change while buying milk, apples and creamer.

How often does this happen in your life...

You get in line to pay for groceries when a masked man in a ski mask with cut-out holes for his eyes and gloves his hands puts a gun to the back of the cashier and says, “Give me the money.”

Well, last night it happened to me. Well, not to me directly but directly in front of me.

I went to the quick check out line - the 10 items or less line. I thought I was lucky because I expected to be in a long line but there was only one guy in front of me. Our cashier was acting odd and with good reason. There was a guy about five foot six standing behind him with a gun to his back. The cashier was fumbling with the register when the robber walked away saying, "I'll be back".

The cashier (as well as everyone else who could see) watched him walk over to another cashier. I didn’t see what happened but this is what went down based on what our cashier and another cashier told us after the event.

The robber went to another cashier and held him up. The young cashier behind the register said he looked at him like it was a joke and waited for a laugh. But the robber said, “I’m serious, man!” So he managed to open the register and hand him a stack of bills. The robber then went to two other registers and did the same.

During this time I stood there waiting. Wondering what was going on. Obviously this was a joke right. I mean the guy in front of me looked all patient and relaxed and he admitted he thought it was a joke. The people at the Panda Inn line weren't really freaking out from what I witnessed. The Starbucks customers and workers weren't freaking out. Everyone seemed to be observing without fear. It really felt like a non-event and it ended in less than a minute.

The robber came back with the manager who opened up the register in my line and the cashier handed him a stack of bills. The robber then ran out the door.

My cashier then said, “FUCK”.

And the guy in front of me asked, “Was that real?”

“Yes. Didn’t you see the gun?”

The cashier was flushed, red, shaky. He was a young guy maybe 21 or 22. He handled himself well. He really made us feel calm because he was calm. He even said to me, "It'll be a moment sir" as he watched the robber hold up the other registers.

I kept asking him if he was okay. He said he was.

One of the girls who worked there came in from collecting the shopping carts and told us she saw the robber run out of the store fast. He didn’t have a car.

Suddenly, there was a buzz all around the store. People were gathered in little groups talking about what they saw. Prior to that, the store was completely silent. Everyone was at a pause. It was weird.

The cops showed up and had to talk to the cashiers that the robber held up.

I had to take my groceries to another check out stand.

Now there was the problem of purchasing groceries. Nobody had cash in the registers so if you wanted to buy stuff you had to use a credit card.

I got in my car thirty minutes after a supposed quick run to the grocery store. I called Donna and she said she was wondering what took so long and I told her the story as I drove home.

I was nervous when I got home. I wasn’t nervous in the store. My heart beat didn’t even raise at all. But when I got home I was paranoid. I was looking around as I got out of my car and took my groceries out. And Donna had the door open for me as I got to the door.

So there you have it. Rack it up as once in my life and hopefully no more than that.