I delivered for D's for a couple of years, '88-90. One day, after working there for about 9 months, the manager asked everyone, "you don't carry a gun in your car, do you?" Here in the PRK, that would have been illegal unless it was cased and in the trunk (and not even that is always legal now). Being 18 at the time, I had no guns, just a Bucklite pocketknife (no thumbstud/one-hand knives back then).
Two months later, I took a delivery to a house that's probably 300 yards from my current house (which was still an open field, through which they escaped), and was robbed at knifepoint for the pizzas. They didn't even ask for money. They got $25 worth of pizza (retail) and a $45 delivery bag. I got to chat with the police, who basically said that there was nothing they could do.
Needless to say, I was pissed, and I made sure to mention that having a gun might not have been a bad idea after all, given that the 5" blade of that knife was plenty deadly. Being the obedient corporate drone, he basically ignored the question.
I made a few changes, though. I made sure to carry as little money as possible, building a "drop box" hidden in my car. I decided that my car needed fog lights, and that I also needed a 6 D-cell MagLight, for, uh, various reasons. I stopped leaving the Bucklite in the car, and replaced it with a Spyderco Endura after handling one the first time.
But all the while, I thought about how much better it would be to have a gun. That was unthinkable though, given my parents' attitude at the time. It rekindled my interest, though, and that's a big reason why I'm here today.
-Troy