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Almost twenty years ago I was participating in a professional conference at the Opreyland in Nashville. Clinton and Gore were also there for some fundraiser. The morning of my presentation, I got up about 6:30 a.m. and was walking into that massive hotel through one of the main entrances, trying to find my way to the conf. room (actually, to the free doughnuts).

I didn't encounter any secret service, but I did encounter a Nashville policeman who was both suspicious and excitable. In the end, I had to basically prove that I was a Mississippi State faculty member and was scheduled to be on the conference program that morning. They did not frisk me, nor was I armed. But I would not have wanted to deal with the extra hype and scrutiny of being armed.

So if your scenario happened to me in some restaurant, I would probably stay seated and not draw attention.