As teenagers living in Pahrump, we are all very much aware of how small and arguably boring of a place this is. But interesting things happen every day in our little town, even though most of us are not there to experience them firsthand.

        For example, a few PVHS students are currently employed at Smith’s, which is one of Pahrump’s three main shopping centers, and some of the stories they have to tell many may find rather interesting or even shocking.

        Emilie Casados, Junior, has worked as a courtesy clerk at Smith’s for a little over a month now.

        She said that the most difficult customer she has had to deal with was a man who was yelling at her because the store did not have the correct package of water that he wanted.

        Casados also said that she witnessed a customer attempting to steal an entire cart of groceries from the store. Luckily, a cop happened to be on the lot and decided to investigate the crime even though they somehow had already managed to get the cart back.

        Leta Herndon, Senior, is also a courtesy clerk for Smith’s and has been employed at the store for 2 years.

        She stated that Smith’s has to deal with difficult customers “almost every day,” and it is very rare that there isn’t a problem.   

        Along with Casados, Herndon has also dealt with a few difficult customers.

        For instance, she stated that she was bagging groceries for one lady whose order required 2 baskets instead of just one. She was called “stupid” for going and retrieving the second basket for the customer, who then proceeded to yell at her for placing the heavy objects on the bottom, which is what any person would have normally done.

        There have been other violent events at Smith’s as well, such as one employee being threatened with a hand around his throat, one getting hit by a car trying to ride an elderly scooter back into the store, and an alcoholic “fugitive” who keeps returning to the store despite his ban.

        There is also a man who enjoys sitting outside the store with his guitar playing music for money. He sits there with his guitar case open and requests money from customers exiting the store, even though he has been asked multiple times not to panhandle.

        Because the man continued to show up despite the store’s request, the cops had to be called. The crew for Live PD, which is a television program very similar to the show Cops, even showed up and followed the police around while they searched for the man inside the store. Eventually they found the man and he was arrested, and it was all caught on camera.

        People love drama, but they don’t pay enough attention to their surroundings to actually catch anything that is happening. These sort of dramatic things happen every day at Smith’s, yet very few people know that they have happened unless they were right there and involved in the situation.

        Being involved in a dramatic situation is never fun, but seeing or hearing about someone else’s drama is always entertaining. Instead of getting involved in drama, if you keep your eyes open during your next outing, you may get lucky and be able to safely observe someone else’s dramatic situation from afar.