I just had a situation that really drove home the point of why you should always carry if you are going to carry.

I ran out at Walmart tonight picking up some things and didn't bring my ccw since I was in a rush to get to the store before it closed. I got to the store, split off from my wife, and went to the back corner of the store to go look at automotive stuff and sporting goods. While I was looking for some windshield wiper blades, I heard a group of guys talking loudly/shouting to each other an aisle or two away. This was a bit annoying but I kept looking for some wipers. I then heard them start knocking shit over and start to walk by my aisle. I noticed they were all wearing some MC jackets. So at this point, I was a bit spooked as I was basically cornered in the store by 5 guys who were acting in a fairly intimidating manner a few minutes before stores closed. Instinctively I reached down to check for my CCW and it wasn't there. Thankfully they kept walking and it was a non-issue and they ultimately ended up at the service desk arguing with the manager when I very quickly checked out.

I was a bit spooked, and was amazed how quickly things went from normal to scary and there wasn't much I could have done since I didn't have a good escape route and I was outnumbered. This really drove home to me that I should really carry every time, and also carrying an extra magazine may not be the worst idea, especially with a single stack.

(After rereading, my story almost sounds a bit pathetic, but at the time is was quite scary)