Froggypumpkin called the phone number that's visible on the car sign, and we left a message: George Derby was kind enough to return our call and chat with us. His voice was almost jovial but understated, yet he carefully emphasized certain words.

FP: What do you do and how did you get into it, and what is the effect of the advertising that's on the cars?
G.D.: Oh, well, I'm an old retired coot. I just sort of fell into this by accident. I sell at swap meets and flea markets and if I'm sitting down having a Starbucks somewhere I usually have a few in the car – people always come up to me.

FP: And you sell…?
G.D.: Stun guns, pepper spray, kubatons – all sorts of non-lethal weapons.

FP: What's a kubaton?
G.D.: A kubaton is a little stick, a little stick that connects to your key chain. There's 36 traditional moves with a kubaton.

FP: Martial arts?
G.D.: Yeh. It's a real simple thing to work with, but it can incapacitate someone who is attacking you.

FP: What were you doing before you retired?
G.D.: Oh I did a lot of different things. A lot of things.

FP: Were you in California then?
G.D.: Yeh, most of the time.

FP: Is that your own car with the signs on it?
G.D.: Which one was it? I've got an old volkswagon that I've got some signage on, and I've got an old '61 Chevy truck that I've got some signage on.

FP: People actually approach you, or call you when they see the ads?
G.D.: Also when I pull into a flea market or whatever, I don't have to do anything except drop my tailgate, cause I've got the signage already up.

FP: Who are your customers?
G.D.: Pretty much anybody across the board. Everybody from school teachers to, you know, professional people.

FP: Women, men, both equally more or less?
G.D.: They're pretty much the same as far as – everybody likes to feel a little safe. I try to tell people not to have a false sense of security. Having a pepper spray in your hand can't stop somebody from sneaking up behind you and clubbing you. But a little bit of security does help.

FP: Are there different types of personality in terms of who would prefer pepper spray to stun guns?
G.D.: I talk most people out of stun guns only because they're more protected with the pepper spray – you can take somebody out at a distance, and you can incapacitate them more than you can with a stun gun.

FP: What's the distance you can incapacitate with pepper spray?
G.D.: Oh, 10 feet or so.

FP: What are the costs on the pepper spray?
G.D.: A simple one is ten bucks. The stun guns start at 25.

FP: How many uses do you get with pepper spray – can you use it more than once?
G.D.: There's roughly 10 seconds per ounce. If you've got a half-ounce key chain container, that means you've got about 5 seconds of spray. That's quite a bit of spray.

FP: And the stun gun? Do you charge it up?
G.D.: You put 9 (?) volt batteries in them.

FP: Do people ever call you up to tell you stories as to what happened with a purchase?
G.D.: I've had a few, yeh. I've had several, as a matter of