On Sun, 08 Jun 2008 11:16:55 -0500, Kathleen
> wrote:

>Terry Pulliam Burd wrote:
>> On Sat, 7 Jun 2008 20:21:07 -0700 (PDT), aem >
>
>Seriously creepy. Trust your instincts, don't worry about embarrassing
>yourself, and don't worry about embarrassing some random-assed stranger.
> If something doesn't feel right it probably isn't. And a typical
>predator's tactic is to try to make a potential mark worry about being
>"rude" by responding defensively to the first tentative evaluative
>forays. This is something I posted to a mountain bike e-mail group a
>few years back.
>
>> Yup. And I'd like to point out that even a cell phone with no signal can
>> still be useful in certain situations. Out at one of the places where I ride,
>> you can't get a call in or out from the trail (except at the top of some of
>> the hills) or even the parking lot. Still, being a creature of habit, I carry
>> the phone with me anyhow.
>> So this past summer I went out there one evening for a ride. There were
>> no other vehicles in the trailhead parking lot, but I still parked several
>> spaces down from the entrance to the trail. I've learned that if I take one
>> of the closest spots, sure enough somebody will park right next to my van, and
>> especially in an otherwise empty lot, I hate that. I don't want anybody
>> dinging my doors with theirs, and I don't want to have to worry about dinging
>> somebody elses's doors with mine - I like to open the side door and sit there
>> to change my shoes. Really though, it's mainly about personal space and not
>> liking to be crowded unnecessarily.
>> So anyhow, I finished my ride, and was back at the gate to the lot when I
>> saw that there was another vehicle in the lot. Another van. And it was
>> parked *right next to mine*. Squeezed right in there like it was the last
>> space at the mall during Christmas shopping season. All the room in the
>> world, plenty of spaces closer to the trail entrance, plenty of spaces further
>> down, plenty of spaces on the opposite side of the lot, but this person had to
>> park right next to me? I was irritated.
>> Then I noticed that the windows were down, and there was a guy sitting in
>> the driver's seat. Uh oh. Now, that gave me pause. I was alone, in an
>> isolated parking lot, with my very expensive bike and it was getting dark
>> fast. Was I feeling paranoid? You betcha.
>> *Why* was he parked so close to my vehicle when he could have parked
>> anywhere at all? He hadn't been there when I arrived and unloaded my bike, so
>> I didn't think he could have known that it belonged to a lone female... Could
>> he? And it wasn't like he'd parked so that my vehicle screened his from view
>> from the road (hiding out on a prolonged supper break?). No way to get to my
>> vehicle without crossing his line of sight. All that fumbling around to get
>> the bike loaded, and meanwhile, there he'd be, literally so close I couldn't
>> have opened the side door without hitting his van...
>> Well, hell. Now what? Pull out the cell phone. No signal. Shit. Wait
>> a couple of minutes, while attempting to send a strong psychic message, "IT'S
>> TIME FOR YOU TO LEAVE. GO AWAY. DRIVE OFF. GIT!" Nothing. He's still
>> sitting there, and it's getting darker by the minute. Open up the cell phone,
>> just in case maybe somebody put a new satellite in place in the last two
>> minutes. No such luck. Shit, shit. Argument with self ensues:
>> "You're just being paranoid, just go on over to your van, load up your
>> bike."
>> "But why's he there? Why so close?"
>> "Why ask why, it's not illegal to park next to another vehicle in a
>> parking lot."
>> "Why ask why? Because you're alone, dumbass, and because there's nobody
>> around and it's been at least 5 minutes and you haven't even seen a car pass
>> on the highway and you can't even call somebody to let them know what's going
>> on."
>> "But *he* doesn't know that, now does he?"
>> "But I'll feel so stupid..."
>> "I can think of worse things than feeling stupid, eh?"
>> So, once again, I pulled out the dead cell phone, flipped it open,
>> deployed the antenna. Took a deep breath, held it to my ear, and started
>> walking across the parking lot, pushing my bike with one hand and holding a
>> conversation with an imaginary person on the other end of the non-existent
>> line.
>> "Hi, it's me.... Yeah, I'm done.... Oh, it was great... Nope, huh uh,
>> not muddy at all... No, there's just one other vehicle here in the lot...
>> Chevy van, full sized, grey, with some primer on the left rear fender...
>> Illinois tags XXX-XXX..."
>> By this time, the guy was obviously watching me, and listening as well.
>> "Oh c'mon, how am I supposed to know that? Older. Not new. Maybe mid
>> eighties? Well wait a second, the guy's right here, hang on."
>> By this time, I was right next to the guy's van, and I reached over and
>> knocked lightly on the door.
>> "Excuse me, what year is your van?"
>> "Um... '86"
>> I continued my imaginary conversation. "It's an '86 - See, I was right,
>> mid 80s...... You are?!! I want to come too!! Wait for me, I shouldn't be
>> more than 15 minutes.... Okay, see you in a bit... Bye!"
>> As I hung up the phone, the guy it the van said, "Uh... so what was that
>> about?"
>> I looked him in the eye and said, "Oh, that? Neighborhood Trail Watch,
>> nothing personal." I lowered my voice, and said, confidentially, "We've had
>> some problems with weirdos around here recently. Would you be interested in
>> joining the group? I can take your name and address and put you on our
>> mailing list?"
>> He shook his head, "No thanks".
>> And then, glory be, he started his engine, pulled out and left.
>> To this day, I don't know who was the real weirdo in that situation - me,
>> or him. But I am a firm believer in the pit of the stomach, the back of the
>> neck - intuition, in other words. So maybe I ran off some innocent dweeb with
>> inconsiderate parking habits... And then again, maybe I headed off a truly
>> ugly incident. I'll never know. But all it cost me was a little bit of
>> dignity, so it was worth it.
>> And I'm damned sure glad I had my phone with me, dead or not.
>
I don't know who posted the story just above. Must have missed it
originally but I'd like to congratulate the biker lady for being so
brave despite no cell phone connection. WOW! You were really thinking
on your feet. And just to know the guy drove off makes your intuition
golden!

I walk alone some days and had to do something similar once. Weird
drugged out guy, red eyes, standing about 2 inches from my nose and
yelling at me, irrationally, when I am 2 miles from my car. Knowing
my husband was weed whacking and couldn't even hear his cell, I called
and chatted to no one, saying where I was on the road and that I'd be
back in 15 minutes. My heart was racing and I did run some, but I
got home safely. Creepy.

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