Why would someone do this??!! Weirdo alert...

Peppegal wrote: »

I will continue to go on your daily routine but remember to always trust your instincts. Safety First.
In this day and age you need to be prepared for anything... my daughter was in a park and got stabbed four times while she was pregnant! Both survived after several surgeries. I don't mean to scare you but I still think you should be careful.

Oh, wow, I'm so sorry about your daughter's experience, but glad she and her baby survived. What a traumatic ordeal.

I agree, I couldn't tell if these people just enjoyed pushing me around, plus I live in an area where robbery is not common, but robbery was on my mind, so I immediately drove off.

I'm leaning toward getting a takeout coffee and parking for my peaceful nature fix somewhere else. I don't feel relaxed now about going back there. My "rights" come second to my safety.

@Hiawassee88 @Dianedoessmiles1 @88AViva Thanks for the stories and the advice. I appreciate it. Hiawassee88 your story gave me the chills.

I thought of a third explanation, that those people could have just been insensitive, not value personal space the way I value it, plus they might have parked by the grass for the dog -- and then decided no. They ignored lots of other parking spaces by the grass, plus the whole thing was too odd, to park next to a stranger when the rest of the lot was almost deserted.

I will admit I'm attached to the birds that come. I recognize them -- the same mockingbird, and a crow with ragged feathers. But those birds have survived and thrived long before I showed up.

I've decided I'll sit in line at a McDonald's on the other side of town and take my coffee to another nature area. I live next to a national park where there are many other scenic spots. I feel too uncomfortable to go back there. What if those people were watching me all along?

@Hiawassee88 What a terrifying story. Your mother is incredibly fortunate she stayed in her car and never locked on the man's door.

@88AViva What an ordeal. You are very lucky and also correct about how we override our instincts because we don't want to hurt anyone's feelings or seem out of line.

Here's a true story. A few times in my life my own voice has spoken to me out of the blue and warned me about danger (which didn't happen this time) - and I've mostly ignored it because it didn't make sense.

Many, many years ago, when I was seventeen, I walked to a local store. On the way back home, I walked down a short stretch of gravel road shoulder along a highway before the road to our house. My own voice suddenly spoke in my head and said, "Walk in the grass." That made absolutely no sense, so I ignored it.

Then my voice said again, "Walk in the grass! Walk in the grass!" Confused, I looked around for some grass -- the only grass was some weeds off the steep road shoulder down in a ditch. So I climbed down the embankment, but in a few minutes I felt humiliated to be walking in the weeds. It seemed like such a crazy thing to be doing. So I climbed back up the embankment and kept walking down the highway.

In a few minutes, an old red car drove by and slowed down. The driver, a balding man in his forties, began calling to me from the window. When I ran across the highway and reached the road to my house, he turned and followed me, still calling from the window. I had to run across some lawns and up next to the houses to get away from him.

If I stayed in the ditch, continued to walk in the grass and weeds, the steep embankment would have hidden me from sight. The man never would have seen me. I've always thought that voice, while it was my own voice, had to be a guardian spirit looking out for me.

Stay safe, everybody. Thanks again for the stories and advice to listen to our instincts. You're right.