What If . . . You Find Yourself in Danger while Jogging or Walking?

Before we continue with part 3 of these safety posts a reminder . . .

                                                       
Some of these ideas can help you avoid a potentially bad situation while others will help you act IF you find yourself in a dangerous situation.

The following are habits that are simple to develop. Being cautious is not being paranoid. Being safe may keep you from  being sorry.

• IT IS IMPORTANT TO ALWAYS BE AWARE OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS, whether alone or with someone, whether walking for exercise or pleasure, or going to and from your responsibilities or activities — EVEN IN FAMILIAR AND COMMON AREAS; EVEN IN DAYLIGHT!

Note from Gail: One summer my girl cousins and I were selling berries from our grandparents' garden, door to door in their small country town. (I was 8 or 9; they were about 12 and 13). It was dusk; the houses were spaced far apart. Suddenly we noticed a man walking briskly behind us and it didn't feel right. My cousins started running down the street. I was prompted to run to one of the houses that had lights on.  They told me he was just a crazy man who wouldn't hurt us and slammed the door.  I jumped off their porch and ran past two other houses until I saw another one with a light on. They were kind and understanding, while explaining his situation and agreeing that he probably wouldn't have hurt us --- still they understood our fear and took us home. 

• USE EAR BUDS AND OTHER ELECTRONIC DEVICES WITH  GREAT CAUTION.  Whether you are walking or stationary, THESE CAN ALL CAUSE DANGEROUS DISTRACTIONS ---1) making you less in tune to promptings, 2) less aware of your surroundings, 3) unaware of suspicious noises and activity --- ALL MAKING YOU EASY PREY FOR A CRIMINAL.

• THE ELBOW IS THE STRONGEST POINT ON YOUR BODY. IF YOU ARE CLOSE ENOUGH TO USE IT, DO! (Tip from Tae Kwon Do) 

• IF A ROBBER ASKS FOR YOUR WALLET AND/OR PURSE, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM. TOSS IT AWAY FROM YOU---Chances are that he is more interested in your money and will go for that---AND RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!

• IF THE PREDATOR HAS A GUN AND YOU ARE NOT UNDER HIS CONTROL, ALWAYS RUN! PREFERABLY IN A ZIG-ZAG PATTERN. Even when running in a straight line the chances of being hit are only about 4 in 100 times and, even then, it most likely will not be a vital organ. 

• GO AGAINST YOUR NATURAL TENDENCIES TO BE SYMPATHETIC AND HELPFUL. It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy*, the serial killer from the 1970's was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS PLAYED ON THE SYMPATHIES OF UNSUSPECTING WOMEN. He sometimes walked with a cane, or a limp, sometimes wore a fake cast, and asked “for help” into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim.

*Utterly unique in its astonishing intimacy, as jarringly frightening as when it first appeared, Ann Rule's The Stranger Beside Me defies our expectation that we would surely know if a monster lived among us, worked alongside of us, appeared as one of us. With a slow chill that intensifies with each heart-pounding page, Rule describes her dawning awareness that Ted Bundy, her sensitive coworker on a crisis hotline, was one of the most prolific serial killers in America. He would confess to killing at least thirty-six young women from coast to coast, and was eventually executed for three of those cases. ... Rule's book strikes a seamless balance between her deeply personal perspective and her role as a crime reporter on the hunt for a savage serial killer -- the brilliant and charismatic Bundy, the man she thought she knew.... (book review)

Note from Gail: We lived near one of the shopping mall's where Ted Bundy tried and failed  to abduct a teenage girl. He got away but she was able to give a description.  Our neighborhoods were in virtual self-imposed lock-down! It was very scary.

Again, being cautious is not being paranoid. Being safe may keep you from being sorry----even if you feel embarrassed or rude in the process.

IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.)

POLICE OFFICERS WOULD MUCH RATHER RESPOND TO A “FALSE ALARM” THAN TO AN ACTIVE CRIME SCENE.

Coming Soon

 Be Safe:
 At home; 

On the phone and more