OT reminder - Keep a close eye on your kids!

[Swingman]

... and drill them constantly in the steps they need to do to react to danger and protect themselves against abduction!

Our family dodged a bullet last night.

My 19 year old daughter, taking care of an across the street neighbor's dog while they are out of town for the holidays, was the subject of an attempted abduction around 9:30 last evening.

I won't go into details, but suffice it to say that she got to spend last night in her own bed in part because she had been drilled countless times on ALWAYS being aware of her surrounding, the fact that we had gone over, many times, with her the steps to take if she felt in any danger, AND the fact that she had the local police number on her cell phone speed dial.

Luck, and our previous precautions, were on our side last night .. and it took both!

If you haven't already done so, do something similar for your kids, TONIGHT!

I am still shaking with relief and anger (and, when I can think about it, a bit of pride in her coolheaded response) ... which may explain why I am so touchy this morning ... but for your kid's sake, please take this to heart immediately!

[Doug Miller]

Glad to hear your daughter is safe and sound. Your training paid off, didn't it? Good job, dad.

-- Regards, Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Get a copy of my NEW AND IMPROVED TrollFilter for NewsProxy/Nfilter by sending email to autoresponder at filterinfo-at-milmac-dot-com You must use your REAL email address to get a response.

[Robatoy]

I'm glad all turned out well. She's lucky to have a dad like you. I have an 11-year daughter; she thinks she's 16. This is a quiet area. At night, car doors and windows are often left open, lawn mowers (or snowblowers) parked on the lawn, the odd open garage door. kids' bikes (or skis..LOL) left outside... but not as relaxed as, say, even 5 years ago.

We often get lured into this false sense of security and your reminder is much appreciated. Although by itself not enough, maybe 11 is not too young for a cell phone?

Rob

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[Dave in Fairfax]

Swingman wrote: snip Did they catch the bastard? I've got a rope. Dave in Fairfax

[Leon]

Whew... And you and I were just talking about that last Wednesday when you indicated that you want your kids to never drive anywhere alone...

[Silvan]

Rope hell. I've got an extremely dull utility knife, and a ballpein hammer.

[Swingman]

Leon, brother ... I can't tell you how close this was. Makes a grown man want to cry!

Like I said, I'm still shaking.

[Leon]

However on the bright side Swingman, lessons like this really hit home with what you warned your daughter about and she saw first hand that you cannot be too careful.

[Swingman]

Same here.

I hope so!

I surely don't believe so.

I wrote letters, and appeared before the local school board, right after

9/11 because of what I perceived as an outdated policy against cell phones on the the local High School campus. Just possession of one in a backpack at the time, turned off, was grounds for expulsion and confiscation.

My daughter was going to carry one and I dared anyone to "confiscate" it, and flat out refused to sign the parent's portion of the Code of Conduct concerning cell phones written by some idiot educrat.

I didn't see anybody else behind me the whole time I was making my feelings known on this issue, but someone listened because the second semester that same year the policy was changed so that possession was allowed as long as they were not used on campus during normal school hours.

Sometimes if only takes one *sshole ... and I got that part down pat.

In any event, do you what you need to do to protect that young lady, including a cell phone, IMO.

It may not be the whole solution, but it was key to survival last evening ... and, after twelve years experience raising teenage daughters, I can guarantee cell phones are at least one source of your "peace of mind" when you can't physically be there to protect them, and the older they get, the less often that is..

[Morris Dovey]

Good job - to all of you!

I'm sorry it happened; and I hope the police find him.

The after-effects wear off slowly. I came home mid-day right before Christmas and surprised a burglar here. He got away - the police are still looking for him; and I'm still angry - angry that he violated my home, angry at the powerless feeling that 40+ years age difference produced, and angry that he got away with some of my SO's jewelery and the cash she'd tucked away for our next vacation. I'm angry that he upset me enough to "lock'n'load" and reassess everything in the house for its destructive capability - and I'm more angry than anyone would ever understand that he's made it almost impossibly difficult (for however short a time) to be the gentle person I've always wanted and tried to be.

And I'm absolutely certain my home is nowhere near as precious to me as your daughter is to you.

Remember to be gentle with each other until you've all gotten past the really angry/scared stage. There's no point in letting that guy spoil any more of your lives than he already has.

The rest of the year is bound to be better.

[Swingman]

Man, I know EXACTLY what you mean.

Well said ... and many thanks for the reminder and sentiment!

[rcook5]

God that's awful! I really sympathize with both your and your daughter. As a police reporter I got to talk to the parents of a few kids who weren't that well-drilled and cool-headed. Even second-hand those situations stay with you for the rest of your life.

You said one thing in there I'd really like to emphasize: Situational awareness. It's worth more than anything else (including a gun in your purse/waistband) in the case of street crime.

In addition to the parents and victims, I also got to talk to some of the perpetrators after they had 'gone straight'. I remember one evening sitting in an all-night coffee shop until the sun rose and getting a lesson in 'Mugging 101' from an ex heroin addict who had been a specialist.

What all the ex-criminals agreed on was that selecting a victim is not a random process any more than a lion stalking a herd of antelope picks a target at random. They were all looking for a particular kind of mark and one of the most important criteria was lack of awareness about what is going on around them.

If you stay alert and in touch with your surroundings you're a lot less likely to become a victim.

The other thing, of course, is to know the danger signs of a situation. It sounds like your daughter did. You should be proud of how well you trained your daughter.

--RC "Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells 'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets fly with a club. -- John W. Cambell Jr.

[rcook5]

Eleven is definitely not too young for a cell phone. As well as a long, serious talk about the dangers of human predators and how to spot and avoid them.

I don't want to make you paranoid, but your daughter is coming into the prime years as a target for child molesters -- old enough to be interesting to most of them and still young enough to be naive and relatively defenseless.

--RC

"Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells 'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets fly with a club. -- John W. Cambell Jr.

[Swingman]

Thank you for the informative post.

I hated to bother the forum with more OT rants, but if just one other kid can be as lucky because a parent gave it some thought... what the hell.

[GregP]

Ain't that the truth ! And you never stop worrying, and every time the phone rings in the middle of the night, you dread what you might hear from the other end.

[Dave Hinz]

Sorry, what exactly is an "ex-criminal"? Someone is either a criminal, or they're not. Did you mean ex-convicts, maybe?

[Swingman]

One half of a conversation, repeated countless times a month, and worth, many times over, the monthly fee:

"Hi Dad, just wanted you to know that X and I are leaving Y and going to Z ..., I'll call you when we get there."

Yep. That one is hitting home, for the second time, now that the youngest is away in college for nine months of the year

[Leon]

I think he meant ex-criminal. No longer a criminal are one that participates in criminal activities. Regardless of whether you put your shorts on with the brown in front or back is pointless. Most of us understood.

[TeamCasa]

"Swingman"

I'm with you on this. My daughter, now married grew up when cellphones were not readily available. She faced a situation that scared me silly. But as you said, she remembered her training and constant drilling and was able to avoid any problems.

There is no situation that I would not require my daughter to have a cellphone with her at all times. No twit at any school board would dictate to me how to keep my children safe.

I worry now that when I have grand children, (in the way off future) they won't be allowed to wear the wristwatch/GPS/cellphone/ELB I'm sure will be available soon.

Thank you for sharing this.

Dave

[rcook5]

Here's to the *sholes amongst us! They get things done.

--RC

"Sometimes history doesn't repeat itself. It just yells 'can't you remember anything I've told you?' and lets fly with a club. -- John W. Cambell Jr.