Tuesday, February 05, 2008

Freaked Out

Maybe I've worked myself into a little bit of a state because of the whole non-phone issue but what happened last night kinda freaked me out.

Went to practice at Parc Jean-Drapeau. As I was leaving, I was walking up the little incline of the parking lot area to the main road, a car drove slowly by, stopped, backed up and waited for me to get up the hill. As I approached the road, the driver opened his window and asked if I needed a lift anywhere. I politely said no thanks and walked around the back of his car and onto the road. He drove on. But then a couple of hundred metres down the road, at the stop sign by the bridge that crosses over to where the metro station is, he stopped AGAIN. And he waited AGAIN. He waited there until I got to the stop sign and asked AGAIN if I needed a lift. So I repeated that I was fine, thanks but no thanks.

This time I crossed over to the wrong side of the road and walked s-l-o-w-l-y across the bridge and this guy drove across it and stopped at the stop sign. As I was walking my snail's pace, I noticed that he was taking an awfully long time to turn and go his merry way.

That's when I decided I would stop on the bridge and would not move an inch until he left. For the first time in a long time, I was scared and did not feel safe. I had two choices. (1) Turn back and return to the gym, even though I knew I was locked out, I might catch somebody leaving. (2) Wait as long as it took for this moron to leave and then run like hell for the metro and tell the ticket collector at the station.

In the end, after the longest minute of my life, the driver lifted his foot off the brake, turned left and drove away. As soon as I saw him go, I walked a normal pace to the end of the bridge, checked to make sure he really was gone. He was. And then I ran to the metro only to discover that there was no attendant at the booth. But I was safe, I was in a well-lit area and there were other people around and that alone made me feel miles better already.

Got home safely and even caught the bus for the last stretch home.

All this to say that in 7 years, I have never, ever had to use my cell for an emergency before. Wouldn't you know, the first time I'm alone, on a deserted road, late at night, without a phone (because I had to make sure everything was against me) - happens to be the the first time some ass decides to get his jollies by freaking me out.

6 comments:

Sue Matthews said...

That is seriously freaky. Did you happen to write down his license plate number? If you haven't sent the letter to Telus yet I'd add this to it.

Yvette said...

I bet it took you awhile to calm down and fall asleep last night. Poor you! (And I'm glad you're OK!)

Unknown said...

Never even thought about getting the license plate. Typical.

I was a bag of nerves when I got home and it did indeed take a few hours to relax enough to even think about sleeping.

Sue Matthews said...

I wouldn't have thought about getting the license plate in the heat of the moment either but it's easy to think of when you're just sitting at the computer reading about someone else's terrifying experience.

Any luck with the phone today?

Unknown said...

Tuesday, 4:25pm - still no phone.

nickt said...

You did the right thing by crossing over the street and slowing down your pace. One of the hardest things to do in a stressful situation like that is stay calm. But that's also the most important. Stay calm, get a description of the car, plate, person. Even if you don't have a phone (or one that works) take something out of your purse and make it look like a phone. He won't know the difference and it'll give you an advantage because he'll think you're calling for 'backup'.

Also, go to Canadian Tire and ask for some "Bear Spray" for your next camping trip. I know you would use it on a person, right?