[pommysmommy]

Originally Posted by NLVgal

Thanks. I was walking back to BF's house from a nearby restaurant with a friend. He's a retired NASA scientist in his seventies who weighs about a buck-o-five, so not the guy you really want in a street fight.

We were not quite out of the parking lot when some guy mumbled something in our general direction. He was standing next to a car with its flashers on, so I half assumed he was speaking into a bluetooth device, but my radar definitely pinged.

We kept walking and he followed. He was closing the gap on us, and I didn't want to get hit from behind, so I turned on my heel 3/4 and asked him if I could help him with something, directions? I turned 3/4 so that in order to face me, his back was to traffic on Flamingo. It became obvious pretty quickly that he was a schizophrenic, unmedicated, and up to something nefarious. I didn't let him bully me or gain the upper hand in the situation.

He told me to take my hand out of my bag. ( I think he was concerned that I had a gun in there) and I said "No." He said "I TOLD you to get your hand out of your bag." I said "I don't take orders from you." He asked me what I was afraid of and I said "I'm not afraid of sh1t, what are YOU afraid of?"

There was a back-and-forth dialogue (crazy talk, mostly) that made me concerned that he was intent on something much worse than robbery. I knew we couldn't outrun him. I was eitrher going to talk him down, or shove him in front of one of the cars barreling down Flamingo. So I talked him down. (Some experience with psychiatric patients goes a long way).

After a bit of back and forth, I asked him his name. He mumbled something, so i stuck out my hand and said "My name is (NLVgal). It's been nice meeting you, but we have to go. He shook my hand and turned around and went back in the direction he came from (so he WAS following us).

I was scared out of my mind, but tried not to show it. I'm glad the encounter ended with nobody getting hurt or robbed. Needless to say, I don't walk around that area anymore.

You handled that situation very well. I would have been petrified.

[Cyborgt800]

NEVER shake hands in a situation like that! You got lucky!

[bledsoe3]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Marriage is overrated.

Depends on who you're married to I guess.

[NLVgal]

Originally Posted by Cyborgt800

NEVER shake hands in a situation like that! You got lucky!

He got lucky,too. He was about thirty seconds from being pushed into traffic. I had already calculated how much force I'd have to apply and where, to shove him in front of a car. He probably would have caught my arm and brought me down with him, so I guess we all got lucky. If it was a simple, "Give me your purse" robbery, I would have just handed it over.

I did not want to resort to violence, but this man was about six feet tall, in pretty good shape and crazy as a sh*t house rat. The psychology behind shaking his hand was that he wanted to be acknowledged, and also, it's hard to victimize someone who has now become a "person" with a name and everything, as opposed to a stranger. It worked.

This person, BTW, is a black male between 5"10 and 6ft tall, medium build, late forties, and does not appear to be homeless because he is reasonably well groomed and dressed. He had a backpack, but not one like you'd see a homeless person with. I haven't seen him in the area since that night, but there have been many strange characters in that parking lot lately. (Corner of Decatur and Flamingo, where the Boiling Crab is.)

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by bledsoe3

Depends on who you're married to I guess.

I see no use for marriage. But that is me.

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

I see no use for marriage. But that is me.

Big surprise since you just got divorced, lol.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by MadManofBethesda

Big surprise since you just got divorced, lol.

Divorce isn't final yet

But my ex and I both wonder why we got married in the first place. I see no use for it, personally.

[NLVgal]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Divorce isn't final yet

But my ex and I both wonder why we got married in the first place. I see no use for it, personally.

Lots of legal hassles. You can't just stop taking their phone calls like you can with a boyfriend.

[ElleTea]

Originally Posted by NLVgal

Lots of legal hassles. You can't just stop taking their phone calls like you can with a boyfriend.

I haven't spoken to him in months. There isn't any problem with the divorce. He just needs to get on it and get the stupid thing DONE!

[MadManofBethesda]

Originally Posted by ElleTea

Divorce isn't final yet

But my ex and I both wonder why we got married in the first place.

And there's your problem.

Originally Posted by ElleTea

I see no use for it, personally.

You would if you had married the right person.