Thursday, January 20, 2011

Tough Choice to Make......

I know I'm going to get part of this story wrong, but I'll get the gist of it right.

Sweet Girl called me at 5:20 this morning on her way to work. She said she turned onto a road not far from her condo and a woman was standing in the middle of the road flagging her down. Sweet Girl stopped and rolled down her window a little, and the woman said something about needing her to stay with her because of her husband. She had a phone in her hand - not a cell phone, a house phone - but no visible injuries. The woman said she had called 911, but she needed someone to stay with her.

But then it got weird. She said something vague like "I'm protected up to this line" and she said something with the word "Satanic" in it. Sweet, trusting Sweet Girl didn't believe the woman, and she started to drive away. The woman begged her not to leave, but Sweet Girl (wisely) drove away anyway. She looked in her rear view window as she pulled back onto the road, and the woman wasn't in the road anymore.

Sweet Girl felt guilty about leaving the woman, but I assured her that she had absolutely done the right thing. If it had been me, I wouldn't have allowed the woman to flag me down in the first place, not if I were alone in the dark as Sweet Girl was. Sweet Girl was worried, and she asked me, "What if I was wrong?"

I would hate for something to happen to that woman, but I think that's a chance Sweet Girl had to take. I have thought about it all day long, and just like a worrywart mother, I have pictured all the bad ways this COULD have turned out. You hear so many horror stories about gangs setting people up like that, or couples working together to trick someone into stopping so they can rob him or her.

I hate the fact that society has declined to the point that we sometimes can't take the risk of helping others. The woman MIGHT have had a real problem, but I don't see that a young woman like Sweet Girl could have done her a lot of good, especially if it were a domestic dispute. If the woman had truly called 911, then help should have been on the way. I told Sweet Girl it probably wouldn't have been a bad idea for her to call 911 and report the incident anyway, but she was hesitant to do it after she was away from the scene.

This almost makes me physically ill. I admire Sweet Girl for living on her own 350 miles from "home," but things like this are a mother's nightmare.

Mean people suck.

6 comments:

KatyDid53 said...

She did exactly the right thing. Like you, I have imagined all the ways this could have gone wrong for her. And today of all days.

Love you and Sweet Girl, too!

Julie said...

Yeah, I'd say she definitely had a "Gift Of Fear" moment. Sometimes you just have to go with your gut. It sounds as though the woman was either deranged or high on something.

Anonymous said...

Yes, they do suck. And, I think she acted just as she should have. Trust instincts!

Leslie in Adams Morgan said...

I agree with Sweet Girl's decision. I would have called 911 also but like you said if the woman had indeed already called help was on its way. You never know, that woman could have been setting Sweet Girl up for a robbery or something. And if not, once the word Satanic was out there, all else was suspect.

frogger_blogger said...

I felt ill to my stomach when I read this. I, too, imagined all the worst ways this could have turned out. Sweet Girl was right on in her decision. What if the woman (and any hidden accomplices) wanted a "sacrifice" for some ritual. I'm so glad SG made the decision she did.

Maggie said...

To echo everyone else, I think Sweet Girl did the right thing, too. Our society is full of weirdos and I'm glad her brush with one was short and came out with a good ending for her. *shudder*

mean people do suck.