Monday
Nov192007
Creepy Holiday Story
Monday, November 19, 2007 at 12:31PM
This will almost sound like one of those Urban Legends, but it happened to me this morning, and although nothing really happened and everything is fine, it was creepy and a not-so-subtle reminder that we really do need to be aware of what is going on around us and we need to be very, very careful, especially during the busy holiday season, when we are often distracted and not always paying attention, as we are running around on errands and deadlines.
I was out and about doing some holiday shopping this morning. I stopped into a QuikTrip by our Target (on Sidney Marcus Blvd in Atlanta -- the same Target where we had a crew of guys robbing women in the parking lot a couple months back, taking their jewelry) to fill up with gas. (I never had to worry about the jewelry robbers -- I got no bling, and they were targeting women with large diamonds on their wedding/engagement bands.) I am very careful to get out of the car at the gas station with only my keys and my debit card, and I lock the car while I am gassing up, because of the stories and video we've seen in the past, with someone coming up to the other side of the car and taking your purse out of the car without you even realizing it, since you are standing on the other side of the car at the gas pump.
As I was sliding my debit card into the ATM reader and answering the questions to Pay At The Pump, a heavyset black man approached me, already talking. He was very friendly and 'non-threatening' and launched this big story about a bus full of kids that had broken down on the highway, just nearby, on some kind of holiday trip -- 8 & 9-year-olds -- and they just needed $17 to get wherever they were going and he kept on talking, "We're staying at the Sleep Inn right across the street, and if you just go over there in two hours or so we'll be able to pay you back, if you want..."
You know, it's even stranger and creepier now as I'm re-telling it, than when he was standing there in front of me. I was already hearing the silent alarms on this one, and stood well back away from him. He just kept talking, and he was reasonably believable. I said, "I'm sorry I can't help you. I don't have any cash."
He said, "Oh, you can go inside and get cash from the ATM machine. They know all about our problem and are trying to help us out."
Which, you are right, made no sense at all, and I started looking for the panic button at the gas pump, remembering I had pepper spray attached to my keychain. I was nervous and he kept talking.
Fortunately, just then, two men came out of the QuikTrip, one in a red QuikTrip shirt, the other in a SECURITY shirt, and they quickly walked right up to the man and told him he could not be out there asking for money.
The man turned to me (I was still not close to him at all, having edged back around the other side of the car almost) and he said, "She's going to go in and get some money for me out of the ATM."
I said, "Uh, no. I'm not. Maybe the QuikTrip people can help you."
They started to escort him away from me to continue their discussion -- I was ready to cut the pump at $20 and go -- when he walked away from them and a car pulled up. He said, "It's all right. This man is going to give me a ride back to the bus." And they were gone--
I asked the security guy, "Could you just stay out here with me for a minute while this finishes?" This was mid-morning, 11am, with all the pumps full and people everywhere -- a very safe time of day, you would think.
I was already screwing the gas cap back on and grabbing my receipt to jump in the car, lock the doors, and head home, thankful for the security of my condo building -- the access gate at the resident parking level, our security guards in the garage and Concierge in the lobby. The further I got from the whole thing, the more creeped out I got, and I'm very thankful to the employees at the QuikTrip for being attentive and coming outside.
What would I have done if they had not come out? I probably would have put the gas pump back up and walked into the store to "get some cash" (not) and asked for help, since the car was locked up safe anyway. Ugh. Creepy. Just be careful and pay attention.
And no, there was no bus or van broken down on the interstate, just at the on-ramp or anywhere along the two miles to my exit.
I was out and about doing some holiday shopping this morning. I stopped into a QuikTrip by our Target (on Sidney Marcus Blvd in Atlanta -- the same Target where we had a crew of guys robbing women in the parking lot a couple months back, taking their jewelry) to fill up with gas. (I never had to worry about the jewelry robbers -- I got no bling, and they were targeting women with large diamonds on their wedding/engagement bands.) I am very careful to get out of the car at the gas station with only my keys and my debit card, and I lock the car while I am gassing up, because of the stories and video we've seen in the past, with someone coming up to the other side of the car and taking your purse out of the car without you even realizing it, since you are standing on the other side of the car at the gas pump.
As I was sliding my debit card into the ATM reader and answering the questions to Pay At The Pump, a heavyset black man approached me, already talking. He was very friendly and 'non-threatening' and launched this big story about a bus full of kids that had broken down on the highway, just nearby, on some kind of holiday trip -- 8 & 9-year-olds -- and they just needed $17 to get wherever they were going and he kept on talking, "We're staying at the Sleep Inn right across the street, and if you just go over there in two hours or so we'll be able to pay you back, if you want..."
You know, it's even stranger and creepier now as I'm re-telling it, than when he was standing there in front of me. I was already hearing the silent alarms on this one, and stood well back away from him. He just kept talking, and he was reasonably believable. I said, "I'm sorry I can't help you. I don't have any cash."
He said, "Oh, you can go inside and get cash from the ATM machine. They know all about our problem and are trying to help us out."
Which, you are right, made no sense at all, and I started looking for the panic button at the gas pump, remembering I had pepper spray attached to my keychain. I was nervous and he kept talking.
Fortunately, just then, two men came out of the QuikTrip, one in a red QuikTrip shirt, the other in a SECURITY shirt, and they quickly walked right up to the man and told him he could not be out there asking for money.
The man turned to me (I was still not close to him at all, having edged back around the other side of the car almost) and he said, "She's going to go in and get some money for me out of the ATM."
I said, "Uh, no. I'm not. Maybe the QuikTrip people can help you."
They started to escort him away from me to continue their discussion -- I was ready to cut the pump at $20 and go -- when he walked away from them and a car pulled up. He said, "It's all right. This man is going to give me a ride back to the bus." And they were gone--
I asked the security guy, "Could you just stay out here with me for a minute while this finishes?" This was mid-morning, 11am, with all the pumps full and people everywhere -- a very safe time of day, you would think.
I was already screwing the gas cap back on and grabbing my receipt to jump in the car, lock the doors, and head home, thankful for the security of my condo building -- the access gate at the resident parking level, our security guards in the garage and Concierge in the lobby. The further I got from the whole thing, the more creeped out I got, and I'm very thankful to the employees at the QuikTrip for being attentive and coming outside.
What would I have done if they had not come out? I probably would have put the gas pump back up and walked into the store to "get some cash" (not) and asked for help, since the car was locked up safe anyway. Ugh. Creepy. Just be careful and pay attention.
And no, there was no bus or van broken down on the interstate, just at the on-ramp or anywhere along the two miles to my exit.
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