Perilous moments?

[SteelBlue]

Have you ever been in a situation where you felt that you were in severe danger but couldn't be sure?

Reading Yohio's car repair story caused me to remember an incident that happened to me when I was first back from my mission. I was traveling back to Oregon after a quick trip to Provo to visit an old pre-mission girlfriend. I pulled into a rest stop off of I-80, somewhere in that most godforsaken of states Nevada. I can't remember where it was but I remember that it wasn't very visible from the 80 itself. As I pulled in I noted that there was only one car in the parking lot besides mine. There were two pretty good sized white trash guys looking under the hood of that car. I didn't think much of it until one of them noticed me pulling in and said something to the other guy which caused him to look at me for a moment too.

I parked away from them and by the time I got out of the car one of them was gone. I had the feeling I should get out of there but dismissed it. I headed for the John and was halfway between there and my car when the missing guy emerged from behind the bathroom and headed toward me. It caught me off guard a little and I slowed up and considered heading back to my car. Maybe I'd pretend I'd forgotten something. I turned my head around to see the other guy had now moved behind me was also approaching. I was pretty sure at this point that something less than good was going to happen to me. I threw up one of those silent prayers and planned my first two punches (weird habit I have when I feel threatened). I still remember also planning to huck my keys out into the sagebrush so that they at least wouldn't get my car. I had a still slightly cool for a college student Nissan 280ZX and wasn't going to let them get it. That makes me laugh now that I even cared about that.

So there's no escape at this point and I decide just to head to the bathroom and pretend they aren't alarming me. The guy in front of me steps directly into my path at the entrance to the bathroom and the guy behind me has caught up. At this point I'm fairly certain I'm in for at least a robbery and probably an ass kicking to boot. Or worse. I step sideways to create a little space and the guy behind moves right up to me. The guy in front says "Dude, we've been here for 2 days now and we need help. Do you think you could help us out?" My first thought was no way anyone is stuck at a rest stop in 1991 for 2 days. State Police patrol those places and someone would have helped. I don't buy the story but I'm listening. He says, "we just need a little money to get this thing fixed". Again, this makes no sense.

At this point I know the story is bull but I also know that they've asked instead of taken even if their method was meant to intimidate. I still had a very strong feeling that I was in trouble here and I decided to tell them I only had 5 bucks but if it would help they could have it. They accepted it and the spokesman said "thanks man, what comes around goes around". That was that. They walked back to their car and I whizzed in peace. To this day I don't know if I was ever really in any danger at all. Did they have a change of heart because I was friendly or were they just 2 guys trying to creatively panhandle? But I've never had such a feeling of impending peril before or since.

[il Padrino Ute]

I went with a teammate for a weekend at his parents place in Harlem. I wasn't smart enough to be worried about it until we went to eat at a soul food place that was in the neighborhood he grew up in.

I have a habit of carrying my car keys in my hand instead of my pocket and when we were about four doors down from the little restaurant, I had a case of the dropsies and the keys fell to the ground. My teammate stopped, but I was dumb enough to tell him that I'd be right behind him. I was maybe 15 feet behind him when he went into the place, so when I entered, I entered by myself.

I was the only white guy in there. If looks could kill, I would have been dead and if my teammate hadn't said anything, I was afraid that that is exactly what would have happened.

As soon as he told everyone who I was and that I was with him, the mood changed immediately and you would have thought I grew up on that street. But for one instant, I thought I was going to receive the ass-kicking of my life.

[RobinFinderson]

Faith and I got caught in a flash flood in a slot canyon in Zion's. We spent the night, wet and with no gear, on a high boulder in the middle of the canyon. By 2am I had accepted that we were probably going to have serious hypothermia, because our shivering had become so uncontrollable that we could hardly speak. By morning the flood waters had subsided and we were able to wade the last five miles out of the canyon. Once we were able to get some sunshine on our skin we shaped up in a hurry, with no damage... but there was a moment the day before, when the flood started to really build up where Faith got sucked under the water and dragged under a log. For a second I thought she was a goner, but I was able to reach under and unsnag her. One of our worst days and nights ever.

[RobinFinderson]

I went with a teammate for a weekend at his parents place in Harlem. I wasn't smart enough to be worried about it until we went to eat at a soul food place that was in the neighborhood he grew up in.

I have a habit of carrying my car keys in my hand instead of my pocket and when we were about four doors down from the little restaurant, I had a case of the dropsies and the keys fell to the ground. My teammate stopped, but I was dumb enough to tell him that I'd be right behind him. I was maybe 15 feet behind him when he went into the place, so when I entered, I entered by myself.

I was the only white guy in there. If looks could kill, I would have been dead and if my teammate hadn't said anything, I was afraid that that is exactly what would have happened.

As soon as he told everyone who I was and that I was with him, the mood changed immediately and you would have thought I grew up on that street. But for one instant, I thought I was going to receive the ass-kicking of my life.

All of the crusty looks and concern... I bet it was all in your head.

[Surfah]

There have been a few times in my life:

#1 Surfing at Oil Piers and the sets got huge and started closing out. I couldn't even manage to catch a clean one in. I tried waiting it out but they got bigger and scarier. Paddled into the cleanest one I could find and went over the falls held under for 2 waves. I thought I was fish food. Finally burst through the surface to catch another breath before going into the spin cycle again. Emerged again, gathered my board underneath me and rode the white water to shore.

#2 I was at Club A at Avenida Revolucion in TJ. I took my HS girlfriend down with me on a visit to some friends at UCSD. I felt bad for taking her to such a seedy place and wanted to leave. But she thought it was awesome until some drunk idiot started feeling her up on the dance floor. She freaked out and I needed a pry bar to separate him from her. I told him she was with me and that was that. He stepped off like he was cool. Me and my girl get in a huge fight. I leave the dance floor and head to the bar to cool off. Two of my friends join me. Minutes later the guy from the dance floor comes in pointing me out with about 20 marines behind him. I was sitting down in a chair backwards clutching it with white knuckles ready to break it over the face of the first person to jump me. The bar tenders jumped the bar with bats and by this point such a commotion had occurred that most of the dance floor had emptied into the bar to see the fight. Some fast talking and "peace shots" my buddy purchased for them diffused the situation and we bailed. I thought I was going to die that night.

#3 On my mission I almost got ran down by lowered Chevy C1500 pickup. You know the two wheel drive, two tone paint ones with every accessory imaginable from Pep Boys. It instead hit my investigator as I took his two children in my arms out of harms way as this guy literally tried to kill us.

[il Padrino Ute]

All of the crusty looks and concern... I bet it was all in your head.

In 1986? A mere 18 months after Bernie Goetz shot the black teens in the subway?

Try again, Robin.

[Gidget]

When I was 19 and living in Provo I didn't have a car, but I did have a job to get to. I lived at Raintree and worked at Macey's grocery in the bakery. I had to be at work everyday from 4 a.m. to noon. I would walk this small distance every morning. I would cross at the light on the Parkway and dip down into the clinic-like buildings and cut through them and for a second be right next to the provo (jordan) river jogging/biking path (yikes). And then I would cross the yard of that ghetto complex next to Macey's and be at work.

I never ever saw anyone ever on my walks to work except once. One night I was walking and as I am close to coming out of the clinical buildings I see another person come out two buildings, he stops, looks at me, and then after a hesitance starts walking in the same direction as me, but about 25 feet in front of me. (keep in mind it is about 3:45 a.m. at this point) As he turns the corner and I can't see him, I panic and start moving faster so I can get around the corner and see where he is headed. I start to jog as silently as possible and as I turn the corner I see that he has stopped in his tracks. He is still facing away from me but now only like 5 or 6 feet in front of me. I immediately cross the street as I turn to say good morning to him. I guess that was my way of dealing with my nerves, I confront and make nice, I dunno.

Anyway, so we are now walking parallel on opposite sides of the street and I have to go left and it looks like he is headed for the bridge that lets the pass cross the creek (anyone know where this is?) I continued to walk really fast veering left urging myself to make it into the street lights by the apartments next to Macey's. I turn and look back once and he is standing there staring at me, in a dead stop. I turn and bolt for the store, I look back again running at full speed and he is gone. I was so freaked out. I was sure that I would see him again on my walk to work sometime, but gratefully I didn't. 3 weeks later I switched to the evening shift and was off work by 9 p.m. the walk home wasn't nearly as scary at that time with zoobies everywhere.

I really have no idea what happened or what was in this guys plans for the night, but I am glad they ended with me at work safely.

[RobinFinderson]

In 1986? A mere 18 months after Bernie Goetz shot the black teens in the subway?

Try again, Robin.

Whatever. I still think that these kinds of fears exist primarily because they were depicted in popular movies. Lucky you had a black tour guide, right? Telling these stories, where nothing happens but your fear and concern, just perpetuates distrust. Maybe there were bad looks, and maybe they were reacting to the stupid look on your face when you walked in and looked visibly uncomfortable.

[SteelBlue]

Whatever. I still think that these kinds of fears exist primarily because they were depicted in popular movies. Lucky you had a black tour guide, right? Telling these stories, where nothing happens but your fear and concern, just perpetuates distrust. Maybe there were bad looks, and maybe they were reacting to the stupid look on your face when you walked in and looked visibly uncomfortable.

Robin, FYI it's douchebaggetry to belittle an experience in a perilous moments thread.

[ERCougar]

I think Steel wins. Surfah would win, but that crap goes so far beyond my Mormon-white-boy-in-Utah upbringing that I can't at all relate. Steel's story freaks me out just reading it.

[thesaint258]

There have been a couple of times when I felt I was in danger, but now I think it was more my mind playing games with me. There is one time though that I knew I was in danger. The thing that told me I was in danger was a guy's hand wrapped around my throat. I thought he was either going to strangle me or put me through the store window that he pushed me up against. Fortunately things turned out alright.

[il Padrino Ute]

Whatever. I still think that these kinds of fears exist primarily because they were depicted in popular movies. Lucky you had a black tour guide, right? Telling these stories, where nothing happens but your fear and concern, just perpetuates distrust. Maybe there were bad looks, and maybe they were reacting to the stupid look on your face when you walked in and looked visibly uncomfortable.

I'll let this pass Robin because you have no idea what the hell you're talking about.

[wuapinmon]

When I was 19 and living in Provo I didn't have a car, but I did have a job to get to. I lived at Raintree and worked at Macey's grocery in the bakery. I had to be at work everyday from 4 a.m. to noon. I would walk this small distance every morning. I would cross at the light on the Parkway and dip down into the clinic-like buildings and cut through them and for a second be right next to the provo (jordan) river jogging/biking path (yikes). And then I would cross the yard of that ghetto complex next to Macey's and be at work.

I never ever saw anyone ever on my walks to work except once. One night I was walking and as I am close to coming out of the clinical buildings I see another person come out two buildings, he stops, looks at me, and then after a hesitance starts walking in the same direction as me, but about 25 feet in front of me. (keep in mind it is about 3:45 a.m. at this point) As he turns the corner and I can't see him, I panic and start moving faster so I can get around the corner and see where he is headed. I start to jog as silently as possible and as I turn the corner I see that he has stopped in his tracks. He is still facing away from me but now only like 5 or 6 feet in front of me. I immediately cross the street as I turn to say good morning to him. I guess that was my way of dealing with my nerves, I confront and make nice, I dunno.

Anyway, so we are now walking parallel on opposite sides of the street and I have to go left and it looks like he is headed for the bridge that lets the pass cross the creek (anyone know where this is?) I continued to walk really fast veering left urging myself to make it into the street lights by the apartments next to Macey's. I turn and look back once and he is standing there staring at me, in a dead stop. I turn and bolt for the store, I look back again running at full speed and he is gone. I was so freaked out. I was sure that I would see him again on my walk to work sometime, but gratefully I didn't. 3 weeks later I switched to the evening shift and was off work by 9 p.m. the walk home wasn't nearly as scary at that time with zoobies everywhere.

I really have no idea what happened or what was in this guys plans for the night, but I am glad they ended with me at work safely.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&sour...06909&t=h&z=17

[RobinFinderson]

Robin, FYI it's douchebaggetry to belittle an experience in a perilous moments thread.

It is douchebaggery to perpetuate racist stereotypes in any thread. That is what IPU's story does, even if he genuinely felt threatened. Did anyone approach him? Did anyone get in his face? He got looks in a public place in a room full of people who, moments later were his friends. puke.

[RobinFinderson]

I'll let this pass Robin because you have no idea what the hell you're talking about.

Thanks, I guess. Someone needs to tell you the subtext of your story, since you don't seem to see it yourself. Even if your story is 100% true, and you were in serious peril, you need to understand that there IS a racist subtext to the story. You better 'remember' something more than foul looks if you want that story not to sound racist.