pne: A picture of a plush toy, halfway between a duck and a platypus, with a green body and a yellow bill and feet. (Default)
Philip Newton ([personal profile] pne) wrote2005-08-15 06:22 pm

Random memory: Don't talk to strangers

I remember being in a train on my way home from school; I was maybe 10 or so at the time.

A guy approached me and asked me whether I'd accompany him and he'd pay me in exchange for taking some pictures. I said no thanks. He continued and said, "Of course, I'm not talking about just any photographs; after all, that's what I'd pay you for." I still declined, and felt glad that I had done so the first time as well. Even though I didn't have any idea back then of the full impact of the request, it felt a bit weird to be asked for photographs by a stranger.

I don't remember whether I got out at the next stop or what; I think I just walked away to the other end of the carriage, and he didn't follow. I was glad when I did get out of the train, though.

[identity profile] swelegant.livejournal.com 2005-08-16 03:09 am (UTC)(link)
Not quite the same, but when I was about nine, my parents would drop my brother and I off to Timezone (video arcade) for these special two hour lock down sessions. I was playing this two player racing car game by myself when a guy and his friend (maybe mid 20s) joined in. They kept asking me where I lived, and got increasingly agitated when I would answer "a house". They were really eager to get my address... it was so creepy.

I'm so glad that my parents taught me about dealing with strangers as I was growing up. Who knows what could have happened if they didn't?

It's scary that these sorts of experiences are not uncommon among my friends :(
ext_78: A picture of a plush animal. It looks a bit like a cross between a duck and a platypus. (Default)

[identity profile] pne.livejournal.com 2005-08-16 04:22 am (UTC)(link)
They kept asking me where I lived, and got increasingly agitated when I would answer "a house".

Ooh, good answer.