[Cloudbringer]

I'm posting this after I shared it with some friends the other day. It's an account of what happened as I went to get my car after I finished up a 7 hour day on a jury and was off to get my car and go home.

Some of my friends were glad to see it printed up and wanted to share it with wives and others, so I thought maybe it would be useful here and might open up a general discussion on individual (and women's) safety issues.

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Had an unpleasant experience in the parking garage on the way out. I got to the elevator and the door opened. A guy was in the elevator and I don't know about anyone else, but if I'm getting on an elevator with one man on it, I look carefully at the person, before entering the elevator. This guy was not going to get off, but as I stopped a few seconds in the doorway, he suddenly walked past me and I got on the elevator. He peered for a second through the little glass half wall that is near the doorway that opens into the garage--you can see through it to the garage. Then just as the doors are closing, he comes back into the elevator. He muttered about 'thought my car was on this floor'.

Ok, I'm cautious but not too worried yet, so I look him straight in the eye, then up and down and go back to looking at the control panel. I was right next to the emergency alarm button and I had pressed for 4th floor and suddenly realized, he had pressed the 7th floor button BEFORE he got off the elevator- I saw 7 lit up and remembered seeing him press something before he had briefly stepped off. This set off a few warning bells. So I looked BACK at the guy who was close, but not enough that I'd hit the alarm. He saw me look, saw my hand hover near the alarm bell and backed up a bit.

So I got off on my floor, and started to walk around the little glass partition that leads into the (then deserted) garage, the guy seemed to follow me off the elevator and then turn back into it when I looked at him, so I went out of the elevator area into the garage, looking back at the elevator as I did and he was not visible at this time. So I got into my car, which was pretty close. I drove around and as I came past the elevator, I saw him 'dive'into the elevator! That's when it hit me, this was NO lost car owner, he'd been watching me and must have realized he couldn't reach me before I got into my car, since it was so close. *shudder*

I remember a safety video I'd seen once mentioned that muggers/rapists like to press the top floor button in elevators so the elevator goes up without giving the woman a chance to get off it and a woman should try and hit as many floor buttons as she can if attacked, as well as the alarm button. That's what was nagging at my brain when I saw the 7 was lit up, but at the time I was just thinking it rather odd that a man gets off on floor THREE if he thinks his car is on SEVEN. I suspect he got off to make me feel 'safe' getting on the elevator and that's pretty creepy!

I reported the odd behavior to the attendant who took my payment on the way out. Better safe than sorry!

Boy am I GLAD to be home. [img]smile.gif[/img]


Cloudy