Posted by verne on November 18, 2005, at 21:09:40
In reply to Close Call, posted by verne on November 12, 2005, at 21:19:19
Still feeling rough, I somehow overcame my fears and headed for the county park this morning. The first mile on the trail was uneventful except for a foreign woman yelling (Russian I think) at her child who was struggling to climb a hill.
I saw the park ranger on a tractor blowing leaves off the trail in the distance. I picked another trail hoping to avoid the noise but he found me soon enough. About 5 minutes after the ranger passed by I noticed a rather tall stocky fellow approaching.
I tried not to appear anxious but he did seem to have a vibe about him. As he got closer I noticed something in his hand. When we passed each other I could see he had a pistol at his side nearly pointed at me. I said a prayer and expected to be shot in the back. Now I knew what those "popping" sounds I had heard earlier were.
I didn't turn around and picked up the pace until I was out of sight. I found the ranger and reported what I saw. He said he would handle it and declined my offer of assistance. (I'm not sure how I could have helped but I worried about him confronting this guy alone)
Later I called the ranger's station and he said he had talked to the guy and had also reported it to the police. The guy said he didn't feel safe with escaped convicts on the loose (we had a couple escape from the state pen about 100 miles away).
I hate guns and never owned one. (borrowed a few while in the army) One of my biggest fears is encountering someone with a gun or getting shot during hunting season. I used to think I was being unreasonable, and my fears, farfetched. Now what?
I'm hoping to keep walking the same trail (or set of trails) even though I've since found out this armed guy is a frequent visitor to the park. At least now there's a record. I think I'll follow up with a call to the county sheriff.
Isn't that the way it goes? We seem to attract our fears.
Verne
poster:verne
thread:578121
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/subs/20051106/msgs/580254.html