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She Was “Just A Slight Little Thing”
But She Packed A Wallop in Her Purse
One of my nieces told me a story
recently that bears repeating because it is a message all parents of
daughters in college should hear. Don’t worry, it has a happy
ending.
My sister and her husband were
nervous about sending their daughter away to a large college located
in a good-sized city because they knew that the situation was ripe
for predators and others up to no good. They were right of course.
My niece, Lynn, wasn’t one of
those young ladies who discounted all parental advice. She took
everything her parents told her seriously and vowed to follow all of
their advice about playing it safe at all times. One of those
recommendations involved never walking alone outside the campus
unless under extreme circumstances, and certainly never at night.
Lynn quickly developed a
friendly relationship with her roommate, Joan, and in a short while
they became inseparable. They agreed that, whenever possible, they
would accompany each other off campus. And at night, they would try
to be a part of an even bigger group, which wasn’t always possible.
There came a time when it wasn’t
possible to be part of a larger group when danger entered their
lives and Joan surprised the dickens out of Lynn.
The two had gone to a late
afternoon movie and had a snack at a nearby diner afterwards. By
the time they were heading back to the campus, darkness was setting
in. The two started out walking briskly back to the campus,
avoiding any dark streets, trying to walk near where others were
around. They had almost made it back to the campus when out of
nowhere a big, fearsome-looking man appeared.
Of course, the man startled them
and put them on edge. Lynn tried to remember all of the things her
father had told her about such confrontations as they kept telling
the intruder that they just wanted to get by him and return to their
school. The only defensive measure Lynn could think of was to put
her right hand around her keys in her pocket, holding one key in a
striking position between her thumb and forefinger.
As the intruder began to get
more and more demanding and obnoxious, Lynn was readying for
battle. The man had grabbed Joan’s left arm with his right, leaving
Joan’s right hand free, which suddenly appeared with a big surprise
to the predator – and to Lynn. She whipped out a small lipstick (in
a lovely shade of blue) and blasted the man with a pepper spray that
sent him screaming for help.
That gave Lynn and Joan plenty
of time to run the rest of the way to the safety of the campus and
to immediately alert the campus police. They called the local
police to report the incident. Lynn and Joan told their story to
the authorities and Joan was complimented by them for thinking ahead
to potential danger and preparing for it.
Lynn was also impressed and wanted to be sure that that
she was prepared herself for future potential run-ins. She ordered
a selection of the five classy colors available from
www.yoursecurityandsafety.com/lipstickpepperspray.htm |