Forgive me for bragging, please! (LONG)

[valerie]

This morning coming back from my walk, a Ford Explorer passed me and

went to turn in to a small shopping center. Missed the turn, went up

over the curb, and hit a post there to protect some other stuff. At first

I thought it was just someone who missed the turn, but then, the guy

hit a parked car turning into the doughnut shop. Hit the car hard enough

to make it "rock" a little.



I thought "This guy is toasted" and got on the cell phone. (It's about

8 in the morning, by the way). The guy then backs out and is trying to

LEAVE. I crossed over the little "berm" around the shopping center and

went and stood in front of the Explorer so he couldn't get away. He didn't

shut it off and was visibly angry, gulping from a large Starbucks coffee

in between yelling at me to get out of his way. I yelled back at him that

I wasn't going to let him leave and I was on the phone to the cops.



He puts it in reverse and tries to back away, but I ran to the back (and

swatted the side of his vehicle a few times) and then he got out of his

vehicle and came after me. I kept backing up, asking the dispatcher if

she heard him, he was calling me a f'ing c-word among other things.

He finally gets back in and pulls into a parking spot and shuts the engine

off. Jumps out again like he's going to come after me but just starts

yelling "Give the whole play by play B*TCH, I might want to go to the

bathroom or something" and flipping HIS cell open like HE was going to

call someone.



The dispatcher was soooo nice to me, and stayed on the phone until

the first officer arrived (eventually there were 3 cars and four officers,

big doin's in a small town on a Sat. morning!! )



What made me go stand in front of his vehicle? What made me see

red? This guy had KIDS with him. I couldn't let him keep going. I

just couldn't.



I stayed and they took all my information, the officer I talked to said

they would probably try to get him for leaving the scene and child

endangerment as well as the rest, and I might not have to go to

court, depending on how good a case the DA makes, the guy's lawyer

will probably tell him to plead guilty!



Couple last things: When the officers got there, one of them went into

the doughnut shop!! I was laughing a little to myself, (cops, doughnuts)

and then I realized he was just going to find out if anyone else was a

witness.



And finally, adrenaline sure is a wonderful thing, after that I came home

and did all my sit-ups and push-ups in record time!!

[JayDee]

Good for you girl! At least you have the cops over there- it could take a while, here in rural England.

[chonsigirl]

What a woman! Good for you, Val! You are a brave girl!:-4

[abbey]

Valerie, you silly, brave, stupid, couragous, lovely crazy lady. :-4

[Marie5656]

Wow, such excitement!! Good for you for hanging in there, though. :yh_star :yh_worshp :yh_hugs

[JayDee]

I've been thinking about your experience, and I can recall one or two things I've got involved in. It wasn't the idiot him/herself that made me intervene, but the fact, as you said in your case this morning, there were kids involved, and they were not taking responsibility for them. Again, I applaud you.

[Uncle Kram]

ArnoldLayne wrote: If ever I get in a fight, I'd like you there backing me up


Somehow I can't see anyone picking a fight with you Arnold.....unless they have a death wish

[Accountable]

That's the spirit that makes humanity great! I'm chuffed just knowing you. :-6

[spot]

Blimey, Val. That's not easy to do, and it's so much the right thing. You should get a lapel badge at least. It's not just the right thing, it's brave too.

[CARLA]

Brave women you are Val good for you standing your ground like that..

[BabyRider]

Excellent, Val...just EXCELLENT. You fully deserve to crow a bit. Far too often people just pretend they don't see, don't want to get involved, but you didn't do that. You saw children in harm's way, and you acted. Good for you. I am quite proud to have you as a friend, I think what you did was fantastic. :yh_clap :yh_worshp :yh_clap :yh_worshp

[chocoholic]

:yh_clap Good for you Val, it's good to know that there are people who will stand up and be counted, too many people don't want to get involved these days:-6

[sunny104]

Very brave, wow! :yh_star :yh_star :yh_star

[Raven]

abbey wrote: Valerie, you silly, brave, stupid, couragous, lovely crazy lady. :-4
Minks says "yeah what abbey said!":wah:

[cars]

Wow val, that was brave, courageous, admirable, commendable, and also very "dangerous"! You didn't really know if that guy was off his rocker, on drugs, drunk, or what. There was a good possibility that he might have just run you over to get away! I'm glad for you that scenario didn't happen, but if there is ever a next time, it may be more prudent to get the guy's license plate number and report it to the police & let them chase him down. They have "Guns" you know, as well as they are in cars also. :-2

[sharon1960]

I will say Congratulations to you for being so brave.. i am sure most people would do what you did also.. I have been in a few situations where an incident has happened and reacted immediatley only to sit and think of the consequences afterwards... then shook like hell and cried at the thought that i could have been injured.. or worse!,... I am sure you must have had those feelings too.. because you could have so easily have lost your life.. there are so many crazy people about in the world.. but I agree with you where there are children involved then its hard not to just sit back and pretend you didnt see it... you did very good and well done.. you have every reason to brag..... take care.... someone was looking out for you because you were looking out for vulnerable children..... Sharon xx:-4

[BabyRider]

cars wrote: Wow val, that was brave, courageous, admirable, commendable, and also very "dangerous"! You didn't really know if that guy was off his rocker, on drugs, drunk, or what. There was a good possibility that he might have just run you over to get away! I'm glad for you that scenario didn't happen, but if there is ever a next time, it may be more prudent to get the guy's license plate number and report it to the police & let them chase him down. They have "Guns" you know, as well as they are in cars also. :-2
I'd agree to that only if there weren't children involved, Cars. If he's just some drunk idiot, alone in his car, that's one thing, but seeing the children, I'd have done exactly the same thing. Someone had to look out for those kids, and we should be grateful our brave Val was there to make sure someone did.

[valerie]

Thanks all for your kind words.



I know what you're saying, Cars, and I did consider what I was doing.

So many thoughts flashed through my mind it was unbelievable. I didn't

feel brave (truthfully, though, I wasn't afraid, either) I think my

overwhelming emotion (once I saw that little head bobbing in the window)

was one of ANGER. How CAN he drive like that with kids in the car? Until

I saw him try to leave, I was still out on the sidewalk in front of the

shopping center. And it wasn't until I got around to the front of it that

I saw the backwards-facing INFANT safety seat in the back seat. I'm

still not sure if there was a baby in it, but no matter. Among those thoughts

racing through my brain was him getting out on the road, perhaps a high

speed chase, a rollover... I shudder to think. I did stand a little to the left

of center in front of the Exp., and planned out how I would jump away if

he did try to run me over. But I couldn't have lived with the guilt if I

had let him get away to do more damage, or injury, or worse.



I've spent some sleepless hours thinking about the whole thing, going over

and over it in my mind. My sister yesterday though, said something that

made me really think. (I was telling her how badly I felt to cause that

little girl "trauma"... but thinking better that than injury or worse) My sis

said "If he was driving with kids in the car while he was drunk... it

probably wasn't the first time" WOW... yeah, okay, but maybe I can hold

out some hope that this will be a wake up call and that was the LAST

time he'll do that.



When I told the officer taking my info that I had whacked the side of the

Exp. (to keep the guy from continuing to back up) the cop looked me in

the eye and said "Good, I got no problem with that". So while I don't

suggest anyone try to do something like this, sometimes you just feel

compelled. I'm not sure anyone else saw the guy hit the post, but at

least 3 other people saw him hit the parked car, and did nothing but gawk.



I want everyone to also consider that I had already walked about 4 1/2

miles, all my muscles were warmed up and working smoothly, and

because I have always planned scenarios in my head (not this exact one,

though!) it helped me to keep a cool head. (That and inheriting same

from my Marine Daddy LOL) I didn't even dial 9-1-1, because cell phone

calls are routed through the CHP in a town far from here, and potentially

takes a lot longer to get help. I've years ago memorized the local number,

and I used that.



The only thing that I do have some concerns about now is this guy

finding out where I live. But I'll just have to deal with that.



Special thanks everyone also for letting me get this out, it helps some.



:-6

[BabyRider]

Val, if you're worried about the dude figuring out where you live, I'll send you a "Protected by Hell's Angels" sticker for your window. That's the dominant club in California, and no one with 3 brain cells would ever cross a line with them!!! :yh_rotfl



Seriously, you did a good job, and no, not everyone should take these kinds of tactics. But I don't blame you one single bit when you saw children. Even though you don't have kids, you still have the instinct. Like the saying goes: "There is no more dangerous a place than between a mother and her children." Not your kids, but someone's just the same. Bravo.

[Jives]

Woooooo! Scary! Great for you, Val! (but....ummm.....you DID have some mace on you, in case he decided to take a swing at you, right?)

Anyhow. Very, very courageous, Val. True courage is when you know you could get hurt, killed, or sued for doing something you know is right....and you do it anyway.

(jives bows deeply to Valerie):-4

[valerie]

Always have my pepper spray handy.



Glad I didn't have to use it, though.

[chrisb84uk]

Wow what a story!! I really can't add much to what everyone else had to say, but re-emphasise it. You were so brave and courageous for what you did, and as others have mentioned, so many people would simply have taken little notice or just stood there and watched. What you did was very dangerous and thankfully didn't result in anything, but I can imagine how angry you must have felt when you saw those children in the back of that car, and at times your emotions can cause you to do all kinds of things. But what you did was the right thing, and full credit to you for standing tall and not backing down from him, and continuing to do what you did, despite any adversity.



If only the world had more people like you!! :yh_worshp :yh_clap

[Accountable]

chrisb84uk wrote: Wow what a story!! I really can't add much to what everyone else had to say, but re-emphasise it. You were so brave and courageous for what you did, and as others have mentioned, so many people would simply have taken little notice or just stood there and watched. What you did was very dangerous and thankfully didn't result in anything, but I can imagine how angry you must have felt when you saw those children in the back of that car, and at times your emotions can cause you to do all kinds of things. But what you did was the right thing, and full credit to you for standing tall and not backing down from him, and continuing to do what you did, despite any adversity.



If only the world had more people like you!! :yh_worshp :yh_clapThat's the really cool part, Chris -- we can have more people like that. The next time you find yourself in a tense situation, you may think of this story, then you might become one more person like that. :-6



Just make sure you let us know when you do, so you can inspire others.

[chrisb84uk]

Accountable wrote: That's the really cool part, Chris -- we can have more people like that. The next time you find yourself in a tense situation, you may think of this story, then you might become one more person like that. :-6



Just make sure you let us know when you do, so you can inspire others.


You know you are quite right AC. I know from everyone's posts on this thread, that a lot of people are touched by what Val did, so hopefully we can now all remember this and take a similiar positive attitude should anything like this happen where we live!!