I like to think Im a pretty fair person. I wont judge you by your religion, color of your skin, apparent size of your bank account etc. But I had an experience last week that made me rethink my own personal prejudices.
I was driving down a main road in our city and saw a small girl with a handful of toys and no jacket (and it was chilly) walking on the sidewalk by herself. The road she was walking on was 40 mph with a lot of cars. I passed her and watched in the rear view mirror and saw her step off the sidewalk and into the gutter. I immediately did a u-turn and pulled up to two men (who had each been in their own cars) were trying to get her to the sidewalk without touching her. I hopped out and as three strangers we tried to decide on a course of action. I talked to the little girl and found out she was 3 and her name was Amalie or Emery, or Emily (it was hard to decipher) and when I asked her where she lived she kept pointing across the large, busy street.
I had my four girls plus a niece in the car with me so I stuck close by and knocked on the immediate doors. One man went farther down the street and the other went around the corner to the street where he lived to ask a neighbor who we was fairly certain would know who the child belonged too if she was from close by (she was in charge of the childrens organization at church).
Most the houses on that immediate street were vacant and the one woman I did talk to didnt recognize the girl. By the the man whod gone further down the street came back empty handed and it had been about 20 minutes since we stopped. Not knowing if the other man was coming back at this point I put in a call to 911. I was on the phone with the 911 operator when the second man came back saying hed found the grandmother of the little girl who was frantically searching the next street over. He offered to take the little girl over there in his car.
I couldnt let him. I couldnt send this little girl with a man that I didnt know to find her grandmother. I knew that I was safe. I also appeared safe since I had 5 kids in the car and certainly didnt need another one and he was a man that I didnt know and instinctively didnt trust with a little girl that wasnt his. I felt responsible for her welfare and safety and my gut reaction was to not send her with a man. One whod just spent almost a half hour trying to help her.
I did get her to grandma (I didnt keep her) who was quite frantic and distraught that shed lost her granddaughter while babysitting. The little girl didnt seem scared or upset in the least.
I tell my kids if they ever get lost to look for a mom or a grandma to help the find me again. Realistically the chances of a random man being a predator are pretty slim, but Ive obviously subconsciously decided otherwise.
Is this a good thing? A bad thing? A product of the society we live in?
Back to day 1
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