The Day I May Have Eluded Death, Again

"A very difficult day of driving. But after 14 hours of traffic madness, at last, Butch Barbie and I have made it to Arizona. Now, at 6:10 pm, I still have about 4 hours or so left to drive."

October 18th, 2017

That was the text I included when I posted this picture on Facebook. There was a reason I included these details, this time window, but as is often my behavior, I didn't say what was going on.

You should know that I can detect dangerous people from miles away. Really. It's one of my super powers. I have several of those, by the way.

I took this picture while a man that I know for a fact, was stalking me. I think he started following me on the interstate. When I pulled in at this rest stop, he pulled in a few seconds later and parked right next to me. When I got out of the car and headed toward the restroom - and about 3 seconds after I stepped up on the curb - so did he. 

Neither of these things is necessarily odd - it was a rest stop and people get out of their cars and head toward the facilities - but I overtly noticed him when he parked. It felt all wrong and my brain yelled louder and louder at me the farther I got from my car.

So I stopped short, turned around, walking back past him, went to my car and got Butch Barbie. I decided to avoid the restroom. I knew that if this guy had targeted me, that I shouldn't leave sight of my car. It's not uncommon for these men to compromise your vehicle so you are stranded on the side of the road at some point.

I grabbed Butch Barbie, stood up, and looked toward the facilities; I wasn't surprised to see that he also did not go into the rest room but stopped to take a drink from the fountain. When he stood up, he turned around to "survey his surroundings".

I took Butch Barbie and walked to the railing you see in the picture which was about 40 to 50 yards in front of my car and 30 or so feet beyond the picture location. I leaned on it, as many were doing, and looked out at the vista. He then walked from the fountain, staying quite close to the side of the building, up to the railing himself, but about 20 feet away from me. I wondered how to shake this weirdo, so I decided that I would behave somewhat normally for a few minutes and see if he would leave on his own.

Well, he didn't leave the railing the entire time I stood there. So I walked back in the direction of my car, and a couple of seconds later, he too, left the railing. I worked to keep him within my peripheral vision. I stopped at this raised concrete planter thing and decided to have a photo shoot. This enabled me to pose Barbie and take pictures from different directions and angles. He had stopped and leaned against the building behind me. I was definitely his target.

Since there was no question that I had become a target, when I took the photos, I made a big show of doing so, garnering the attention of quite a few travelers that were also there, and having a few friendly back and forth comments. I would be remembered for being here and just maybe one of those people noticed him leaning against the building behind me. I was making it difficult for him without him realizing I was being deliberate about it.

When I finished, I headed back to my car, as did he. I got in and locked all the doors. The rest stop was really busy, people were walking on either side of my car to get to the restrooms, but they were coming and going with their own agenda and were not noticing this guy. But even so, I knew he wouldn't do anything with all of these people around. 

Since he was parked right next to me, I assumed that if I left, he would follow me. I had plates that were from a state that was in my rearview mirror, so it likely seemed pretty obvious to him that I was not headed home.

In the photo, you can see the length of the shadows (you can even see me) - it was late afternoon. Most people don't tend to drive as long of a day as I do, and a logical assumption would be that I would be stopping for the night fairly soon, either at my destination (unlikely because it is a fairly empty stretch for many, many miles) or a hotel - although I wouldn't be. 

I wondered what actions I should take. I didn't want him to know I was on to him (people like this do NOT like to be outed and can become more determined), so I decided to look busy. The first thing I did was to overtly deal with my phone and start talking on speaker in an animated way, smiling and acting like I hadn't noticed him at all. I told my friend what was happening. The guy didn't leave.

I stayed on the phone with my friend and I opened Instagram. I was scrolling but still talking with my friend giving constant updates on the situation; still smiling and being animated. I knew that as long as it remained daylight and the rest stop remained busy, this would work for a while. I never looked his way, or any other way other than straight ahead.

I could see him occasionally covertly glancing in my direction with my peripheral vision, and after about half an hour, he was adjusting his sitting position frequently and looking perturbed. After about 45 minutes, he started his Toyota and left. At that point, I waited about 10 minutes and then posted this picture with the current time and expected time of arrival at my destination.

There was an exit coming up within a mile of where I was, but there were no services and nothing for miles in either direction on that road. I was concerned he may have exited and would be waiting for me to pass under to get behind me. Or even be driving slowly so I would pass him on the interstate. Although I checked every time I went under an overpass to make sure he hadn't just selected one farther down the road and was following me, I never saw him again. 

I drove at a good clip hoping to arrive sooner than expected.

Once I reached Phoenix, I was in thick traffic with an insane number of lanes. I changed lanes quite a bit. By the time I was on the other side of Phoenix, I felt fairly sure he thought I had become too much of a liability. I was out of his preferred "territory" which was clearly defined as vast empty spaces.

Once I returned home, I looked to see if there were women who had gone missing in that area. And yes, there were. It had been going on for about 4 years, at that point. All were traveling in the same direction as I was, and all were last seen somewhere within the last 15 miles before that rest stop.

When I say that I have magical abilities, THIS is one of them. 

Being very aware of your surroundings and, more importantly, the people (mostly men) in them, and trusting your gut will serve you well. Stay alert and get into a safe place, often your car, and lock it. Get to a location with other people, preferably a lot of other people. If you're being followed, don't leave your car unattended. If you're on the move, keep moving until you reach a safe place, like a police station or fire station, stay in your car, call 911 and tell them you are in the parking lot in your car.

If you have a feeling at all, no matter how small or how silly you might think it is, trust it! The worst that could happen if you do, is nothing at all.