|
|
|
|
This is something that happened to me yesturday (7/15/04) and i just hope it doesn't happen to anyone else.
To start off, i'm 16 years old ( soon to be 17 ), i live in Los Angeles, CA, i'm school and basically a person that doesn't like to get into trouble. Yesturday i woke up late to go to school and i got lazy so i decided not to go. I stayed sleeping untill about 11:00am. I was fine at home, i was not planning to go out, however about 3:00pm i got a call from a friend asking if i could go visit them. I was not doing anything so i decided to go out thinking nothing wrong was gaing to happen. Well it was the beginning of one bad day.
I went to visit my friend, everything was fine, in my mind it was like a normal day. I usually travel by bus ( public transportation ) and so far there has never been any problems. It was getting late so i told my friends i had to leave because i wanted to get home before dark ( usually it gets dark around 8:30pm ). I had all the time in the world so without noticing i got on a bus that doesn't go all the way to my designated bus stop. To me it was not a big deal.. all i had to do was to get off the bus and wait for the next one, right? Unfortunally, it didn't turned out that way.
It was bright daylight, people were walking around, some where waiting for the bus too. The sun was hitting the bench straight on so i dicided to move away to the sidewalk to wait for the bus. First you have to understand that where i was is not a good area of Los Angeles. In fact, is one of the worse but i had traveled through there (never had stoppped there ) and nothing had happened. In that area a lot of homeless, poor people live around there and is basically composed of mainly african americans. Now that you know the type of place it is.. what happened next would make sense. I was waiting for the bus when a person started walking towards me ( black male , around 19 years of age, a little taller than me ) when he pulled a gun from his back and showed it to me. I didn't have time to react cause in no time he was behind me pointing the gun to my back. At that point i was so scare because anything could happen. He asked me to give him everything i had on me. He took my cellphone, my wallet with everything in it, he took my buspass ( used to travel free on the bus ) , and he even took my house keys. I was not ganna argue with him of course cause he had a gun behind my back. I was nerveous , honestly cause he was getting desperate. You have to take in mind.. there were people around watching the whole thing but they could not do anything about it because he threaten them to harm me if they got close to me or tried to help me. People just walked away while he took all of my possesions. The whole incident lasted for less than a minute but to me it was an eternity. After he was satisfy, he walked away from me to an alley to jump a wall and run away. I was there left alone , thankfully unharm and breathing. It was then when the panic hit in. I was shaking so bad, i could barely walk. I mean that guy could have done anything to me. He could have shot me, he could have hit me... i don't know, and just thinking about it makes me feel how lucky i was because he didn't do anything to me.
After it happened, of course he took my money, and i was about 15 minute away from home. I felt two quaters in my back pocket so i walked to a payphone some 5 blocks away from where i was. I called my mother and she came to pick me up. I still could not believe what had happened to me. I was feeling so bad, so scared , it made it difficult to control myself. My mother soon got there and we went home, she was very worried.
I have never felt so scare in my life. My life could have ended there, i don't know. I just wish nobody has to go through it, you have no idea what maniac decides to robe you and end up harming you. Thank God i'm ok, nothing happened to me. I dont care about the material stuff cause they can be replacable, but thank God i'm ok physically.
People... be careful out there and please, if it happens to you, the worse thing one can do is to try to fight or argue with the robber. Just give them what they ask for, life is more important.
You don't love someone because they are beautiful, they are beautiful because you love them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
*****HUGZ*****
i'm so sorry you had to go through that.
it makes me sad to know that this happened to u. i'll worry about you from now on, ya know.
i grew up in NYC where those kinds of things are fairly commen no matter what part of town you're in. it's a scary thing having to watch ur back all the time. but remember, we all take risks on a daily basis. we take a risk getting out of bed. we take a risk walking outside of our houses. we take a risk by riding in a car. we take a risk walking down the most dangerous street of brooklyn.
guess what i'm trying to say is not everyone falls into the trap that lies beyond the risk, and i'll shed some tears knowing that you, a friend of mine, did.
****more hugz****
rodney
"more tongue and groove than a hardwood floor"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
for feeling worry. You are right we face danger everymoment of our life. We are not safe anywhere. People ask me what was i doing there? well it doesn't matter cause it could have happen anywhere else. I was there at the wrong time/ wrong place. Sure it could have been avoided but there is no way to what is going to happen. You make choices and sometimes those choices lead to bad situations, unfortunally it did for me.
The good thing came out of that situation unharm and was able to walk away safely.
You don't love someone because they are beautiful, they are beautiful because you love them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
That sounds absolutely horrible! I can't imagine what it would be like, I've never been robbed at gunpoint, but I am really glad he only stole your stuff. He could have decided to hurt you just for kicks. 
It's good to hear you're alright. Hope you'll continue to stay safe from now on. Take CARE.
-L
"But he that hath the steerage of my course,
direct my sail."
-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act One, Scene IV
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
i had no idea what it was like until it happened to me. Is horrific, is scary, you feel so helpless at the moment.
i just thought about everything... i didnt want anything bad to happen to me so i tried to followed all his instructions. When i finally got home i felt so safe made me realize a lot of things.
You don't love someone because they are beautiful, they are beautiful because you love them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
timmy
|
 |
Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
|
|
|
Hugs you gently
You did everything right. Hell, I'd have done anything he asked.
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
timmy
|
|
Has no life at all |
Location: UK, in Devon
Registered: February 2003
Messages: 13796
|
|
|
Oh...... CHANGE the locks on your home. He has the keys
Author of Queer Me! Halfway Between Flying and Crying - the true story of life for a gay boy in the Swinging Sixties in a British all male Public School
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Actually he cant get to my house. I did have school ID's in my wallet but they are old ID's with my old adress. I had no papers in my wallet to lead back to my house ( where i live now ) so i'm not that worry about it otherwise we would have changed the locks of course.
He couldnt have followed my home cause i was picked up in a car and drove away. I did not walk home.
You don't love someone because they are beautiful, they are beautiful because you love them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Thanks god you're unharmed and safe, M. I'm profoundly grateful that this person that assaulted you that way was interested only in taking your belongings.
Should you find yourself getting increasingly scared of going outside or start having nightmares or waking dreams about the event, please don't hesitate to see a professional for help: these are very common reactions to a traumatic event like you experienced, and medical help is indicated, exactly the same as if you had received a physical injury during the assault. Please don't let this trauma rob your life of richness needlessly.
"I promise not to try not to fuck with your mind/ I promise not to mind if you go your way and i go mine/promise not to lie if i'm looking you right in your eye/promise not to try not to let you down."
--Eve6
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
e
|
 |
On fire! |
Location: currently So Cal
Registered: May 2002
Messages: 1179
|
|
|
LA is a very dangerous place. It is easy to get hurt here and there are plenty of people who will hurt you. Getting onto the wrong bus or off at the wrong stop can be very dangerous as you found out. Especially for a teenager because gangs will target you if you don't belong there.
I am glad you are ok. You could easily not be.
My last job took me all over the city and into neighborhoods where I sometimes worried that I would come out alive. I've had guns pointed at me and even shots fired over my head.
When I first came to LA in 1983 I went for a job interview in South Central, near Watts. I didn't have a car so I took the bus. I had to change busses three times and it got scarier each time. Finally when I reached my destination and got off, there were rival gangs (one Black, one Hispanic) on two of the corners opposite the one I was on. I was glad that they were a little more pre-occupied with each other than with the only white boy for miles. I was also glad that the place I was going was right on the same corner. The guy who interviewed me, a Hispanic man, warned me that I probably didn't want this job because of how dangerous it was for me to be in that neighborhood even though I was the most qualified candidate he'd interviewed. When the interview was over, he walked me to the bus stop only after we saw the bus coming so I wouldn't have to stand there. It was one of the scariest days of my life and I learned some valuable lessons about traveling in LA.
Take care and STAY IN SCHOOL! ::-)
{{{HUGS}}}
Think good thoughts,
e
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
...you got some basic information about that person. If your social security number is shown on the ID he can get your current address no problem, and even without it I doubt it would be very difficult.
There are how-to guides on the web that can get all kinds of info about a person from public records. Better change those locks anyway to be safe.
"But he that hath the steerage of my course,
direct my sail."
-William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet, Act One, Scene IV
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
well where it happened to me was in an area near watts. Vermont and Manchester. I dont live around there.. i just need to go through there in oder to get to my house which is about 20 minute by bus.
You don't love someone because they are beautiful, they are beautiful because you love them.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
e
|
|
On fire! |
Location: currently So Cal
Registered: May 2002
Messages: 1179
|
|
|
Though it isn't the worst place in the city, it is certainly a place where you could get hurt. Passing through while ON the bus is probably pretty safe. But getting OFF the bus, even to transfer can be risky. I found that going into places like that in the morning is far safer than in the evening, not because of darkness, but because the criminal element is usually still asleep. Try as much as you can to look like you belong, though that could be difficult. Don't be fidgety or look nervous. Keep a close eye out for people who look like trouble. Stay in a public area, though obviously that didn't help in your case. Don't look people directly in the eye, they'll think you're staring them down. but don't look away either, they'll think you are afraid. Watch for police cars. You'll frequently see them drive by. Know where they are so you can get their attention if need be. If you have to get off the bus, look out of the window to see who is standing around on the corners opposite the bus stop and don't get off if it looks like trouble. Tell the driver if someone is hassleing you. He can radio for help. Definitely report the incident to MTA as they are supposed to provide security for their passengers and may be of help.
{{{HUGS}}}
Thnk good thoughts,
e
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
marc
|
 |
Needs to get a life! |
Registered: March 2003
Messages: 4729
|
|
|
You should consider getting yourself a money belt or leg wallet.
It straps to your lower shin and is hidden by your pant leg.
Life is great for me... Most of the time... But then I meet people online... Very few are real friends... Many say they are but know nothing of what it means... Some say they are, but are so shallow...
|
|
|
|
|
Goto Forum:
|
] 
A Place of Safety
Search
Help
Register
Login
Home
I was so scare........ 
OMG! Glad you're okay buddy... 
