Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Creepy Encounter in Concord Center

I'm a pretty careful person, you guys. If I'm walking alone at night, especially in Cambridge or Boston, I make damn sure to scan the surrounding area, walk purposefully, and actively think about what I could use as a weapon if the need arose (keys, high heels, purse, hot coffee, etc.).

However, sometimes creepy situations come out of nowhere. The other night, I was accidentally way too early for a lesson with a student: I got our meeting time mixed up & realized I was there an hour early! No biggie, I thought, I'm near Concord center & I can grab a coffee at the coffee shop where I used to work.

That, of course, took all of five minutes & I was left with lots of time to kill. So I started wandering up Thoreau St. from the coffee shop, heading towards Concord center. My dream is to one day live in a big, old, more-expensive-than-I-can-afford-now house within walking distance of the commuter rail station there & take the train every day to a great job in fun, hip Cambridge. A girl can dream, right? ;)

As I walked past the commuter rail station (opposite side of the street), I saw a guy sitting on the low wall. He was probably in his early 40's, short, and greasy-haired. He was wearing a nylon track suit & looked
kind of scruffy. Hmm, I thought, he's a shady character.

However, I tried not to be judgmental & was quickly absorbed by the sight of the cute little houses along my walk. I meandered along - checking out front yards & porches and daydreaming. At the end of the street, I turned right onto a wide road & headed towards the gift shops about a hundred yards further down. It was a typical Concord road: well-marked crosswalks, neat gravel sidewalk, and large, well-tended lawns leading up to beautiful homes.

All of a sudden, I got a weird feeling. I glanced back & the creepy guy had left his perch by the station & was about twenty yards behind me. I turned around quickly & hastened my step. I tightened my grip on my purse & coffee cup and thought to myself, "I will throw this hot coffee right in his eyes, don't think I won't. And then I will run. Very fast. I wasn't a track star for nothing, you know!"

After another quick look backwards, during which I determined that he was still there & maybe even a little closer (I wasn't completely sure - I was a little freaked out by this point), I decided to cut my trip short. At the next crosswalk, I crossed the road & started walking back to where I'd parked via the opposite side of the road. Just when I thought I'd been acting silly & started to breathe a sigh of relief, I heard him yell, "Nice round trip, huh, gorgeous?"

After I finished cringing, a glance back determined that he had crossed the road behind me, but mercifully, after tossing that comment at my retreating back, headed in the opposite direction. Shudder. It's times like these that remind me how vulnerable women are sometimes & how very angry that makes me. However, once I knew that I was
safe, I thought, "I am so blogging about this."

(Also, Jason, I blame you b/c it's your town.)

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is really scary. I'm glad you're a smart and aware woman.

Love,
Mum

Fornya said...

Gawd I hate creeps, thugs and villains. I know this sorta thing is WAY worse for women, and I'm going into apples and oranges territory, but I often feel the same way when I'm walking around Beantown, especially at night. I carry a big, old fashioned camera and I'm always aware of the creepies around me, and though I'd hate to lose the camera, I've often choreographed my fight scene ahead of time using the ginormous camera as a weapon. Lots of times I think about going out at night to do some photography, but I shrug it off because I just don't want to deal with the night demons.

Thanks for sharing!

kate.d. said...

Living While Female, right? it's stories like this that validate my consistent over-the-shoulder checks. every thirty seconds to a minute if i'm not in a well-populated place. some people think i'm crazy, but...

sorry you had to deal with that creep.

b.kiddo said...

I think most women have had that, or something similar, occur before. Just reading that gives me little butterflies....eek

BostonMaggie said...

Glad you're ok.

Anonymous said...

Not my fault. Now I'm responsible for all the creepies in slumerville...

You can also assume the the Concord police found that guy later in the day and killed him. That's basically how the town deals with non-residents after dark (or residents driving crappy cars). Have to protect all that history.

londongirl said...

Eeek. Close encounter of the wrong kind, no? Glad you're on the ball though.