Beware Of Strangers

We heard it as kids
Kids still hear it
and now there are programs in school
on how to spot a stranger
and what to do.

As I said in my last post
Tater and I encountered a stranger
as we returned from a long walk
two nights ago
it was after 10 pm
he was in jeans and a white t-shirt
with the sleeves torn off
and they were both baggy
He was with a car that was a POS
and he was inquiring
as to whether we could help him
with a flat
but he had no jack

now we didn't help him
but I did try to direct him
to some help (in a menacing way, I admit)

and as we were walking on down the street
Tater and I talked about
how sad it is
that you can't trust people anymore
actually I said
you never can tell if people are wanting to harm you anymore
and Tater said
you never could tell
and I retorted
well that's true
but any more there seem to be more people
pretending to be in distress,
when they are really
ready to cause harm
and that is sad
because people who really are in distress
are passed on the street
because people are afraid of getting hurt
they are afraid of strangers

I just know I was meant to live
in a simpler time and place
and some days
it is clearer than others

The best good samaritan I know
is RJ
we stopped one day
while walking around Woodlawn park
and helped a grandmother
put together a very fancy kite
for her grandson
it took us a good long time
even with his great engineering skills

but in the dark
in a weird spot
with a guy that didn't have a jack
and apparently no cell phone
to call a friend for help
it didn't seem like a good idea
to get involved
and I think Tater would have helped
if it hadn't seemed
so suspicious