[AGL] Not paranoid, just happen to be in crime ridden Atlanta

[Gerry]

All the paranoia you city folks are experiencing, what a drag. Out here in the boonies we don't have locks on any of the doors or windows, never lock the car at the Walmart or Coop, fear hardly anyone, pay very small insurance premiums on cars, property, etc. As for the news and the Bushie scare campaign, that's all very far away and does not pertain to our lives in a direct manner--but the price of gasoline sure does and now that it has dropped a bit we can afford that extra trip to town more often. Fears expressed at the weekly coffee klatch include coyotes grabbing an occasional pet (mostly cats), the weed invasion which followed the flood and the heavy monsoon season (awesome), the amazingly beautiful colors found on the invading grasshoppers, the javelina count, politicos scheming to get more of the downstream water from our pristine little river, Border Patrol finding illegal farmhands some depend upon (no busts for a couple of years now), and the possibility of a strong El Nino winter cycle starting again (lots of snow). In the meantime we are having a big harvest party after a very successful gardening and farming year (volleyball, potluck, drumming around a big fire, ganja, etc.) We really do thank the Gods for our little valley and our peaceful productive lives, everyday.

Reading the New Yorker each week is my idea of culture (have any of you seen the new MOMA? The reviewers say it has lost its soul...), maybe 1 or 2 trips to ABQ or El Paso in old cars each year to see friends or visit the VA hospital for a blood check, eat at a good restaurant. Get my music over the Internet (Rhapsody, Lincoln Center concerts, etc.), listen to ball games on Internet hookups, shop on the Internet (garden stuff, auto parts, bulk health food, blue jeans, boots, etc.). You would be amazed at how much there is to look at and investigate right under your nose if you slow down a bit to check it out. Checking out a scarlet and pink sunrise at present--not a painting on a wall, the real natural color. 

But this doesn't work if you require a lot of social activity in your life. Or if you have a lot money to spend and need lots of outlets to acquire new stuff. One couple divorced recently and she (who was moving out) had an all weekend affair in which she gave all her stuff away...very showy, one of the coffee clatchers observed, she could have just burned it.
G
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Maryann Price PriMARY Productions 
  To: survivors' reminiscences about Austin Ghetto Daze in the 60s 
  Sent: Friday, October 06, 2006 3:35 AM
  Subject: Re: [AGL] Not paranoid, just happen to be in crime ridden Atlanta


  Y'know, I have never seen a fear-mongering epidemic like the one we have now.  One "news" story after another...I think it's some kinda control thang.  I'm serious.

  Now, where did I put that gun........?
  I remain,
  Maryann
  widow in withdrawal times two
    ----- Original Message ----- 
    From: Frances Morey 
    To: Austin List 
    Sent: Thursday, October 05, 2006 4:46 PM
    Subject: [AGL] Not paranoid, just happen to be in crime ridden Atlanta


    The evening news here, and across America, it seems, is full of horror stories. While I am reluctant to leave the condo after dark I did go meet Stephen Goldfarb for pizza and a beer last night. I am amazed at how many people we know in common, including Mike E., Pat Brown, Margo McGann, Chris Leipsieger (?), and Roger Baker. 
    He recently retired from the Fulton County piblic library system. 
    I am struck with how expensive Atlanta is, even compared to NYC, San Francisco and Chicago. The cost of going to museums and other cultural attractions is outrageous...$35 on the average for me and one 6 year old to go to Fernbank natural history museum, the Zoo, the Children's Museum, the Georgia Aquarium and on and on. Having been to the Field and the Shedd in Chicago, the venues here are pale by comparison and way higher priced. 
    In SF, even after the price went up, unlimited bus rides for seniors is $10 per month, was $8 when I was there in '03. Here same is $53 per month, or $13 a week. The ticket here includes the Marta (subway) which is $1.75 per ride and in SF the Bart is, or was $1.15 and wasn't included in the bus pass. Still SF is more cultured and cheaper than Atlanta. Amazing.
    Best,
    Frances

     
     It never hurts to be reminded ...... 

    Crucial 
    Because of recent abductions in daylight hours,refresh yourself of these things to do in an emergency situation... This is for you, and for you to share with your wife, your children, everyone you know. After reading these 9 crucial tips , forward them to someone you care about. It never hurts to be careful in this crazy world we live in. 
    1 . Tip from Tae Kwon Do : The elbow is the strongest point  on your body. If you are close enough to use it, do!


    2. Learned this from a tourist guide in New Orleans. If a robber asks for your wallet and/or purse, DO NOT HAND IT TO HIM . Toss it away from you.... chances are that he is more interested in your wallet and/or purse than you, and he will go for the wallet/purse. RUN LIKE MAD IN THE OTHER DIRECTION! 


    3. If you are ever thrown into the trunk of a car, kick out the back tail lights and stick your arm out the hole and start waving like crazy. The driver won't see you, but everybody else will. This has saved lives.


    4. Women have a tendency to get into their cars after shopping, eating, working, etc., and just sit (doing their checkbook, or making a list, etc. DON'T DO THIS!) The predator will be watching you, and this is the perfect opportunity for him to get in on the passenger side, put a gun to your head, and tell you where to go. AS SOON AS YOU GET INTO YOUR CAR , LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE. a. If someone is in the car with a gun to your head DO NOT DRIVE OFF, repeat: DO NOT DRIVE OFF! Instead gun the engine and speed into anything, wrecking the car. Your Air Bag will save you. If the person is in the back seat they will get the worst of it . As soon as the car crashes bail out and run. It is better than having them find your body in a remote location. 
    5. A few notes about getting into your car in a parking lot, or parking garage: a.) Be aware: look around you, look into your car, at the passenger side floor , and in the back seat.  b.)  If you are parked next to a big van, enter your car from the passenger door . Most serial killers attack their victims by pulling them into their vans while the women are attempting to get into their cars. c.) Look at the car parked on the driver's side of your vehicle, and the passenger side. If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, you may want to walk back into the mall, or work, and get a guard/policeman to walk you back out. IT IS ALWAYS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY. (And better paranoid than dead.) 
    6. ALWAYS take the elevator instead of the stairs. (Stairwells are horrible places to be alone and the perfect crime spot. This is especially true at NIGHT!) 
    7. If the predator has a gun and you are not under his control, ALWAYS RUN! The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times; And even then, it most likely WILL NOT be a vital organ. RUN, Preferably ! in a zig -zag pattern! 
    8. As women, we are always trying to be sympathetic: STOP . It may get you raped, or killed. Ted Bundy, the serial killer, was a good-looking, well educated man, who ALWAYS played on the sympathies of unsuspecting women. He walked with a cane, or a limp, and often asked "for help" into his vehicle or with his vehicle, which is when he abducted his next victim. 
    9. Another Safety Point: Someone just told me that her friend heard a crying baby on her porch the night before last, and she called the police because it was late and she thought it was weird. The police told her "Whatever you do, DO NOT open the door." The lady then said that it sounded like the baby had crawled near a window, and she was worried that it would crawl to the street and get run over. The policeman said, "We already have a unit on the way, whatever you do, DO NOT open the door." He told her that they think a serial killer has a baby's cry recorded and uses it to coax women out of their homes thinking that someone dropped off a baby He said they have not verified it, but have had several calls by women saying that they hear baby's cries outside their doors when they're home alone at night. Please pass this on and DO NOT open the door for a crying baby ---- This e-mail should probably be taken seriously because the Crying Baby theory was mentioned on America 's Most Wanted this past Saturday when they profiled the serial killer in Louisiana . 
    I'd like you to forward this to all the women you know. It may save a life. A candle is not dimmed by lighting another candle. I was going to send this to the ladies only, but guys, if you love your mothers, wives, sisters, daughters, etc., you may want to pass it onto them, as well. 
    Send this to any woman you know that may need to be reminded that the world we live in has a lot of crazies in it and it's better to be safe than sorry.


    Write it on your heart that every day is the best day in the year. 
    Ralph Waldo Emerson



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