THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE [With embedded Slayer commentary]:
[No date for the original message, not a good start for the reliability meter]
I'm not an alarmist but this one hit home with me. You can really get yourself into trouble just by being "nice". We must all think first. Please read below [Really? It sounds like you are being an alarmist].
NEW FORM OF KIDNAPPING
Please take a minute to read this. This is very scary and could happen to any of us..[Double period, must be a serious point] Seems like every nice thing people do for one another can be perverted.
A new twist on kidnapping from a very smart survivor:
About a month ago [A month ago when? This is not a real date] there was a woman standing by the mall [Which mall?] entrance passing out flyers to all the women going in.The woman had written the flyer herself to tell about an experience she had, so that she might warn other women.
The previous day, this woman had finished shopping, went out to her car and discovered that she had a flat.
She got the jack out of the trunk and began to change the flat. A nice man dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase walked up to her and said, 'I noticed you're changing a flat tire. Would you like me to take care of it for you?'
The woman was grateful for his offer and accepted his help. They chatted amiably while the man changed the flat, and then put the flat tire and the jack in the trunk, shut it and dusted his hands off.
The woman thanked him profusely, and as she was about to get in her car, the man told her that he left his car around on the other side of the mall, and asked if she would mind giving him a lift to his car.
She was a little surprised and she asked him why his car was on other side.
He explained that he had seen an old friend in the mall that he hadn't seen for some time and they had a bite to eat, visited for a while, and he got turned around in the mall and left through the wrong exit, and now he was running late.
The woman hated to tell him 'no' because he had just rescued her from having to change her flat tire all by herself, but she felt un easy . (Trust that gut feeling!)
Then she remembered seeing the man put his briefcase in her trunk before shutting it and before he asked her for a ride to his car.
She told him that she'd be happy to drive him around to his car, But she just remembered one last thing she needed to buy. (Smart woman!!)
She said she would only be a few minutes; he could sit down in her car and wait for her; she would be as quick as she could be
She hurried into the mall, and told a security guard what had happened, the guard [Blart? Really?] came out to her car with her, but the man had left. They opened the trunk, took out his locked briefcase and took it down to the police station.
The police opened it (ostensibly to look for ID so they could return it to the man). What they found was rope, duct tape, and knives. When the police checked her 'flat' tire, there was nothing wrong with it; the air had simply been let out. It was obvious what the man's intention was, and obvious that he had carefully thought it out in advance. The woman was blessed to have escaped harm.
How much worse it would have been if she had children with her and had them wait in the car while the man fixed the tire, or if she had a baby strapped into a car seat? Or if she'd gone against her judgment and given him a lift?
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 on to 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. Better to be safe than sorry.
PLEASE BE SAFE AND NOT SORRY!
THE SLAYING:
NEW FORM OF KIDNAPPING
Please take a minute to read this. This is very scary and could happen to any of us..[Double period, must be a serious point] Seems like every nice thing people do for one another can be perverted.
A new twist on kidnapping from a very smart survivor:
About a month ago [A month ago when? This is not a real date] there was a woman standing by the mall [Which mall?] entrance passing out flyers to all the women going in.The woman had written the flyer herself to tell about an experience she had, so that she might warn other women.
The previous day, this woman had finished shopping, went out to her car and discovered that she had a flat.
She got the jack out of the trunk and began to change the flat. A nice man dressed in a business suit and carrying a briefcase walked up to her and said, 'I noticed you're changing a flat tire. Would you like me to take care of it for you?'
The woman was grateful for his offer and accepted his help. They chatted amiably while the man changed the flat, and then put the flat tire and the jack in the trunk, shut it and dusted his hands off.
The woman thanked him profusely, and as she was about to get in her car, the man told her that he left his car around on the other side of the mall, and asked if she would mind giving him a lift to his car.
She was a little surprised and she asked him why his car was on other side.
He explained that he had seen an old friend in the mall that he hadn't seen for some time and they had a bite to eat, visited for a while, and he got turned around in the mall and left through the wrong exit, and now he was running late.
The woman hated to tell him 'no' because he had just rescued her from having to change her flat tire all by herself, but she felt un easy . (Trust that gut feeling!)
Then she remembered seeing the man put his briefcase in her trunk before shutting it and before he asked her for a ride to his car.
She told him that she'd be happy to drive him around to his car, But she just remembered one last thing she needed to buy. (Smart woman!!)
She said she would only be a few minutes; he could sit down in her car and wait for her; she would be as quick as she could be
She hurried into the mall, and told a security guard what had happened, the guard [Blart? Really?] came out to her car with her, but the man had left. They opened the trunk, took out his locked briefcase and took it down to the police station.
The police opened it (ostensibly to look for ID so they could return it to the man). What they found was rope, duct tape, and knives. When the police checked her 'flat' tire, there was nothing wrong with it; the air had simply been let out. It was obvious what the man's intention was, and obvious that he had carefully thought it out in advance. The woman was blessed to have escaped harm.
How much worse it would have been if she had children with her and had them wait in the car while the man fixed the tire, or if she had a baby strapped into a car seat? Or if she'd gone against her judgment and given him a lift?
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 on to 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. Better to be safe than sorry.
PLEASE BE SAFE AND NOT SORRY!
THE SLAYING:
1. Found Snopes website via Bing. Typed “new form of kidnapping” in search box.
2. Read article on Snopes reveling this story to be a variation of an urban legend. This particular version has been on the Internet since 2001.
3. Double check CNN for any similar story since the news media loves this kind of s**t, it would likely turn up there if it were real, no such luck.
4. And Presto, this piece is debunked!
SLAYER'S COMMENTS:Since you took the journey with me, you already know this piece is a total fabrication. In fact, it took longer to write about how it to slay it than it did to determine the message was a load of hooey. At this point, I believe it is safe to dry off and pocket the personal emergency whistle until another potential threat is uncovered via the magic of the Internet and email.
http://www.snopes.com/horrors/madmen/hairyarm.asp
http://www.ehow.com/how_4791758_personal-emergency-alarm-whistle.html
plus who would let a strange keep his briefcase in the trunk...um excuse me get your stuff outta there!!! great job slayer!!
ReplyDeleteGreat observation Nancy. I forgot to mention that the exact same thing happened to me once when I was at the mall. The only difference is that when Blart and the police looked in the briefcase they found a guitar pick, a yo-yo, and an apple so it did not seem like it was worth reporting at the time.
ReplyDelete