Under surveillance

In My Humble Opinion
1

I was reminded the other day of a something that happened to me a few years back. On my way to work there was a car behind me riding my tail. I didn’t actually notice until I was a few blocks away.

I shrugged it off, thinking it was just another impatient dickwad. But then he started making gestures, and seemed to be yelling at me. My heart started to race thinking that I was about to get shot at or run off the road. As I was only a few blocks from work, and I knew the parking lot would have people – and a security guard – milling about, I peeled out with this guy right behind me.

I hug the corner pullling into the lot and park as close to the front of the building as I could. I jam the car into park and jump out of my car and turn around only to realize the guy is standing right in front of me. My jaw drops open as I fumble to find my pepper spray and the guy leans over and says,

“I like your hair.”

:eek:

“Er, uh, gee. Thanks.”

And off I run into the building.

So, any had any weird encounters? Strangers who had you under surveillance? Any near-stalking experiences that scared the ever-loving crap out of you?

2

I’ve been the accidental stalker.

I was at my favourite pub, having a couple of beers, minding my own business. I overheard some guys to my left discussing a new place that had opened up a couple of blocks away. Per these guys, the new place was trying to build clientelle by serving bottled beer at very low prices.

Being an adventurous fellow and having little or no money in my purse (sorry, Mr. Melville) I decided to give it a look.

I finished my pint, got up, gathered my stuff, told Dale the bartender I might see him later, and walked out the door, where I locked eyes with a guy who had been sitting off to my right. He was standing in front of the bar, staring back at the door.

Whatever, I started to walk. He started to walk. He stopped about 30 feet down the road and stared into the window of a clothing store. I passed him and kept going, but was hijacked by a new window display at our local “Knives, Axes, Swords, Spears, and Things of Dubious Legality” shop. I paused to examine the wares, wishing I had the wherewithal to purchase the shiny sharp things. He passed me, and when he came to the corner and I had finished my browsing I noticed that he was, as far as I could tell, using the mirrored window of a building across the street to stare at me. He turned right and kept walking.

I turned right and kept walking. Due to the peculiar nature of the local layout, there are three right turns required to get from bar to bar. Since this guy kept looking back at me, I was getting a little nervous and wondering what the hell he was doing. When he made the fourth right turn, I realized that he was convinced I was following him. Very few people take time out from drinking to walk around the block, but it’s a standard spy novel method for detecting really stupid followers.

I ducked into the nearest shop and spent some quality time looking at nauseatingly twee porcelain figurines until I was sure Agent X had managed to elude my surveillance.

I’m really glad I didn’t make that fourth right turn.

3
  1. I, too, have been an accidental stalker.

I was living in Hawaii and had gone down to Hanauama Bay for some sun and snorkling. It was a busy place on weekends so their parking lot was full. I had to park all the way down the hill from the entrance in a residential neighborhood nearby and walk up the hill to get to the entrance. Once you get over the top of the hill you go down a long staircase on the side of the cliff to get to the bay.

When I was done with my fun for the day, I headed back up the stairs. I happened to be right behind a couple on the stairs but I didn’t think anything of it. There were lots of people coming and going at that time. When I got past the staircase and was crossing the parking lot to the entrance, it became clear to me that the couple in front of me was heading in the same direction, so I slowed my pace a bit. I hate it when people are right on my ass when they don’t need to be so I try to give others the courtesy of a little space.

Anyway, after we exited the park, they headed in the direction I was going. Clearly they were parked down the hill just like I was. The walk to the cars was probably about a half a mile, so I continued to pace myself behind the couple about 30 or 40 yards. After a little while I noticed the guy ahead seem to keep furtively glance back at me, a lot. He seemed to be getting a little agitated. I kept my distance, but I couldn’t really tell if he was just annoyed because I was there, or if he thought I was going to mug him somehow. After a while longer I really felt like they saw me as a threat, they seemed scared.

I mean, here I was wearing swim trunks, sandles and a t-shirt. He was about 40 lbs heavier than me. But, the area we were hiking through was completely unpopulated until you got to the neighborhood where we parked. I suppose I could have picked up a rock and mashed their noggins or something. Anywho, I just kept my distance and snickered at the scared rabbits in front of me.

Naturally, when we got to the cars, their’s was right in front of mine.

  1. And I have been on the receiving end.

I was in Munich and late one night I was taking a long walk home from a friends apartment. The streets were deserted that time of night except for an occassional car going by. As I was walking down one main street, I saw 2 guys walking toward me. I could see them for quite a while as they approached and they just looked like regular young guys. Eventually they passed me, but when they got about a half a block away I took a quick glance back and they had stopped. I kept walking, and glancing, after a moment they started walking IN MY DIRECTION! So, these guys are following me and my mind is racing. I’m keeping my eyes open for bars that were open or buildings that looked like I could run in to them. All the time I’m thinking, “I will have to kill these men, I will not be able to explain it to the police sufficently, and I will die in a German prison!” Well, after a few blocks, they turned a corner and were gone. And I hurried home in a panic.

Conclusion: what goes around comes around?