After that my yarn and I headed home. As of now I am ensconced on my couch-still in said tennies. I have my knitting balanced on my pillow and on the TV I am watching another episode of my most recent online course, The Science of Natural Healing. Which, by the way, I highly recommend.
I suspect that from now on, when I want to walk during the day, I'll be taking this route (pun not intended) instead of walking on the canal path that wanders through my neighborhood.
One of the reasons we decided on this house was it's proximity to the wide, shady path. Basically, we face east onto our street. The people across the street facing west ack up to said canal and green space. So we are really, really close. And as unsteady as I am on my feet, and unable to really walk the dog any distance, I do enjoy being able to walk a few steps out of my house and walk or meander down said path, depending on my energy level. As well as enjoy and say hello to the other dogs and their owners, neighbors who are biking, joggers, and more. Or rather, that's what I find when I walk in the evenings or on the weekdays.
The thing is though, that I generally walk right before or after lunch. Kids are in school, most people are working, and I have, on more than one occasion walked much of the path without running into a soul. I walk with my phone, both for safety and to track my "steps", but I have to admit, if I hear someone coming up behind me and there's no dog breathing, or no one calling out "on your left", as most of the joggers do here, I get nervous. Especially as a gal who likes to walk by herself, and use this as her meditation time. Which is a nice way of saying I am not always paying attention to my surroundings.
Recently a situation arose that reminded me about how even the safest neighborhoods can be dangerous-especially for women, but not only for women. More break ins take place in the day, when no one is around, after all.
You all may remember that post a few days ago where I took our dogs to walk on the path. We walked along the river, looked at the rapids, walked on a bridge and back again. All the while enjoying the scenery, kids, dogs, bikers and everything mentioned above.
I have since realized that the bridge we walked over and enjoyed was the site of a brutal attack on a woman about a week prior. She was walking her dog on a loop during the day (at ten am on a weekday there was no one immediately nearby) She was a strong, active girl, who had a dog, and was fairly alert (if you read the article below, she knew something was up because he walked past her and then lapped around and walked into her head on from another direction).
This young woman was smart, and strong and still barely got away. Mainly undressed and hogtied, she managed to free herself because the "perp" lost his glasses. She got away, ran screaming and naked and found someone to help her- and the individual was arrested. He has priors, was wanted and will be in jail for a very long time if I understand correctly. Note: not only was this woman smart and strong, afterward she allowed herself to be photographed and told her story to the newspaper and shared her name, which is why I included the link below.
https://denver.cbslocal.com/2018/07/26/woman-attacked-littleton-trail-posts-photos-facebook/
I am not paranoid. I am unafraid to take the light rail or metro into the city for a concert. I drive down to my church for evening events and park on the street. I go to the mall alone. I don't lock my home during the day when I am home (even alone) since I have the barking dog from hell. I also do not think that the world as such has become more unsafe. Rather, my own ability to react in such situations has changed. And frankly, as a mainly city girl, I have become aware of situations such as this that were not as obvious or as common in the urban villages of the rest of my life. In DC, were I walking or running in the morning, there were already people everywhere. I am not afraid of people, just the lack of them.
In terms of my own physicality in response to such a situation, I am definitely not in a position to run (understatement of the decade) although I probably could use the cane (which I honestly carry in case the dog and I meet a coyote) with more adeptness than I think.
So i am no longer walking alone on the tree lined, shady path. At least not in the middle of the day when am the only walker on said path. From now on I will drive to the mall and walk for forty minutes. Or go to the aforementioned heated pool or exercise. Or wait and walk after dinner with the rest of the neighborhood.
Call me paranoid, call me a wimp. Whatever.
Walking on paths alone is scary. The muggings aren't the only thing to worry about either, for me. Ticks are bad this year, and here an occasional bear and a rabid fox has been seen. But the darn bikers are the most dangerous. They ride in large packs, do their little yell and don't slow down for anything, even slow moving old women with hearing issues who can't move off the path with the deep ravines along the sides. It's maddening that a few people can spoil a place for many.
ReplyDeleteI can't knit in the summer months!
Fortnately where I am, the bikers and runners are fairly polite. I knit because if I dont start on Christmas now.....
DeleteBetter safe then sorry---for sure!
ReplyDeleteYep, much as I hate it a small adjustment is worth it. I can still hike on the path weekends and such when more others are there.
DeleteI totally agree with you. It is sad that we can not walk alone without fear in nature and secluded spots. I gave that up long ago.
ReplyDeleteI wont give up the nature part, just the secluded ones, and aim more for evenings and weekends.
DeleteThis is a very timely post for me. Last week a young woman was raped in woods near a friends house - in broad daylight at 10am. The attacker was caught very quickly. It is a very popular dog walking spot and the woman was extraordinarily unlucky that there was no one else around although she was found afterwards and helped by dog walkers who called the police etc. Poor girl. This has made my friend and I reassess our safety - she walks without a dog, I walk in our nearby woods with my Labrador- is he enough deterrent to make an attacker think again? Both of us often forget to take our phones with us which is foolish - we could fall and need assistance even without thinking of attackers.
ReplyDeleteShould we be carrying personal alarms?
We are both going to nag each other and keep checking that we are staying safe until it becomes an automatic habit. I am loathe to give up walking in the beautiful woods because of crazy people but we do need to be sensible.
I hope the young woman in your neighbourhood can recover from her ordeal.
I nol onger can walk my dog (hes a big one and pulls and I walk slowly though I can walk for a long time). If I could that might up the safety factor, I have thought about taking my mainly unneeded cane with me.
DeleteThis is a very timely post for me. Last week a young woman was raped in woods near a friends house - in broad daylight at 10am. The attacker was caught very quickly. It is a very popular dog walking spot and the woman was extraordinarily unlucky that there was no one else around although she was found afterwards and helped by dog walkers who called the police etc. Poor girl. This has made my friend and I reassess our safety - she walks without a dog, I walk in our nearby woods with my Labrador- is he enough deterrent to make an attacker think again? Both of us often forget to take our phones with us which is foolish - we could fall and need assistance even without thinking of attackers.
ReplyDeleteShould we be carrying personal alarms?
We are both going to nag each other and keep checking that we are staying safe until it becomes an automatic habit. I am loathe to give up walking in the beautiful woods because of crazy people but we do need to be sensible.
I hope the young woman in your neighbourhood can recover from her ordeal.
As I have gotten older and slower, I have become more wary of what I do out alone.
ReplyDeleteI REALLY dont want to adust my lifestyle much, I refuse to be held back, but walking in the evenings or weekends and or in the mall (alone) seems to be a wise choice,
DeleteAs a long time early morning female runner, I will only run in heavily populated areas when unaccompanied. I know of too many instances of females being attacked, including a close friend, when on their own along any isolated area, including public parks. Once daylight hits and the areas become busy, I'm fine, but otherwise, no.
ReplyDeleteI do think it's important to recognize this has always been an issue for women, and not think the world has suddenly become unsafe. It's never been safe, particularly for women, and it's best if we just accept that and take sensible precautions.
I agree. I absolutely do not thing the world has suddenly changed. I should make that clear on the blog. My phisicality to respond to that has changed, and as my sister reminded me lately, weekdays have always been high crime hours for many things. I am not afraid of people as such.
DeleteI walk early in the morning and even though I am right in city there are times I wonder how fast I could make it to pound on a door if I was being followed. I stopped walking in the evening for that exact reason.
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
I always figured there were enough people around in DC that I would not have had a problem, but who knows.
DeleteI walk in areas where there are lots of people and on paths where I can see the street. The safest place to walk is the botanical gardens where there is security and you have to pay to get in if you are not a member.
ReplyDeleteYou're not paranoid. Even if you are healthy and strong there is no guarantee that you would be able to run away or fight off an attacker. Let's just do everything we can to stay safe.
I agree. I was just so shocked because there were SOOOOO many people on the Platte that Sunday ....but I guess its a different story on ten am on a weekday. I wish I lived close enough to the botanic gardens to walk.
DeleteWell, as yo say, a little paranoia is a healthy thing. And ... always bring your phone.
ReplyDelete