Ok, background.:
So my friend and i are in a graveyard taking some B&W photographs in a pretty good town. it's kind of a richie-rich town, so there is a decent amount of drug deals, i believe. it's approaching dark, and we're about to finish up since you can't take pictures in the dark.
Throughout the entire time, we both heard some noisy kids in some far corner of the cemetary. we both attributed it to stupid desprespectful teenagers, etc. [no offence to other teens, of course. i am one myself.] so, as we're finishing up, we are walking down a road/path that happens to lead to where these teens are. [i should say at this moment i am not sure they were teens but i am sure that they are approximately that age.]. not thinking, we walk up kind of close, but are concealed by a rather large tree. i see a good picture, and step into the road to take it, but my friend keeps mentioning how we probably shouldn't make ourselves seen. at this point i decided the flash from the camera would be a bad idea.
One thing i noticed but did not connect until later was that they were all [about 8-12 people... it was dark.] using very small lights, casting no beam but just a small signature dot. didn't think anything of it then but now they were probably using them so they wouldn't be seen.
my friend and i were talking a little "loudly" [enough to be heard probably] about how we shoudl stay/go/take a pic/etc. i didn't really take my buddy seriously when he said we should go, because the whole time we were there he was joking about how he was nervous being there [like because zombies might crawl out of the graves, etc - he was just joking around]. this, however, desensitized me to his warnings. we were discussing stay/go when we heard footsteps coming toward our spot. in my mind i was thinking basically "OH *DELETED*!!".
My friend and i started walking through the gravestones [not on the road - the road is open and all, no cover, etc]. two guys [i think - they were siloughettes[sp?]] came up to the edge of the road and said somthing. i was about 20 feet away, so i turned around and said, "what?" they asked me again "Did you guys get any good pictures?" "Yea, we got a few good ones" i replied. "Can we see them?"
warning bells, already ringing, rang even louder. i replied in a firm tone, "No, they're on film!" we turned and walked at an even but fast pace away, and i heard some voices, somthing along the lines of "...going to the corner..." that was the only bit i heard.
They may have been adressing me, but i did not turn around to ask if they were talking to me. i was sure they were up to no good, and then it was proven. i didn't want anything to do with them and wanted to get out as fast as possible without seeming like we were fleeing[and possibly give them chase? dunno.].
as we got to the road, we crossed it quickly [mainly to get to the sidewalk but it proved to have another use]. as we passed the entrance to the graveyard, a man in a white t-shirt [probably one of the group - we saw no one else there] came out of the entrance and followed for a few yards on the opposite side of the road. we were walking faster and i couldn't see out of the side of my eye anymore, and risked a glance or two back. [if he did pursue for some reason there was a restaurant with people dining on the sidewalk about 100 yards away].
as we walked our slight adrenaline twitches off back to the hangout at a coffeeshop, we reflected on what happened.:
- I am almost sure they were stalking/watching us when we were taking pictures, since they asked about them.
- I could clearly see did not want to see the pictures, but wanted easy prey, a free camera, and a few bucks.
- if they did advance on us, we'd be screwed. we're outnumbered, outmuscled, and outsmarted [because we're not familier with the graveyard]. This is why we both hauled ass out of there.
- I had my Benchmade 732BK Ares. that gave me a slight "edge"
, mainly suprise, but i would in NO way rely on it. i could easily be overpowered. best bet, like always said, is to try to get OUT before anything happens.
Ideas for next time [we plan on taking more photos]:
- watch more carefully for people
- keep distance from any large groups
- don't think nothing of somthing. [the small lights, big group, they stayed there the whole time, etc]
- I may be in the market for a good cane. No matter how fast or sharp, my Benchmade is a last resort. I trust it, but not me.
- Listen to your friend carefully and separate joking fom serious concern.
things we did right:
- we got the hell out of there, fast.
- kept conversation to a minimum, and spoke firmly to them.
- kept awareness up when leaving to make sure they didn't follow.
...Well, wow. that's long. but i felt like sharing and i hope the story didn't bore you. This incident, however minor, made me realize that bad stuff dosn't just happen to other people, or in other places. i've read about this and that, and how you should do this and that when "X" happens, but it lacked the connection to me. i am grateful for how i got interested in all this stuff [self defence, guns, situational awareness, etc] , otherwise i might have thought they meant no harm and started talking with them.
We might have been a statistic like others.
stay safe,
~TMM
So my friend and i are in a graveyard taking some B&W photographs in a pretty good town. it's kind of a richie-rich town, so there is a decent amount of drug deals, i believe. it's approaching dark, and we're about to finish up since you can't take pictures in the dark.
Throughout the entire time, we both heard some noisy kids in some far corner of the cemetary. we both attributed it to stupid desprespectful teenagers, etc. [no offence to other teens, of course. i am one myself.] so, as we're finishing up, we are walking down a road/path that happens to lead to where these teens are. [i should say at this moment i am not sure they were teens but i am sure that they are approximately that age.]. not thinking, we walk up kind of close, but are concealed by a rather large tree. i see a good picture, and step into the road to take it, but my friend keeps mentioning how we probably shouldn't make ourselves seen. at this point i decided the flash from the camera would be a bad idea.
One thing i noticed but did not connect until later was that they were all [about 8-12 people... it was dark.] using very small lights, casting no beam but just a small signature dot. didn't think anything of it then but now they were probably using them so they wouldn't be seen.
my friend and i were talking a little "loudly" [enough to be heard probably] about how we shoudl stay/go/take a pic/etc. i didn't really take my buddy seriously when he said we should go, because the whole time we were there he was joking about how he was nervous being there [like because zombies might crawl out of the graves, etc - he was just joking around]. this, however, desensitized me to his warnings. we were discussing stay/go when we heard footsteps coming toward our spot. in my mind i was thinking basically "OH *DELETED*!!".
My friend and i started walking through the gravestones [not on the road - the road is open and all, no cover, etc]. two guys [i think - they were siloughettes[sp?]] came up to the edge of the road and said somthing. i was about 20 feet away, so i turned around and said, "what?" they asked me again "Did you guys get any good pictures?" "Yea, we got a few good ones" i replied. "Can we see them?"
warning bells, already ringing, rang even louder. i replied in a firm tone, "No, they're on film!" we turned and walked at an even but fast pace away, and i heard some voices, somthing along the lines of "...going to the corner..." that was the only bit i heard. They may have been adressing me, but i did not turn around to ask if they were talking to me. i was sure they were up to no good, and then it was proven. i didn't want anything to do with them and wanted to get out as fast as possible without seeming like we were fleeing[and possibly give them chase? dunno.].
as we got to the road, we crossed it quickly [mainly to get to the sidewalk but it proved to have another use]. as we passed the entrance to the graveyard, a man in a white t-shirt [probably one of the group - we saw no one else there] came out of the entrance and followed for a few yards on the opposite side of the road. we were walking faster and i couldn't see out of the side of my eye anymore, and risked a glance or two back. [if he did pursue for some reason there was a restaurant with people dining on the sidewalk about 100 yards away].
as we walked our slight adrenaline twitches off back to the hangout at a coffeeshop, we reflected on what happened.:
- I am almost sure they were stalking/watching us when we were taking pictures, since they asked about them.
- I could clearly see did not want to see the pictures, but wanted easy prey, a free camera, and a few bucks.
- if they did advance on us, we'd be screwed. we're outnumbered, outmuscled, and outsmarted [because we're not familier with the graveyard]. This is why we both hauled ass out of there.
- I had my Benchmade 732BK Ares. that gave me a slight "edge"
, mainly suprise, but i would in NO way rely on it. i could easily be overpowered. best bet, like always said, is to try to get OUT before anything happens.Ideas for next time [we plan on taking more photos]:
- watch more carefully for people
- keep distance from any large groups
- don't think nothing of somthing. [the small lights, big group, they stayed there the whole time, etc]
- I may be in the market for a good cane. No matter how fast or sharp, my Benchmade is a last resort. I trust it, but not me.
- Listen to your friend carefully and separate joking fom serious concern.
things we did right:
- we got the hell out of there, fast.
- kept conversation to a minimum, and spoke firmly to them.
- kept awareness up when leaving to make sure they didn't follow.
...Well, wow. that's long. but i felt like sharing and i hope the story didn't bore you. This incident, however minor, made me realize that bad stuff dosn't just happen to other people, or in other places. i've read about this and that, and how you should do this and that when "X" happens, but it lacked the connection to me. i am grateful for how i got interested in all this stuff [self defence, guns, situational awareness, etc] , otherwise i might have thought they meant no harm and started talking with them.
We might have been a statistic like others.
stay safe,
~TMM