Suspicious-looking Men in the Neighborhood

Spring time. Warm weather. Staying outdoors. Great days ahead.

Then a neighbor called me up last night. She said she was sitting on her porch with her daughter that afternoon and noticed two strange men walking in the neighborhood. A few minutes after, a police car came patrolling our block; staying around our area a little longer. Now, that was unusual.

She called the police station and asked if there's a problem, if we should know something. The police informed her that there is no problem; BUT that the neighborhood should be extra careful.

It turned out that since last week, there has been calls coming from vigilant people in our neighborhood -- informing the police of strange men lurking around; acting suspiciously.

Now let me tell you about our place. We live in the border of the woods. Where strange people come and go because it is a great place to hike, a nice place to walk the dog and a wonderful challenge to extreme bikers. Therefore, we should be used to seeing strangers; yes, but am glad that our neighbors watch out for those suspicious characters.

I am thankful for that phone call. She said she also informed other neighbors, and I am going to do that, too.

But first, I talked to my girls. I told them that there are suspicious-looking men moving around. I reminded them again on what they learned during their self-defense course in kindergarten. This self-defense course was repeated during their first grade.

What should kids do when approached by strange men?
- If they don't feel comfortable about that stranger, shout as loud as you can 'NO' and run away
- Do not talk, do not accept anything

Since my girls usually play outdoors and we have our rules, I reviewed those rules with them:
- Leave immediately if you don't feel comfortable anymore and go inside the house; never mind your toys
- Close all doors, the gates and check if they are really closed
- Watch each others back
- Bring your mobile phone (or our wireless phone) with you
- Shout loudly if necessary
- Keep your eyes open and just be aware of your sorroundings

And now that we have a dog, another reminder: don't let Rikki eat anything that looked suspicious! In fact, I told them to check the garden first before letting our dog loose. And of course, while walking our dog, we have always been careful if we see 'food' lying on the street. We kick them out of the way or we would change directions.

My husband also told me to always bring my mobile phone everytime I walk the dog. And at night, we bring our high-power flashlight, too!

Are we creating panic? I don't think so. We are just being extra careful.