I encountered something today that puzzled me so much I didn't know how to react. It was surprising and bizarre enough to share, and I wondered what you might have done in this situation? Being a city-dweller, I've seen all kinds of weird things people do...this one took the cake.
Being a beautiful sunny day today, we decided to go out in the country for a drive and walk. We went to this great park for a stroll, like so manyother people...the park was packed with people enjoying the nice day! Anyway, we walked off onto a trail into the woods just a short way and cam inot a small clearing when I noticed a man laying on the ground under a tree. He was alert, seemed unijnured or anything, but it struck me as weird. Within the next couple steps, I noticed he was fumbling his hands in front of his private parts...and he had no pants or underwear on.
I can't figure out for the life of me what he was doing. He didn't appear to be in distress. What on earth do you do with that situation?
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-- Heather: "I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!"
Both of those responses crossed my mind. What a strange thing to encounter! I opted for a third plan - I turned around, walked out of there and let one of the parking attendants know what was going on. Thye had radios and I figured they could come up with a much safer way to deal with the situation.
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-- Heather: "I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!"
My guess would be that getting "caught" is a turn on for the guy. If he didn't see me, I'd probably just move along without comment or drawing attention to myself, then as you did notify a police officer or park ranger.
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
Good thinking on your part. Here, our parks don't have attendants; you're on your own for any situation you encounter.
I probably would have called the police to let them deal with it, but I'm sure I would have made some kind of a comment to the man. You never know anymore what you're going to encounter when you're out and about.
Most parks around here really don't have attendants either. There is only one I could imagine anyone doing such a thing, and that park is regularly patrolled by park rangers, so finding someone would not be difficult. The only reason I would try to not say anything is because the reaction is usually what people who do such things are after. It's all situational though. If there were kids present, I'd probably react differently and be more confrontational just because little kids don't need to be exposed to adult perversions.
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
Funny you mentioned the kids...as we were walking out a family with a few small kids was heading in that direction. I tried to warn them not to take the kids in there but they ignored me and kept walking. I'm sure those poor little boys got an eyeful.
Usually attendants wouldn't be around, except this area has a ton of traffic on weekends because it is near a religious site and it is a known scenic destination. I was glad there WERE attendants to help, or I'm not sure what I would have done.
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-- Heather: "I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it!"
Sounds like you handled it well. I'd bet that dude was just there trying to get his freak on. Too bad the family didn't listen to you. Nobody needs that kind of surprise when they are out just trying to have a nice day with the kids.
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MM
That which does not kill me postpones the inevitable.
