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seashell #223110 12/14/06 04:15 PM
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yikes!! yes, it can certainly happen anywhere, same as u seashell i never carry more than what i need for the night. I think all i had was about 10BZ, some lip gloss and my house key.....that was my biggest concern, ut we had our locks changed the next morning. Seashell, you live in sp right?


Happiness is a voyage, not a destination....live & enjoy every moment....

~*~Ania~*~
Scuba do #223125 12/14/06 05:53 PM
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my kids are too young to make a parental call - so i will give you a kid's perspective.

when i was 16 (LONG ago), i would have taken dope if given to me. i would talk to boys if they talked to me. i would have a drink if someone offered it to me. i wasnt stupid, i was naive(ish).

even good kids can turn their judgement off on vacation.

also, i know a former boarder who only asked his 16 yr old son to move the cart from one end of the lot to another - well, the boy hit a firehydrant, caused $ damage to both said cart & property, and the south end was out of water for a few hours.

Joined: Mar 2001
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Listen to Marty and Hope. I took my daughters last year (18 & 16 yrs old). The boys followed them and hounded them EVERYWHERE. I never let them outta my sight at night, although I did grant them some leeway during the day...but always with an understanding of when they were expected to return. Took them out with us one evening, turned around for one minute and the picnic table they were sitting at was COMPLETELY SURROUNDED...you couldn't even see them! I fished 'em outta there in a hurry!

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reminds of a time when a 18 year old female was giving her mom the hard sell at a bar i was sitting at. seems she had her mind set on a late night out at one of the dance/night clubs. after convincing her mother and recruiting about six of us to go with, (all men, including other guests and the two bartenders)ostensibly for protection, we called a cab and off we went. in the time it took us to order the first round of drinks, mother and daughter were surrounded. it looked like feeding time at the shark tank or the lion pit. i still laugh out loud when i think of that scene.

Last edited by TIMO; 12/14/06 08:25 PM.
seashell #223140 12/14/06 07:36 PM
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A man was mugged and robbed on the beach in the dark area just south of BC's, near where an alleyway runs up to the road, oh, maybe 1-2 years ago. By dark alleys, where there's an easy getaway route, that's where you want to be most careful. I don't actually agree with your analysis of what hurts the most, Seashell - I think it's the fact that you've been violated and were totally vulnerable. But as we know, it's not only in muggings that people ride roughshod over other people's rights here.

The worst that happened to me was when I was a passenger in a car in Kampala a few years back. I had my watch arm resting on an open window when we were moving very slowly, and someone grabbed my hand, slipped a very sharp knife under the leather watch strap and up my arm, and took the watch. He didn't actually cut me much, but I'm sure he would have been quite prepared to.

Actually, that's not the worst now I come to think about it. Inside a closed shopping mall in Johannesburg more recently than the above, I was grabbed from behind by four very big and very black guys and held very securely, while three others went through my pockets, and took my watch, wallet, small backpack etc. They each had a large panga (a long knife, at least 18" long, sometimes curved) and when I struggled they used them on me. I ended up with several non-critical cuts and three broken ribs. But I did manage to grab the head of one of them and ram it hard into the stone floor a few times. He became incoherent and was carried/dragged away by his friends. I hope he at least had a bad headache for some time. What got me about this was that the whole incident was watched from a few yards away by three armed guards who did absolutely nothing to intervene, or to help me afterwards. The police said they were probably part of the "scam", or had been threatened that if they did intervene they wouldn't see their children again. This is a city that in terms of violent crime makes Belize City look like a vicar's tea party.

There's always a common element here - the people who commit these sorts of crimes don't need to. The people who are really poor are usually totally honest. I remember how generous most people were on my travels through Africa, when often the only way they could give me food was to go without themselves. It's a fine line between being gracious and accepting gratefully when you know the cost to them is immense, and declining and risking offending them just because you know you will be depriving them. There was the one occasion in a black township in apartheid South Africa when my hosts insisted that I stay the night, and I realised too late that I would be taking the only bed in the hut. These people were desperately poor but happy and content, and honest to the extent that to be dishonest had never occurred to them.

I'm minded of something a local businesman of Guatemalan extraction who also has a home in the USA said to me a couple of years ago. He said he despised Guatemalans for being honest and nice people - you never got anywhere by being nice.

Sorry to put people through this - it helps take my mind off other things!

#223148 12/14/06 08:51 PM
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Pedro2 said: I don't actually agree with your analysis of what hurts the most, Seashell - I think it's the fact that you've been violated and were totally vulnerable.

seashell replies: You are quite right Pedro2. I was too flip in my post to Stephania. I've never been mugged but I've had my home broken into, and the bad guy was still in there, when I arrived.

I've also had my keys go missing when out for the evening, so I know where Stephania is coming from there too. It's pretty hard to get any shut-eye the night before the locksmith arrives!!


A fish and a bird can fall in love, but where will they build their nest?

seashell #223155 12/15/06 12:40 AM
Joined: Oct 2000
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PIRATE MON!!!
How are ya sweets???


Joined: Nov 2005
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I do have some experience with this... I am 6'2", not weak/skinny and not tolerant of BS. My wife is a petite, blond, attractive female. Naturally when I am with her, she has no problem with harassment. But when I am not, she gets approached ALL the time. She has heard every line in the book. It happened in NYC all the time too, but "hints" don't cut it here.

I'm sorry but it really is not practical to ask you daughter(s) to never be more than 10 feet away from you. There are going to be instances, NO MATTER WHAT, when they'll be approached and you won't be there to save them. This is why they need to learn a few simple rules of engagement.

1) Walk away, these a**holes are fishing all day long, if you just walk away they'll just try with the next girl.

2) If the pursuer becomes rude and follows you, turn around, look right into their eyes and say "GET AWAY FROM ME". This will result in fear and usually some element of grumpy contempt. Something like "rude ass bitch" will follow. Ignore it. Kindness in any way will keep them coming.

3) If they approach you after step two, repeat step two but YELL loud this time. Make sure everybody around knows what is happening. These cowards hate to be embarrassed.

4) General rules: stay in well lit, public places. Never be out alone, any time of day. Have a destination in mind, try not to wander around looking lost. If you need directions, ask police officers or business owners.

Bottom line, if your kids have been sheltered and never had to deal with any of this at home, take a moment and prepare them. Make sure you practice what you preach. And please, have fun and try not to focus too much on the risks. Your kids will have a great time, properly prepared.

As far as the golf cart goes, I would avoid letting them drive it without you. Golf carts are generally regarded as toys by tourists, and especially by youngsters. If you want to let them drive with you... no problem. Carts with a lift and mud tires can also be disorienting in the beginning.

Joined: Jul 2006
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pedro 2 I know what u mean about people witnessing the mugging and doing absolutely NOTHING about it! When I was mugged I was screaming very loud and crying and I saw a couple of tourists on their balcony and a couple other people on the dock about 100 ft away from me. That was probably the worst feeling ever!


Happiness is a voyage, not a destination....live & enjoy every moment....

~*~Ania~*~
Joined: Dec 2006
Posts: 16
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Two Words: Natalee Holloway. They can have enough fun, even with a parent along.

Like Laura said don't be stupid

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