M-Taliesin
Regular Member
Howdy Folks!
Around 10:30pm, I decided to get out and do a little metal detecting. I visited a local elementary school (and yes, left my pistol locked up in the car) and ran around on a tot lot covered in wood chips. All I got for my ambition was a bunch of coins and two bullets. Looked like 9mm to me. Pretty beat up too, like they'd hit the metal structure of the playground gear.
Anyhow, I got back to my car when done and as I drove away, reholstered my pistol in the serpa rig that I have grown fond of using.
So I turn eastbound on Arapahoe and meander in the general direction of home. As I drove along in the left hand lane, I saw a woman running in the left hand lane of Arapahoe westerly bound, and waving her hands frantically above her head. I figured she was being chased by some nefarious sort of character and stopped to see what the fuss was. To my surprise, she rounded the front of the Jeep and pulled the passenger door open and climbed in. My hand went immediately to my XDm and remained there as I tried to figure out what was up. Not knowing the situation, I started driving eastbound with my newly acquired passenger.
"What's going on?" I asked. "Why are you running on a busy street in the dark like that and flagging me down?"
"I need to get downtown by midnight." She answered. "I need to get to the shelter before they lock the doors."
"Downtown Aurora? There ain't really a downtown Aurora, ya know." I responded.
"No, not Aurora. Denver. I need to get to downtown Denver!"
"Well, Aurora is where this Jeep is pointed. If you are trying to get to Denver, it is directly in the opposite direction."
At that point, I still had no idea what on earth was going on, so my hand remained on my sidearm. I spun a U-Turn and headed toward Denver.
The woman beside me was 20ish, wore a royal blue sweatshirt with hood down, zippered up the front, over blue jeans. Her hair was black, curly and longer than shoulder length. She wasn't caucasian, but not exactly black either. In the dim light in the cab of the Jeep, I could not see well enough to discern her race, but she was of darker complexion than me anyhow.
We drove on in semi-silence, and I got the impression she was crying.
"So what's wrong, eh?" I asked, hand firmly wrapped around the grip on my .40 cal.
"Everything's okay." she replied then fell silent once again.
"So where is this shelter?" I asked.
"Right by I-25 and Broadway." she answered.
There was really little conversation, and she wasn't very responsive to questions. What little she did say was tough to make out. Some of it was not intelligible to me, and she seemed to mutter more than speak. I don't know what her problem was, and I felt real uncomfortable having her foist upon me. I got to I-25 and Broadway and said "That's as far as I can take you."
"It's after midnight. They probably won't let me in. I have nowhere to go." she said. "Can I just ride with you?"
"I am going back to Aurora and will go to bed. With my wife. I have done all I can for you."
She sat for a moment, then unbuckled her seat belt.
"I'm sorry, but I really need to get home now."
Without a word of thanks or eat fudge, she climbed out and closed the door.
I pulled away and made a U-Turn so I could come back to the ramp for I-25 and hurry back to Aurora.
Once she was out of the car, I finally took my hand off the pistol at my side.
Amazingly, I don't know that she was even aware that I was armed, despite being to my right.
Of all days to carry strongside instead of my usual cross-draw.
Anyhow, I called ahead to Aurora and asked for an officer to meet with me. We met up at Denny's on 6th and Sable, and I turned over the bullets I found on the school playground and gave a report of the strange incident with the girl on Arapahoe. The officers (two showed up) were real nice fellows. And yes, I did advise them that I was carrying because it was part of the story. They took that bit of information in stride just fine!
I am always willing to help somebody in trouble, but when all was said and done, I didn't know if she was fleeing an attacker or fleeing the scene of a crime that she might have been involved in perpetrating. I figure reporting the incident to APD would help if anything untoward took place involving my mystery rider.
I stopped because she appeared to be in some sort of trouble.
It ended up with this strange woman just flagging me down as if an emergency was taking place, only to catch a ride to Denver.
I'm still a bit taken aback by the incident, because it was so totally strange. I got the sneaky impression she was high!
So I drove with one hand on the wheel and the other on my pistol.
having no idea what she was up to, I was ready to deal with whatever might present itself.
All in all, nothing really did.
Bewildered in Aurora,
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
Around 10:30pm, I decided to get out and do a little metal detecting. I visited a local elementary school (and yes, left my pistol locked up in the car) and ran around on a tot lot covered in wood chips. All I got for my ambition was a bunch of coins and two bullets. Looked like 9mm to me. Pretty beat up too, like they'd hit the metal structure of the playground gear.
Anyhow, I got back to my car when done and as I drove away, reholstered my pistol in the serpa rig that I have grown fond of using.
So I turn eastbound on Arapahoe and meander in the general direction of home. As I drove along in the left hand lane, I saw a woman running in the left hand lane of Arapahoe westerly bound, and waving her hands frantically above her head. I figured she was being chased by some nefarious sort of character and stopped to see what the fuss was. To my surprise, she rounded the front of the Jeep and pulled the passenger door open and climbed in. My hand went immediately to my XDm and remained there as I tried to figure out what was up. Not knowing the situation, I started driving eastbound with my newly acquired passenger.
"What's going on?" I asked. "Why are you running on a busy street in the dark like that and flagging me down?"
"I need to get downtown by midnight." She answered. "I need to get to the shelter before they lock the doors."
"Downtown Aurora? There ain't really a downtown Aurora, ya know." I responded.
"No, not Aurora. Denver. I need to get to downtown Denver!"
"Well, Aurora is where this Jeep is pointed. If you are trying to get to Denver, it is directly in the opposite direction."
At that point, I still had no idea what on earth was going on, so my hand remained on my sidearm. I spun a U-Turn and headed toward Denver.
The woman beside me was 20ish, wore a royal blue sweatshirt with hood down, zippered up the front, over blue jeans. Her hair was black, curly and longer than shoulder length. She wasn't caucasian, but not exactly black either. In the dim light in the cab of the Jeep, I could not see well enough to discern her race, but she was of darker complexion than me anyhow.
We drove on in semi-silence, and I got the impression she was crying.
"So what's wrong, eh?" I asked, hand firmly wrapped around the grip on my .40 cal.
"Everything's okay." she replied then fell silent once again.
"So where is this shelter?" I asked.
"Right by I-25 and Broadway." she answered.
There was really little conversation, and she wasn't very responsive to questions. What little she did say was tough to make out. Some of it was not intelligible to me, and she seemed to mutter more than speak. I don't know what her problem was, and I felt real uncomfortable having her foist upon me. I got to I-25 and Broadway and said "That's as far as I can take you."
"It's after midnight. They probably won't let me in. I have nowhere to go." she said. "Can I just ride with you?"
"I am going back to Aurora and will go to bed. With my wife. I have done all I can for you."
She sat for a moment, then unbuckled her seat belt.
"I'm sorry, but I really need to get home now."
Without a word of thanks or eat fudge, she climbed out and closed the door.
I pulled away and made a U-Turn so I could come back to the ramp for I-25 and hurry back to Aurora.
Once she was out of the car, I finally took my hand off the pistol at my side.
Amazingly, I don't know that she was even aware that I was armed, despite being to my right.
Of all days to carry strongside instead of my usual cross-draw.
Anyhow, I called ahead to Aurora and asked for an officer to meet with me. We met up at Denny's on 6th and Sable, and I turned over the bullets I found on the school playground and gave a report of the strange incident with the girl on Arapahoe. The officers (two showed up) were real nice fellows. And yes, I did advise them that I was carrying because it was part of the story. They took that bit of information in stride just fine!
I am always willing to help somebody in trouble, but when all was said and done, I didn't know if she was fleeing an attacker or fleeing the scene of a crime that she might have been involved in perpetrating. I figure reporting the incident to APD would help if anything untoward took place involving my mystery rider.
I stopped because she appeared to be in some sort of trouble.
It ended up with this strange woman just flagging me down as if an emergency was taking place, only to catch a ride to Denver.
I'm still a bit taken aback by the incident, because it was so totally strange. I got the sneaky impression she was high!
So I drove with one hand on the wheel and the other on my pistol.
having no idea what she was up to, I was ready to deal with whatever might present itself.
All in all, nothing really did.
Bewildered in Aurora,
Blessings,
M-Taliesin
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