What would you think about this situation?

[Lionfishvintage]

Was in a parking lot today. Just got back from a bike ride and putting bike on the rack.

Young man in a very new looking huge truck pulls up next to me , rolls down window and is very friendly. He didn't get out of the truck.

Looked Irish like me and young enough to be my grandson.

Says hi- how are you today?

My 1st thought is .. what do you want? I did not know this person at all.

He said he was waiting for his kid or was picking up his kid .

I said" oh.  did you have a question?' He said no just wanted to say hi.

This is not a put down on myself but i'm almost 70, overweight, and i look my age.

He was young, 30ish, handsome.

I was suspicious.

I'm not naive. I don't think he wanted to just say hi.

Later i thought about it and remember i had seen him once before and he said the same exact thing.

Maybe i watch too many reality murder crime type shows?

[Lionfishvintage]

Either I'm a jaded, cynical old lady or I've been around the block enough times to trust my gut.

[Former_Member]

Lol!  Oh dear... I guess one could say we are the products of our environments and the sum of our experiences.  Sorry to say - I'm one of those who will start a conversation with absolutely anyone... grocery store, line-ups, while filling up at the pumps.  A few have given me the "what do you want" look and I take my cue and clam up.   Others take the opportunity to let out what ever was on their minds before I got there and many more just jump in there and enjoy the conversation for what it is...  two people barely connecting.  

As I've gotten (is that a proper word?) older, I've noticed that both young men and women whose mothers raised them right, will be outwardly sociable, cordial and polite.   Of course he could also be a Walmart employee... if they come within 6 feet of someone they have to greet you.  Lol!

Take what good you find, where you find it.  There is far too little of it in the world. ♥

[Lionfishvintage]

@Former_Member  Oh i talk to people in stores and lines as well. I'm chatty like that sometimes.

Maybe i was suspicious cause i was in an empty post office parking lot at dusk. No one else around and he went out of his way to drive in and talk to me. He didn't go into the post office!

My gut told me ... well it didn't feel good. He was TOO friendly.

Also women alone have to be more careful.

When i was a teen, some guy high on LSD grabbed me and started screaming at me as i walked by him . I didn't know him and wasn't even talking to him so there was no reason for him to do that except that he was delusional.

It was in a big city. His friends had to pry him off me..

Maybe that's another reason why i was suspicious of this guy in the truck?

[TheNineOfCups]

I would have been startled and a little suspicious too if I were in your shoes.  But I also respect the fact that some people are just very friendly and chatty and they mean no harm.  Especially if you accidentally make eye contact with somebody. That's when some people they feel like they absolutely have to say hello, just to be polite.  I would find it ten times more unsettling or suspicious if I'm not even making eye contact with somebody in an empty parking lot and they still feel like they have to say hello to get my attention.  That, to me, indicates they are about to ask me a question or make a request of some kind.  

I'm sorry you had that experience in high school.  That sounds awful.  

I also had a startling encounter in the empty parking lot of the post office last year.  I was sitting in my car with the driver's-side window rolled halfway down, looking at some packages I was about to mail, and a strange man walked right up to my window and knocked on the glass.  I jumped out of my skin.  He was very nice, though.  He just wanted directions, and since I was the only person around, he asked me.  

After that, I was more careful in the parking lot. Now, when I sit in the car, huddled over packages I'm about to mail, I make sure my windows are rolled up. 

[Lionfishvintage]

@TheNineOfCups

You know what I'm saying then!

Yes- this guy made it a point to drive into the parking lot to talk to me.

He never went into the post office.

We only made eye contact because he started talking to me.

thanks for your input.

[TheNineOfCups]

By the way, I don't have kids, but I am told that some schools have parking lots or driveways that are too crowded when school lets out for the day, so some parents have to park a block away or just keep cruising the area, killing time, until a parking space opens up for them.  I guess it's plausible that this man could be hanging out in the post office parking lot for that reason, assuming that there is a school that is legitimately nearby.  

[Lionfishvintage]

@TheNineOfCups 

Yes that's a good explanation. There is no school in session now however.

But maybe he was picking up his kids from someone down the street?

[TheNineOfCups]

Duh, of course, I forgot that it's mid-August and we're in a pandemic.  There's probably no "school" in the traditional sense of the word in most parts of the country.  

Yeah, maybe he was picking up his kids from a daycare center or a babysitter or something like that.  Guess we'll never know.  I'm just glad you had your wits about you.  

I love the Bea Arthur gif, and I want to channel her the next time I have to assume a don't-mess-with-me vibe.  The look on her face feels empowering!

[Lionfishvintage]

It probably sounds like I'm parinoid and anti social.

I'm not! Just trying to be safe.

As another example of maybe why I am so cautious is this :

 A couple yrs ago about 3 miles away from me , on a mountain trail, 3 transients murdered a man, shot his dog and stole the mans car.

It was horrible.( The dog lived.)

Things like that make me not trust too easily.

[TheNineOfCups]

I don't think it's paranoid or anti-social at all.  People (male or female) have to be extra-careful when going out alone. And having a dog with you is no guarantee of safety.  

You did the right thing by being a little skeptical of the guy in the parking lot.  

[Lionfishvintage]

I need to be more like you and MrTidbits! you sound like very nice friendly people.

Don't know if you're old enough to remember " Maude" t.v. show that she starred in.

Loved that show!

Here's a classic Bea Arthur look :

[TheNineOfCups]

I lo\ve the slow turn of her head and the icy look on her face!  

I'm too young to remember "Maude" but I saw "The Golden Girls" in my teens and I loved it.  

I bet you'd also enjoy the episode of "Futurama" where Bea Arthur did the voice of an angry feminist robot called Femputer.  Her funniest line was "Have you any idea how it feels to be a Fembot living in a Manbot's Manputer's world?"  

https://futurama.fandom.com/wiki/Femputer

[Lionfishvintage]

The more I think about it, the more i just had a bad feeling about this guy. I trust my intuition.

[ElizabethRosenArt]

@Lionfishvintage Always trust your gut. How many times has it guided you correctly? And if the casualty is that you're not besties with a young stranger from an empty parking lot, so be it!

BTW, did you see the good news about USPS halting (and in some cases reverting) changes? Feels like a small victory.... Only took 20 states getting ready to sue.

[TheNineOfCups]

Yes, always trust your intuition.  Good job.

[vlmkpyae]

maybe he is just friendly? you know, like people used to be? this whole isolation nightmare has made people very lonely. it is normal to say good afternoon to a stranger on the street. it is still done up here all the time.

[vlmkpyae]

i'm sorry that triggered trauma, lion. go with your instincts.

[psych62]

I am not in the habit of answering strangers who say "Hi, how are you?" 99 percent of the time they are men, and they inevitably lead to pick up lines. I still get them - even at 58 - and no, I don't find them flattering. They creep me out. Regardless, I don't like to engage in conversations with strangers. I'm certain its the New Yorker in me - very self protective. 

[Lionfishvintage]

@ElizabethRosenArt  @psych62 

Thank you! you understand me. I think I'm a wanna be New Yorker and have always loved East Coast peeps.

All my friends are from New York, Jersery, New Hampshire etc.

. I always watch my back.

Lived in San Francisco for many years and you had to always be aware of your surroundings and con artists in a big city. It stays with you no matter where you end up.

Yes- very good news about USPS!!