Would you say that you have street smarts??
I think I have more now than I did when I was 20, and yet probably not enough. I've read the articles that have been published for women about things they should consider when they are walking or traveling alone, and try to take them to heart. I suspect that we naturally become more wary as we grow older. I think younger women have simply not lived long enough to sense that they are mortal.
In my twenties I was a band director, and in the Chicago area there is a convention for band and orchestra directors just before Christmas. One year I attended and was out partying with one of the high school band directors from my school district, and the parents who formed part of his band's support group. We decided to stop for breakfast before crashing for the night, and since I wasn't carrying a purse, I set my room key down next to the silverware on the table. Some time later, I realized it was gone, and the man sitting next to me handed it back. He had wanted to make the point to me that it was unwise to leave a key with my room number out in public view. I took that lesson to heart. He gave me quite a scare. Luckily now we use credit-card style "keys" that don't announce our room number to one and all, and many women carry a wallet or slender purse, or even a fanny pack at all times.
My stepdaughter is a tiny person. While she was earning her bachelor's degree, she worked at a restaurant on Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Frequently, she was asked to close the restaurant for the night, and that meant that she had to walk to her car without the protection of a crowd. If she had to make the trip alone, she used "the walk," employing body language that implied she'd hurt you if you messed with her. That wouldn't have stopped anyone who was intent on hurting her, but it weeded out one level of strangers who might have otherwise approached her, and not stopping on the streets at that hour was a good idea. She also arranged for other employees to walk her to her car, and checked the interior and exterior of the car before opening the door.
Earlier this year, Bogie blogged about the items she had packed into her car, to be ready for winter emergencies. In a way, those things are a level of "street smartness." Any time you can be self-sufficient, you are that much safer. When you have to depend on the assistance of strangers, you have no way of knowing what might come your way.
Mother always said, "Don't talk to strangers." I still need to learn this lesson. When I see something funny in public, I'm likely to comment, but I'll edge away from a man who initiates a conversation, unless I'm with my husband. It's a shame that we live in a time when we can't talk to other people without worrying about our safety.
Recently I received a public service e-mail warning about a new form of car-jacking. Most of us are wary about strangers around our vehicles, and we have learned to look both inside and around the car before opening the door. Car-jackers are sticking "fliers" or notes to the back windows of cars. You unlock the door, get in, lock the door, start the car, see that there is something on the back window, and get out to remove it, leaving the key in the ignition, the car running. The thief hops in and steals your car and purse....or perhaps forces you to get back into the car. If you see something on the back window, LEAVE it.....drive away and if it's still there when you get to your next stop, then you can look at it.
Be street smart. Be safe.