5. Avoided a catastrophe

When I was little my mom would take me to Kmart and let me wander around the toy section while she shopped (normal in the 70s). One day, as I was playing Simone Says, an old man walked up to me and was making small talk while I played. He eventually told me to come with him and took my by the hand. We walked right down the main center aisle of the store right towards the EXIT sign in the back. As we crossed the last row, I looked to the right and saw my mom at the end of the row. I told him I saw my mom and had to go. I pulled away my hand and ran down to her. I didn’t tell her what happened because I didn’t want to get in trouble for going with a stranger.

It was several years later that I realized that I had probably narrowly avoided being molested, kidnapped, or worse.