Taught my son a lesson in awareness & safety yesterday

T

threegun

Moderator
Took my 11 year old fishing yesterday. I went into downtown Tampa to find an area to fish on the Hillsborough River. After much looking I found a park with waterfront access and off we went. As we fished I began to notice that this particular area wasn't very "good". It looked beautiful in construction and maintenance however the people appeared poverty stricken. Lots of walkers & bike riders with grocery bags and sleeping material, clothes under the bridge (up where the bridge and ground meet and bums sleep). I told my son to keep an eye out for anyone that might be approaching us or looking at us. After about 30 minutes he says dad that guy is looking at us. It was a walker (crossing the low bridge). He was starring at us with a not so friendly look on his face. Soon another man walked by looking intensely at us then another followed by a bike rider again starring at us. None approached us but one guy stopped then proceeded. I began to worry remembering a time when I was younger. As I played basketball two teens, after starring, got up and left. Soon after 10 or more youths chased us away. I worried that the bike rider or walkers would get help to come rob us. After all my rods alone were worth 500 bucks (if they knew about them) then our necklaces were visible due to tank tops and worth 200 & 3000. I told my son to pack up and explained why. He said but daddy don't you have a gun. I said yes but I would rather leave than shoot someone. I added that I also had to worry about him so I had to be extra careful. We got back to the car loaded up and drove home. Around the corner was a housing projects or ghetto that wasn't visible from the parks entrance.

The moral of the story is beware the lone stranger that stares then disappears as he might be "getting help". I believe that if we hadn't left when we did trouble was coming. It would have been surprised to get such a deadly response but thats not what anyone wants.
 
I think they were just walking by looking at the two fisherman. Maybe seeing if you caught any fish. I doubt they were running to get the gang. Sounds like you turned it into an exciting close-call for your kid, though.
 
I think they were just walking by looking at the two fisherman. Maybe seeing if you caught any fish. I doubt they were running to get the gang. Sounds like you turned it into an exciting close-call for your kid, though.
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Key words: Think, Maybe, Doubt.
A think, a maybe and a doubt would not be sufficient for me. I'd have left.
 
People look at me all the time, and I don't get scared and leave. :D

Just enjoy your day of fishing. Don't assume everyone that looks your way is a badguy.

OMG what if someone had walked down to you guys out of curiosity! Holy crap that would have been SCARY!!!!
 
eltorrente,
You ever been to Miami? Near a housing project?
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Been to Miami, but didn't hang out at the housing projects. Been near plenty of them though in various big cities, and they aren't the kind of neighborhoods I'd take my kid to for a nice afternoon. :D Telling the kid to keep a lookout and warn if anyone is looking their way sounds pretty paranoid to start with, and apparantly the original poster felt unsafe to begin with in that area- and if he did then he shouldn't have been there in the first place. If you were having a day at the beach with your kid, would you tell him to keep a sharp look out for anyone that looks your way? Probably not - so obviously he knew they weren't in the best place to start with.

All that being said, you're still just fishing and enjoying the day, so keep on going. Just because people walk by and look at you is no reason to run for the hills and put motive behind everyone's eyes.
 
I'm paranoid by nature so I'm sure I'd have probably done the same thing. I think it was a good call on dad's part; better safe than sorry. I'd rather not take a chance getting my daughter caught up in a potentially bad situation if it can be avoided.
 
Been to Miami, but didn't hang out at the housing projects. Been near plenty of them though in various big cities, and they aren't the kind of neighborhoods I'd take my kid to for a nice afternoon. {omitted} ... apparantly the original poster felt unsafe to begin with in that area- and if he did then he shouldn't have been there in the first place.
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Credit where credit is due.... On this I definitely agree!
 
Credit where credit is due.... On this I definitely agree!
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Yeah, I think that although I may disagree about the motives of the individuals, the fact is that if I didn't feel safe I would have left, also. However the main thing is that if I didn't feel safe in the first place, I wouldn't have stuck around to begin with.

Many times in my life I've walked down to talk to a fisherman and see what he's catching. Sometimes I've stood back from him and just watched to see what he's fishing with, if he caught anything, or whatever - just curious and it's something to look at in an otherwise boring afternoon. I never thought the guy would be scared of me, but I suppose some of them were and were really watching me with some nervousness as I approached.
 
As we fished I began to notice that this particular area wasn't very "good". It looked beautiful in construction and maintenance however the people appeared poverty stricken. Lots of walkers & bike riders with grocery bags and sleeping material, clothes under the bridge (up where the bridge and ground meet and bums sleep).
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Eltorrente, I would never put my self let alone my child in harms way on purpose. As I said in my OP the park looked beautiful. I got a funny feeling that I can't explain why. I'm not overly paranoid and I do talk to folks. I guess you just had to be there to understand. I can tell you this when that guy stopped, looked around mostly at us, without saying catching anything, I pulled the pug on the trip.

The catch 22 is that had I stayed and been forced to draw or shoot you would be calling me rambo and stupid for not leaving after all the warnings. I guess I'd rather be paranoid.

I fear getting my child hurt. I fear not being able to maintain control of a situation. I'm not scared of people. I'm by no means a bad arse but I can dish out a whole lot of nasty if cornered........running is easier and safer.
 
My son now knows that running isn't being a coward. He now knows to use his surroundings to help make judgments. He now knows to observe how people look at him and how they act. Most important he now knows that having the ability to kill another human being doesn't give him the right to allow someone to force him to kill them.

BTW We caught a few fish also. Saltwater cats :barf: but one almost pulled the rod from my sons hands. Fun to fight for sure.
 
I don't know if it is just Florida or not, but it seems that just about every public park area is to be avoided.

I live about 1 mile away from highway US 1, which seems to be the road of choice for all hobo's on the East Coast. Worthless bums are everywhere. :mad:

And if there is a public bathroom within the park there are bound to be plenty of men looking for a good time. :barf:
 
Another moral of the story is that it's a shame you can't take your son fishing in a public area without fearing harm from the bums that seem to have taken over every public access area. You did good.We need to teach our kids the real facts of life.They won't learn it in school. Chuck.
 
threegun... a 3000 dollar necklace? 500 dollar fishing rods?

I own somw wxpensive fishing gear... Orvis, Fenwick, and others...

I wear some expensive Indian silver jewelry... a couple high-dollar flight-chronographs etc...

I ALSO own somew Zebco equipment, and realize that the fish won't even notice my jewelry... SO...

I use the cheap equipment when it might be a theft attractant, and I do not wear expensive jewelry when FISHING...

What is the purpose of wearing 3000 dollar necklaces fishing?
 
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