Just a heads up about vigilance. I guess I have gotten sloppy, over confident, etc.

Yesterday I was driving across the state I live in, involved in moving some items.
It wasn't a shopping related trip, although I did 2 shops along the way.

Eventually, I started feeling stiff, etc. lack of sleep and exercise this week.

I noticed a rest stop up ahead, so I decided to pull over to get out and walk around. Beautiful spring day - It was appealing, full of trees and historical markers.
I walked around, reading markers, etc. As I walked back to my car, I noticed some old CDs on the ground.
I bent down to look at them.
As I raised back up, I saw an SUV approaching. I assumed it would pull into one of the parking spots.
No, it approached me. For a hot second, I thought it might be someone asking for some area info, then quickly realized, no, we all have phones.
The SUV stopped within inches and the window rolled down. It was a man, about my own age.
What struck me was that he didn't stay seated in his position, no...he bent over to look closer out the window and he just looked at me and said "are you ok? is everything alright?"

My intuition went off like a lightning bolt. There was no reason for him to ask that question.I wasn't stumbling around or doing anything unusual at the moment.

Man alone. Somewhat secluded rest stop. No other cars around.

I reflexively nodded and mentioned I was fine before scurrying to my car and taking off.

My intuition has never failed me, so I guess I rely on it a lot.

The seasons have changed....temps are warmer....brings out all kinds. I've had similar creepy things happen during shop trips...but nothing that set my intuition off like this.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/18/2026 10:58AM by BarefootBliss.

Glad you’re ok.
Hope he was just being kind.

Um, I’m a bit confused as to WHEN the intuition kicked in. Are you saying it occurred AFTER a wacko rolled up on you while you were wandering around on foot at a deserted rest stop parking lot? What am I missing here???

I am glad you listen to your inner self and got out of there. Even if he were just being nice, I would have fled as well. I walk around with a chip on my shoulder when I am out of town. I don't say "hey," dress fancy, or anything. I sure don't wear my nice jewelry or carry my MK purse. I like to be just plain Jane. It's just something about someone talking to me, period, when I am out of town. I don't know you, and you don't know me. There is no reason for you to talk to me. I don't trust folks.

If I am in my own area and town, I will talk to anyone because if I need help, people that I know are just a bit away. The further I am from home, the meaner I look and the less I talk.

Intuition is a powerful ally.

I mean there are some wild stories out there so good you got out of there. Those CDs could have been put there by him to get you to slow down, stop and look. They may have even been laced with something. Maybe I watch too much criminal minds but I know enough to not touch things like that. Scary for sure.

I love "intuition." How would a third party observer "intuit" you? Alone? Bending down? Were you doing this to practice cleavage and/or butt moves for later? Were you puking? Were you falling down? Why so? Were you the one who had placed the bait/CDs? Were you just getting rid of evidence? Were you looking for a lost contact lens? Had you dropped car fob or key?

No offense here. Just another vantage point.

My son watches someone place cotton balls soaked with something on a car at a grocery store while I was inside. He warned the lady that came out to get in the car and the police were called. The store manager came out with nitrile gloves and removed the cotton balls from the car and used disinfecting wipes to clean the door handle, the lady packed up her groceries and left. There were lots of pictures taken, including the ones my son took of the man who put them on the lady's car. I'm assuming that the police took all of it and did something with it, but we're in Alabama, so it most likely just went in the trash.

The glitch got me.. please delete. The worst part, is this isn't the final version of what I typed.. I went back and changed it, clarified something things... but this is what the system picked up.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/20/2026 11:49PM by Morledzep.

omg no offense taken, lol

I can't speak for how intuition works for others.

Only how it works for me and those I know who also are guided by it.

I also can't begin to list the number of times it has saved me over the years. It hasn't failed me yet.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/21/2026 09:03AM by BarefootBliss.

MLZ, so odd about the cotton balls and car.

Of course my mind goes straight to "but did the police test it for anything?"

I completely agree about intuition. My daughter was a child who never met a stranger; she'd walk up to people (anyone, anywhere - people in museums/stores/playgrounds, homeless people, other riders on the bus/train/etc) and just start chatting if she felt like it, or they'd talk to her, and I was fine with it (if you've ever read The Gift of Fear, you'll understand why). But, one day (she was 8? 9?), we were in a Kohl's and she was maybe 20 feet from me while I was browsing and all of a sudden she came rushing over, and she said, "Mama, that man was talking to me, and I know you say we should be polite, but, something about him made me feel creepy, and I just walked away. Is that okay?" No idea who this man was, and maybe he was perfectly harmless, but I absolutely reassured her that not only was it okay, it was ABSOLUTELY the right thing to do. I've done it myself before.

If this "intuition" is not curbed, no one will be able to talk to or even be in proximity to any other person. Our biases, which we all have, will fuel ever more fear. This bigoted and otherwise irrational fear will divide humans, rendering us incapable of banding together when it is necessary to accomplish reasonable goals for all.

@Shop-et-al wrote:

I love "intuition." How would a third party observer "intuit" you? Alone? Bending down? Were you doing this to practice cleavage and/or butt moves for later? Were you puking? Were you falling down? Why so? Were you the one who had placed the bait/CDs? Were you just getting rid of evidence? Were you looking for a lost contact lens? Had you dropped car fob or key?

No offense here. Just another vantage point.

You know her far too well SEA.

Check mark next to ‘All of the Above’

I always follow my instincts. My intuition is always 1000% correct in my opinion. I trust them completely. Ask my family and friends. BFB, glad you got out of there safely.

@mysterioso412 - At a former job, we were required to read that book. It talked about the gift God gave women for sensing (intuition), those things that could be going on with other people that mean you harm.

It mentioned children having it, too. (I will take it a step further and include animals). But, the part that especially stayed with me was that if you feel something off about someone, but it never manifests, it does not mean you were wrong. The person just decided not to have you as their victim for some reason.

That validated all the times I had bad feelings about someone and would share that with a close friend, co-worker, etc., and they would tell me I was way off and wrong. Then, years would pass by and we would find out the person was a rapist, pedophile, murderer, or caught embezzling.

Bare,

We may never know if the police even bothered. My son sent the pictures to the store manager who called the cops. I'm sure they'll contact him if they need any information. But the cops are lazy, they only do traffic stops and show up enmasse at accident scenes.

@Morledzep - The soaked cotton balls and similar was a thing that people have done to kidnap people, usually in human trafficking. They are affected by the substance pretty fast. But, it has also become a common prank, which is sick.

Either way, it was still good that your son was proactive. You cannot be too careful these days.

I tried to see what I could find. Seems that some soak cotton balls in water and then put them on vehicles when temps go below freezing - they stick and it becomes a prank...not sure how common that is in the south where it hardly goes below freezing.

Another long drive today. Another interesting event (to me).

As I pulled up to the hotel to check in, I noticed an Orthodox priest walking in the door, he was wearing the garments.
I later went down to get a cup of tea and he was also there getting tea. I commented on a book he was
carrying and he invited me to sit and chat with him about it.
Was a nice and interesting conversation.

@BarefootBliss wrote:

I tried to see what I could find. Seems that some soak cotton balls in water and then put them on vehicles when temps go below freezing - they stick and it becomes a prank...not sure how common that is in the south where it hardly goes below freezing.

This was a bright sunny warm day, just a week or two ago.. But we do get below freezing at night, most nights in the winter. We usually only stay freezing during the day for maybe a week at the most in January or February and sometimes both.

One of those tictokers that warns women about how to protect themselves did a video about stuff like this. Fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin, and inhaled if you get too close. I've heard of it happening, but until that day, I figured it was just someone's paranoia. Or maybe those folks that are warning us are giving the bad guys ideas that they wouldn't have thought of on their own. Like when Jim Acosta asked Trump if he was going to declare an emergency so he could do something he shouldn't.. This was in his first term and I don't remember what kind of illegal activity he was trying to make happen.

@mysterioso412 wrote:

I completely agree about intuition. My daughter was a child who never met a stranger; she'd walk up to people (anyone, anywhere - people in museums/stores/playgrounds, homeless people, other riders on the bus/train/etc) and just start chatting if she felt like it, or they'd talk to her, and I was fine with it (if you've ever read The Gift of Fear, you'll understand why). But, one day (she was 8? 9?), we were in a Kohl's and she was maybe 20 feet from me while I was browsing and all of a sudden she came rushing over, and she said, "Mama, that man was talking to me, and I know you say we should be polite, but, something about him made me feel creepy, and I just walked away. Is that okay?" No idea who this man was, and maybe he was perfectly harmless, but I absolutely reassured her that not only was it okay, it was ABSOLUTELY the right thing to do. I've done it myself before.

Oh. The gifts of the spirit do not include fear or the spirit of fear. In fact, it is written that the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear... and for people who come through Jesus, there might be a possibility of being led by the Holy Spirit... who is given by God to those who have come via Jesus...

And, the fear of the Lord, or of God, involves respect-- respect-- for the authority and stated consequences... which do not involve intuition...

...and this necessarily becomes more and more religious, so I end this comment now.

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 04/25/2026 01:12AM by Shop-et-al.

Agreed. The fear of God is a healthy fear including reverence. Not a morbid fear.

Regarding the book's title, I know the author was speaking about natural gut reactions or feelings one gets when something is off and not right.

I'm b*tchy when I am on the road. I'm blunt and to the point with people.

@ArkLaMissshopping wrote:

I am glad you listen to your inner self and got out of there. Even if he were just being nice, I would have fled as well. I walk around with a chip on my shoulder when I am out of town. I don't say "hey," dress fancy, or anything. I sure don't wear my nice jewelry or carry my MK purse. I like to be just plain Jane. It's just something about someone talking to me, period, when I am out of town. I don't know you, and you don't know me. There is no reason for you to talk to me. I don't trust folks.

If I am in my own area and town, I will talk to anyone because if I need help, people that I know are just a bit away. The further I am from home, the meaner I look and the less I talk.

For those interested in the topic of intuition, I can recommend this subject matter expert:

[www.gerd-gigerenzer.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/26/2026 10:09AM by BarefootBliss.

While you are searching, please consider how easily "intuition" can be created, fed and/or spread. Be careful.

I try not to put myself in situations I don't need to be in. Being nice when out of town can really put me in bad situations. Been there...

@Dino29 wrote:

I'm b*tchy when I am on the road. I'm blunt and to the point with people.

@ArkLaMissshopping wrote:

I am glad you listen to your inner self and got out of there. Even if he were just being nice, I would have fled as well. I walk around with a chip on my shoulder when I am out of town. I don't say "hey," dress fancy, or anything. I sure don't wear my nice jewelry or carry my MK purse. I like to be just plain Jane. It's just something about someone talking to me, period, when I am out of town. I don't know you, and you don't know me. There is no reason for you to talk to me. I don't trust folks.

If I am in my own area and town, I will talk to anyone because if I need help, people that I know are just a bit away. The further I am from home, the meaner I look and the less I talk.

I'm too nice for my own good. So, I had to take that persona.

@ArkLaMissshopping wrote:

I try not to put myself in situations I don't need to be in. Being nice when out of town can really put me in bad situations. Been there...

@Dino29 wrote:

I'm b*tchy when I am on the road. I'm blunt and to the point with people.

@ArkLaMissshopping wrote:

I am glad you listen to your inner self and got out of there. Even if he were just being nice, I would have fled as well. I walk around with a chip on my shoulder when I am out of town. I don't say "hey," dress fancy, or anything. I sure don't wear my nice jewelry or carry my MK purse. I like to be just plain Jane. It's just something about someone talking to me, period, when I am out of town. I don't know you, and you don't know me. There is no reason for you to talk to me. I don't trust folks.

If I am in my own area and town, I will talk to anyone because if I need help, people that I know are just a bit away. The further I am from home, the meaner I look and the less I talk.