Well you are both back now.at school. As promised I am going to document the regular speeches you get in the car on your way back to the dorm or to the airport.
Number 1 in the series is your favorite and mine. It is the Safety Speech.
You should never live in fear. It seems that the powers that be think that strong, violent, and edgy images are the way to reach out to you about drinking, drugs, and crime. Every year I get videos sent to me about kids dying in slow motion in car wrecks or a meth kid doing gross things to support a drug habit. I have never really gotten all those gross out images. In real life, these things are heart breaking in a way that is difficult to describe. With the FD I have seen lives changed in an instant with a permanence that is still amazing to me. I am not a believer in gross out stories - even the real life ones. They don't translate at all.
The people who end up in unanticipated life changing situations are normal people like you and me. They find themselves in unimaginable situations because they made poor decisions and did not apply common sense to a potentially bad situation. For the most part, they are people that would be very recognizable to you.
The very non dramatic lesson here is that being well informed, aware of surroundings, and using an abundance of common sense and caution will keep you out of most of the real crappy situations.
Trust your instincts, the other common thread you find is that people who are the victims often say that in retrospect there was something about the situation that felt wrong or did not feel right. If you find yourself unexpectedly in a bad situation the simple rule is to leave. Call me or mom, take a cab, use the ride program, or call a friend who is not impaired. This is where degree's of common sense apply. Don't walk home at 3 AM by yourself to get out of a bad spot. There are too many resources available for you to do this. Don't trade one bad situation for another. You have no idea how happy it would make me to reimburse you for cab fare. If you want to know if your pride at saving 20 dollars for a cab ride is worth more than my piece of mind, the answer is no. Piece of mind, is a great thing to give a parent and if you can do it for a cab ride, well that is a hell of deal.
As much as I don't think that scare tactics are appropriate way to make any point you need to know that there are genuinely bad people out there. They are not all boogie men, they almost are always in plain sight. I can't say it enough - common sense is best defense. You are not exempt because of where you live, what you do, or that you have walked down street a hundred times before. Err on the side of caution.
You also need to know that there are times when you cannot prevent a friend or an acquaintance from doing something stupid or risky. I can't tell you how much it sucks when you find out that an sober occupant of a car was killed or hurt badly because a drunk driver in the same car was behind the wheel. There are things and situations you cannot fix. Two victims instead of one.never, ever makes sense.
And last but certainly not least. There is nothing you cannot call me or your mom for. We have a very firm grasp on priorities and your health and safety is always at the top of the list. We are not the least bit interested in being right or making points. I can - no matter the distance, time of day, or circumstance arrange for immediate relief to come your way or to get you extricated from a bad spot. You have a permanent get out of jail free card from me. Call me, we will get it sorted out, get you safe, back on your feet. Having messed up a time or two at your age, I never understood why people felt compelled to state the obvious. It is kind of like someone pointing out you have dog shit on your shoes when you are sitting on the step cleaning your shoes with a stick. It is just not helpful or particularly insightful. You won't find me telling you that you have dog shit on your shoes.
Stay safe. And by the way it would not hurt to take a self defense class would it? Go ahead...make my day.
Love Dad
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