A few weeks ago I was on the train. A young woman was sitting across from me, when a man came asking for money. The woman and I looked at each other, we spoke through our eyes… we would like to help, but he was a stranger, we did not know where that would lead, so we did not give any money.
Once the man left, the woman said, “I’m afraid to help people now.”
”What do you mean,” I said.
She told me that a few days before she was on the train at 1:30 pm. She had a seat close to the exit, where the doors open. There were probably 10 people on board. She was on her phone texting. A young man got up to exit, when the doors opened, he quickly grabbed her phone out of her hands and was gone!
She was startled, scared, in horror… all the motions we go through when we have just been robbed.
We discussed the fact that when we are on our phones, we are oblivious to our surroundings. We also talked about the sadness in having to live in a world where we feel we need to be invisible, i.e. to not bring attention to ourselves, dress plainly and so on.
This picture from Pixabay.com illustrates how easy it is for someone to pull the phone out of our hands.
I share this story today as a reminder to be aware of your surroundings. We never know when something like this might happen to us. I’ve been passing the word along to fellow passengers myself.
Tell your friends/family, even holding your phone, so it cannot be grabbed out of your hands would be a deterrent. We need to help each other.
On a happier note, we are having Spring weather. It’s beautiful.
GUESS WHAT – snow flurries predicted for Thursday!? We don’t believe it!
Brilliant Viewpoint 
I heard there is snow headed our way Monday, too! I’ll believe it when I see it 😲
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We had sleet today. 🙂
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Oh nooo. The temp is dropping..so far we’re down to about mid October and falling!
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I am amazed at how absorbed some people are with their phones. Like the kid crossing against the light on a busy street. A car barely missed him. They talk about distracted driving… distracted walking can be equally dangerous.
As far as snow… I think it will only be rain. 😊
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We had sleet today…
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Yep freezing rain, sleet and hail. Maybe snow tonight. I’m starting a fire. 😉
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A fire and good books is a GREAT idea!
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Scary isn’t it!
Once that happened to me, but it was my whole bag the bloke grabbed, rather than just a phone. I was left stranded (on my way to work in a new town.) People around me were really kind. One lady lent me money for my trip home and a man came with me when I reported it to the police. 😦
Enjoy the snow!!
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Thanks for sharing your story. Wonderful to hear of kindness being there when you needed it!
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Yes, it was a bit of a bitter-sweet day!
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I always tell my kids to have their wits about them when on their phones in public. You’re right we definitely need to be aware of our surroundings all the time.
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Nyc is testing using phone apps to get on subway. Not thrilled about this for that very reason
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Not a fan of Apps, that’s for sure!
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It’s a timely reminder indeed. I remind my daughter never to text on the phone when she is walking along the streets. It always pays to be aware of your surroundings, or you make yourself an easy target.
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So true, and it is hard, because we are ALL used to being on our phones. Good advice for your daughter!
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