Schuetz

Once upon a time in a city not too far away lived a young girl. She was bright and shiny in the way that only 19 year-old girls can be.

On this one particular night, she was dressed as a French poodle -- her new style of dress for her brand new position as a cocktail waitress at an upscale theme restaurant in the city where she lived. She had finished her shift for the night and she was in the parking lot with her group of friends who were also just getting off shift when she remembered that she had forgotten her new boots in the dressing room. So with her boyfriend as escort she headed back to the restaurant which meant taking a walk through a meandering garden path.

As the pair began their walk on the planked garden path and stepped out of sight from their friends, the lights went out and the well-lit path fell into shadow...and out of the gloom stepped two large men wearing featureless masks carrying guns...

Unfortunately, this is no fairy tale. This is a true story. My story. And that night I was lucky. The two jerks who put their guns to our heads were unorganized and didn't really know what they were doing -- it was clear that they didn't have a plan. Me? I was angry. A strange reaction, I suppose, but I was. One of the two worms decided that they wanted me to lie down in the garden off the path -- I got even angrier and I argued with them. I told them to get bent in so many words; I wasn't going to go down easy or at all if I could help it. My boyfriend wasn't being much help -- he was acquiescing which under the circumstances for him was probably the right move. But he wasn't the one who was being drooled over either...these two freaks were actually staring at my thighs! Anyway they didn't know what to do when I refused to cooperate and they began to argue with each other. With their attention diverted, I ran. Fast. I was out of there...

While I came out of this incident unscathed, the opposite could have just as easily happened. I said I was lucky and that is an understatement -- I could have been badly injured, raped, or even murdered. My reaction worked for me for a couple of reasons:

* I didn't let fear or panic overtake me.

* I knew the area and my attackers didn't and they really were a couple of

buffoons.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that all bad guys are stupid -- they're not! Most are in control, know what they want, how they're going to get it, and they've got nothing to lose. Unlike you...or me at this point. You and I, we have lives, we have families and pets and plans for what we're going to do this weekend...we have lots to lose.

Don't make the mistake of thinking that you'll never be attacked. A woman is raped every 2 minutes in the US; over the last two years the number of rapes and sexual assaults totaled more than 787,000.

Be prepared. When it is your turn, know what to do and have a weapon in your hand or on your belt -- there are so many to choose from today:

*One of my favorites is a stun gun that looks like a cell phone and today who

doesn't carry a cell phone?

*Or how about a new twist on pepper spray -- Pepper Spray Foam or Pepper

Spray Gel with a UV dye to stain and mark your attackers face

*And if you just really love the feel of a solid weapon in your hand -- consider

the Taser. For those of us with bad aim, you can always get a Taser with a

laser sight.

Stand up for yourself -- refuse to be a victim.

Amy Herndon is an authority on personal safety and home security. Her web site: www.azhselfdefense.com has even more information and tools for personal defense.