In addition to yesterdays post...

This is for all you East Texas girls out there. Not to build on my / our (as I have discovered) fears. Just wanted everyone to be aware. This was an email that I received today. Apparently it was reported in the Marshall News Messenger on July 21.

As I understand it, this occurred a week ago Saturday night, July 19, on Hwy. 449 between Hallsville and Marshall, approximately 5 miles from the loop in Marshall. A 17 year old girl was returning home from a babysitting job in a subdivision in north Hallsville. I'm not sure what time, but judging from the boldness of the attackers, I would think it was late. For those of you who don't know, 449 is a curvy FM road, with a scattered population of homes, and most are back off the road. There are stretches that are pretty desolate. The young girl stopped because a car was completely across the road, blocking her way. Immediately two other cars came up behind her, one in each lane parked at an angle, in a V shape, blocking her from every direction. The Black males literally pulled her out of the driver's window, forcing a "date rape" pill down her throat and viciously tried to assault her. Something spooked them and they fled, but not before they had torn her shirt and bra off, broken her arm, and pulled patches of her hair out. Other injuries were mentioned, but I was too stunned to remember all the details. It's obvious what their intentions were, but they got distracted, thank GOD! She drove herself to the hospital in Marshall, still without her clothes. What a tough little cookie she was! I was told there was only a very short article in the Marshall paper, with not much attention given to it at all. Harrison County is handling the case. Just wanted to alert all of you who travel some of these back roads at night (like I have). We never think it will happen to us. This type of crime could target anyone, young or old, so pass this along to your mothers, daughters, sisters, granddaughters, nieces, and anyone who might need a wake up call like I did. It sounds like the attack was well coordinated, probably by cell phone. My guess would be that one probably passed her and got far enough ahead to block her, and the other two were probably talking back and forth to him, following her all the while.

By the way. Thanks to those of you that have commented on my "Fears" blog. It makes me feel a little more normal with this fear and Christopher is realizing that I'm not as crazy as he thought!