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- [00:00]
Advertiser
You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites with Indeed sponsored jobs. Your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com kidsandfamily just go to Indeed.com kidsandfamily right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites with Indeed sponsored jobs. Your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com Arts. Just go to Indeed.com Arts right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.
- [01:54]
Storyteller
This isn't the longest story I've got, but it's been the one on my mind lately. So this happened. A few days ago, my friend, let's call him J had invited me to eat lunch with him at a buffet, so I got ready and ordered an Uber. I had a cigarette while I waited outside and the Uber arrived a few minutes later. I climbed in and buckled up, then was on my way. The driver had started talking, asking me general questions like where I'm headed, how I'm doing, if I'm single, etc. I told him that I was meeting a friend at the buffet that he was driving me to and he said that he'd have to try it and that he might just come in when he dropped me off. I was a little put off by that comment, so I remained wary and vigilant. I'm always on edge and have my guard up, so I didn't rush it off. Instead, I had tried to focus on reading the group chat JI and another friend of ours was in by turning on my screen reader and lowering the volume so only I could hear it. The driver kept talking every time I held my phone to my ear, causing me to not be able to listen to the message. I have a visual impairment, so I couldn't read the text on my phone since it was too bright in the car. I started giving him shorter responses and he asked what I was listening to. I told him that I can't see that well, which could have made things much worse than they turned out, and I was listening to a conversation. I continued to try to listen to the incoming messages sent by J and our other friend, who I'll refer to as pnow, but he just kept talking every time I brought the phone to my ear. If you're wondering why I didn't put in earbuds, it's because I had left them at J's apartment a few days prior and couldn't get them because he was already waiting for me at the restaurant. The driver eventually asked what I did for work and I told him that I don't currently have a job, which is true. He began telling me about some program he was in where you could get like $2,000 a week just by becoming a member. That sounded extremely sketchy, so of course I didn't believe him. I nodded along though, and I pretended to be interested. He said that if I wanted in, he could text me the link if I gave him my number. I said sure, but only when we reached the buffet and he seemed content with that. When we reached the plaza with the buffet, he drove around for a bit, unable to see the restaurant, which he had passed several times. I'd begun to grow annoyed rather than worried, but I kept it hidden. Eventually he had feigned finally finding the place and stopped the car. I unbuckled and thanked him for the ride and he said that he'd be in there in a few minutes and we could eat together. I said sure and just nodded my head, then opened the door and got out. I closed the door and hurried to Jay, who was on the phone with another friend of ours who I'll call. A. J hung up the phone and looked at me speed walking towards him and he noticed the driver just sitting there staring at me. J then glared at him and yelled, hey man, what are you looking at? Causing the driver to then flee and leave the restaurant before we left and paid. I was really worried that the dude would come in, but he never did. Jay and I enjoyed our meal and made it home safely. I really hope that I don't run into that weirdo again. Remember to always remain alert and pay attention to everything you just realized your.
- [05:18]
Advertiser
Business needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job post seen on other job sites with Indeed sponsored jobs. Your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit to get your jobs more visibility@ Indeed.com kidsandfamily just go to Indeed.com kidsandfamily right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need.
- [06:11]
Storyteller
All you homeowners have unique needs. Some feel the need to paint their door a vibrant shade of blue. Others have the need to decorate their bathroom with fish anchors and other nautical items. And because each homeowner has unique needs, GEICO helps you get the right coverage for your home and what's in it. That way you get exactly what's right for you, even if your needs are unique. Get more with GEICO for a little background information. I was a younger teen, maybe 15, 16. I'm 21 now. Me, my sister and my brother and mom were going somewhere and my dad wasn't home. So our SUV wasn't here at the time. We called an Uber to wherever we were going. We were waiting an absurd amount of time. Then out of nowhere, a red car comes, literally swerving and speeding down the road. It speeds right past our house and turns at the end of the street. It comes back and I kid you not, it damn near hit us. Some older guy in maybe his mid-50s to early 60s rolled down the window to give a description. He was a black man with a baseball cap on and he had patchy gray facial hair for a beard. I'm not sure if he was under the influence or if he just talked in a strange way. He then asked if this was our home, saying our address. We all say yes. And then he starts yelling where's the address? Apparently he couldn't see it. We point to it and whatever. Then he proceeded to keep yelling even more. We're trying to tell the man our address and I kid you not, he starts to cuss my freaking mother out in front of at the time an 8 year old girl, a 7 year old boy, and me the oldest, a 15 year old kid. My mom's jaw dropped and she told my younger brother and sister to get inside and for me to stay with her. My mom says to forget it and for the man to leave. The man then starts to get out of his car and gets in my mom's freaking face. I'm pissed, but what am I gonna do at such a young age? She tells him to get the hell off the property and I added for him to get the hell out of her face as well. Well, he said no. And after about five minutes of debating with this guy, my mom lost it. We then both went inside and she called the police. They sat there for almost 10 minutes before the police got there. Long story short, we gave the police the license plate and a description of him. We also informed our dad on what happened and he was pissed. My mom reported him to Uber and got some rather quick feedback. Apparently this guy had a record of harassing other passengers. Anyways, I thought this was all over, but I kid you not, me, my mom and my dad were in the living room hours from the original situation the same day. For context, at the time, there was a giant window in the front of our house. Despite it being a horrible day, it was actually a nice day out. So we had the blinds open. I'm not really sure what we were doing, but my dad then says, hey, isn't that the Uber guy? He looks like the guy y'all described. My mom's face went pale and she whimpered, oh crap. This piece of crap was parked in front of her house. My dad then runs out of the house and the guy speeds off screaming, you people got me fired. While flipping us off. Believe it or not, this maniac was outside again the next damn day. My dad swore to God that when he got up and he got a cup of coffee, he looked out the window and he saw him across the street. Yeah, this crazy old man went that far. He didn't leave until my dad had to go out there again. And according to my dad, it was indeed him. He then sped off. When my dad got to the end of the line, that was pretty much it. Other than one time, probably a week later, the same kind of red car rolled by our house really slowly. It's probably unrelated, but it's still scary to think about nonetheless. I know this might not be the scariest of stories, but it really freaked me out. And it's really terrifying when you have someone practically stalking your house. Stay safe out there, everyone this happened a couple of years ago. I was 21 at the time. I was on my way to the Tri State Airport in Huntington, West Virginia and didn't have a ride. So I called an Uber. The guy shows up in a red Toyota Corolla and when I got in the car it immediately smelled of death and weed. This should have been my first red flag. I asked him not to take the interstate to the airport because taking that road with an unfamiliar driver, well, it made me uncomfortable. He was wearing sunglasses to drive even though it was 9 o'clock at night, and he tilted them down and looked at me in the rearview mirror and just muttered ok. I thought it was weird, but shrugged it off cue. About 15 minutes later, I see him take the exit to hop on the interstate. I then sat up and said, hey, can we not take this way? It doesn't really make me comfortable. He started laughing maniacally and sped onto it. I jumped and was speechless. He was making me really uncomfortable with his driving. He was speeding, swerving through traffic. He told me that he'd let me out on the side of the road if I was that uncomfortable. He told me that I shouldn't get into cars with strange people in the first place. I asked him to pull over to a rest stop that was coming up and I'd get out and call another Uber, but he refused. He sped up even more and was laughing maniacally while doing so. It was so freaking creepy. We got to the airport and I had tried getting out of the car, but he had the child's safety locks on so he had to get out and let me out himself. He opened my door and stood in the way and then said, you know, Uber isn't even my main source of income, so it's not my job to make you feel comfortable. Maybe next time you shouldn't ask strangers for a ride somewhere. He truly sounded unhinged. I reported him to Uber and so far I've never gotten him as a driver again. And I hope no one else does either. So this literally just happened to me Wednesday night. My boyfriend lives in the town over and he orders me lifts back and forth to go see him. We've been doing this for over the past seven months without problems. We had spent the day together and had an amazing time as always, and he ordered me my Lyft back home. The guy pulls up and my boyfriend puts me in the car and gives me a passionate kiss goodbye. The driver is from Cuba, hardly speaks a lick of English, and he's using Google Translate. The entire time to talk to me. Now, at first it started off as, do you mind sitting in the front seat? I don't like for people to sit behind me. Okay, no problem. However, instead of letting me out of the car, he had asked me to climb over the seat, which made me feel a bit uncomfortable. And then I realized that he's staring at me the whole time I'm doing so. Then he proceeded to tell me, I hope I'm not being too daring, but you're very beautiful. Okay, cool. I get this compliment all the time, so I just say thank you. But I'm a bit put off by this. At the same time, he goes on like a regular driver, asking me if the music was okay and the volume, you know, the regular stuff. Then he starts asking me about the address I'm going to. Am I taking you to your home? I replied, yes, I'm going home. Then he asks, can I go home with you? I just laugh at this and say no. He asked about the guy that had put me in the car, if he was my boyfriend or my husband. I tell him that he's my boyfriend, my soon to be husband. Then he asks me, could I be your boyfriend too? And of course I say, absolutely not. The guy asks me, why not? I say that I'm totally against that and that I'm in love with my boyfriend very much and that I'm extremely loyal and faithful to him. He then says he doesn't have to know. In Cuba, we believe having multiple partners and not all of them know about each other. I tell him, well, that's definitely not a thing for me and I don't believe in that one bit. He then says, your boyfriend made the mistake of sending you home alone. I would have taken you myself to make sure you got there safe. Now I'm getting very upset at this point and I'm only laughing at what he says, trying to maintain a friendly composure because I know how ugly things can turn if I start giving this guy an attitude. He doesn't speak again for a while, and when he does, he asks me again if he could come home with me. I tell him no again and then he says, you're just so beautiful. I really want to be your other boyfriend. I don't even say anything, but just shake my head no and start fidgeting around with my phone. He tells me that he has a lot of money and that he would take care of me. I told him that I didn't care and that I wasn't interested. Then he had asked me if he could give me his number so that we could text each other and I say no. After what seemed like an eternity, we eventually pull up to my house and he gets down trying to help me with my bags and I decline his help to which he then tells me hold on and he pulls out his phone one more time and he asked can I please come inside with you? I tell him to have a good night and to have a safe trip back. I then dart inside as fast as I could, locking all of the locks behind me and calling my boyfriend immediately so that he could report this weirdo because I didn't want this unpleasant experience to happen to anyone else. Well, the only thing Lyft did was give my boyfriend a five dollar credit to his account for the unpleasant experience. He wasn't even able to tell them why it was unpleasant. Yeah, it's insane. So ladies, creepy drivers are definitely a thing. Please be careful out there.
- [16:30]
Advertiser
You just realized your business needed to hire someone yesterday? How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy. Just use Indeed. Stop struggling to get your job posts seen on other job sites with Indeed sponsored jobs. Your post jumps to the top of the page for your relevant candidates so you can reach the people you want faster. According to Indeed data, sponsored jobs posted directly on indeed have 45% more applications than non sponsored jobs. Don't wait any longer. Speed up your hiring right now with Indeed and listeners of this show will get a $75 sponsored job credit. To get your jobs more visibility at indeed.comkidsandfamily just go to indeed.comkidsandfamily right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Hiring Indeed is all you need. All you homeowners have unique needs. Some feel the need to leave up holiday decorations year round. Others have the need to use their garage as practice space for their new metal band. And because each homeowner has unique needs, GEICO helps you get the right coverage for your home and and what's in it. That way you get exactly what's right for you even if your needs are unique. Get more with geico.
- [17:55]
Storyteller
I live in a city with a public transportation system. They have been extremely short staffed and more often than not you have to call just to make sure your bus is even coming. On weekdays, during business hours, the public transit operator will order a lift for you to get to work if your bus isn't showing up or or if they're short a driver. Tuesday I'm at the bus stop after checking multiple Times if my bus is coming only to find out that it wasn't. They ordered me a lift and this nice older gentleman was my driver. We had a casual conversation and he started to ask personal questions. I'm a bartender and I'm super friendly already, so I didn't think his questions were ill intentioned. I told him I'm not married and that I'm pretty much a loner. I basically go to work and go home and spend time with my family. He then says, I'd marry you in a heartbeat. Again, I'm just thinking he's being funny or nice. I asked him to drop me off at the downtown grocery so I could pick up some things that I needed for work. When he stopped, he said that he was joking and that he's actually married and he has a son my age. He asked if I was interested in maybe meeting him. Since I have a terrible track record. I figured it wouldn't hurt meeting someone out of my circle and comfort zone. So I gave the man my number and we parted ways. The next morning he texts me and he asked if I needed a ride to work. I told him he didn't have to do that and that I was sure that my bus was going to be running this time. He said it would be his pleasure and that he'd pick me up at my house at 3pm Then about an hour later, he asked me if I wanted to have lunch with him before work. I told him I was busy and that I couldn't do that. Okay, I'll see you at three, he said. He shows up at three and he lets me know he's outside while I'm finishing getting my things together. I open the door and he's starting to walk up my stairs to my house. I told him I was ready and we could head downtown. When I get in the backseat, he turns around and he says that he has a confession. He told me from the time I took off my mask, his heart danced like a butterfly. He said that he hasn't been able to stop thinking about me since the day before and that he'd love to spend more time with me and that he'd even pay me for my time if I spent the day with them. That's when I started to feel super uncomfortable. The whole ride was really making me cringe. But I know when you're in a situation like that with a predator, playing nice is way safer than freaking out. He continued on the entire ride about how he loved me at first sight and he wanted to make me His Lebanese Queen. As we got closer to downtown, I started to feel relief. He dropped me off at my hotel and said see you tomorrow. That evening at work, I had checked my phone after a busy happy hour and he texted me multiple times. He sent me a picture of the hotel and he said he'd wait for me to get off to give me a ride home. I told him that I already had a ride, but thank you anyways. Thursday morning I'm out running errands with my mom and sister. He texts me and asks how early he can pick me up because he can't stop thinking about me. I asked him to please stop and that I was with my family. He continues to text me all day and evening, begging to see me, telling me that his heart is really aching to see his Lebanese Queen. I just kept telling him to please stop. Well, Friday morning it hit the fan. He tells me that he loves me no matter what. He then told me I told my wife about you and that I'm in love with you and I want a divorce. I told him to please don't do that and that it wasn't right to treat his wife like that. He said that it wasn't my fault they were drifting apart Anyways. Then he said that he was picking me up for dinner at 5:30 and that he's not taking no for an answer. I ignored the messages during the day and just went about my day. Around 5:25 my video doorbell rings and he's standing on my porch for at least 15 minutes. I told him that I wasn't home and that he should leave. He continues to text me and beg to come pick me up from my parents. I was actually home the whole time but I was too scared to let him know that I eventually called the non emergency police line but he had already left by the time I got through. I found a general report, but technically they can't really do anything unless he's standing on my porch actually threatening me. They advised me to report it through Lyft, so I did. I haven't heard anything since, but that crap was really creepy. Last year I was on vacation in Southern Europe with a large group of friends. We have been there for a while and we always took an Uber from our rented house to the city which had very nice bars and clubs. The thing with Uber is it allows very cheap and flexible transport but it also opens the door to a lot of creeps. Now I've had Uber drivers who are super cool but also extremely drugged up road ragers who drive like maniacs and think they're impressive. And it's always the worst. Once an attractive woman sits in the car, it feels like a lot of total creeps. I think now that I have her here in this situation where she can't flee, she's forced to talk and be nice to me for that very reason. The guys of our group always use their phone to call Uber so that no creep picks the ride specifically because a female name popped up. Some of my friends even use male fake names because of that. But the guy we had that day was by far the worst. It is late evening and Uber picks us up and drives me, a 27 year old male, another 27 year old male, a 25 year old female and a 24 year old female to the desired old town where we plan to go clubbing and drink while driving. The driver constantly looks at the two women in the backseat via the mirror. They only told me this afterwards. He kept starting conversations, but basically only addressed the girls who left, answering to the guys who gave short non detailed answers, basically signaling that we 1 don't want to talk and 2 don't think he needs to know our plans. To us he seemed way too pushy and he wasn't really that big on hygiene, giving off the classic this is exactly the scenario why we don't like booking Ubers vibe. Meanwhile, we can't wait to arrive to our destination and get out of this uncomfortable but not super horrible situation. But that crap really didn't feel too great. Especially when this guy didn't stop on the road but instead pulled into a parking spot. He started fumbling around with his phone and we were like, alright, this is weird, let's just get out and left the car. To our surprise, the guy then turned the car off and got out as well. We saw the red flag and just started walking away towards the bar area of the town without even saying a word. Cars can't enter the old town after 400ft. Once we reached the gates, we stopped because this was the meeting spot for the other half of our group who took a separate Uber and we found out that this guy was freaking following us and stopped as well. You know the classic circle that people form while talking where one guy is just kind of standing next to it because people don't let him in? Yeah, well we did that. We started making conversation about how long the others will take to get here, where they are right now, etc. And this guy keeps throwing in comments like he's part of the posse. Oh cool. Even more people for us to hang out. This must be a great evening. Then we texted our friends in group chat that we were changing the meeting place to this bar because the freaking Uber driver is following us around and we want to lose him. So one of us started leading the group at a quick pace through the streets. They are very small, lots of people, and tall old town buildings all around them. We made turns at every corner trying to lose the guy, but he follows. Finally we reached a big plaza where there were hundreds of people closely together, basically queuing to enter the narrow street that was up ahead. We pushed through like rude douchebags and successfully we lost the guy. Finally we could head straight to the bar after our detour and when linked up with the other part of our group, two hours pass and life is all good. We decided to head to another bar a bit further away because the drinks and prices kinda sucked in this one. We had two drinks in that bar and guess who walks through the door and stands right next to the table? That guy. Hey guys. At this point, one of our friends, a 28 year old male who's good at communicating and frankly quite big, tells the guy that we want to keep to ourselves and have no interest in hanging out with them and to please leave us alone. Fortunately, the guy says it's no problem and leaves. Unfortunately, at around 3am, while dancing in the crowd of the club, the same guy announced his presence by tenderly pressing his body against the back of one of the girls who's 24 years old, who he had been staring at through the mirror in the car. The girl's boyfriend, a 27 year old male, recognizes the guy, gets angry as hell, grabs him by the collar and essentially tells him that if he keeps following us, he will get the crap kicked out of him. A bouncer sees this and approaches them. I start talking to the bouncer, who was super annoyed by anyone intervening at first. But after hearing how this guy stalked us from his car to this club, he just asks the Uber guy a few questions, then proceeds to throw him out. We stayed a bit longer than we wanted in hopes of him not waiting for us. After that, we reported the guy for being a creep in the app and we called another Uber, which thankfully wasn't him. This past summer, for my graduation gift, my mom and grandma took me to Alberta, Canada to go watch the Spruce Meadows Masters tournament. If you don't know what that is, it's one of the world's largest horse shows. We flew out there. So we decided to use Uber to get to and from the showgrounds. We don't have Uber where I'm from but everyone said the Uber drivers in the area were really awesome. For the first three days the drivers were great. They picked us up within five or so minutes and got us there in 15 minutes tops. The cars were clean and safe. This is important. On day four, we had called for an Uber about 45 minutes before the time we wanted to be picked up at at 9.30am 10am rolled around and we thought we'd give it another 10 minutes before calling for a different driver. 1005ish. The original driver then comes. In his profile it said that he was driving a 2017 Dodge Journey but when he got there it was definitely the right guy. But he was in this old run down looking beater. My first instinct was to go up to the driver's window and ask him to roll it down. Before I could ask him his name, just to check to make sure and ask him what happened to the car of the app said he would be driving. He almost shouted at me in a very angry tone, yes, it's me. This is my sister's car. Mine's in the shop now. Get in ladies. I have other riders waiting for me. I was shocked and already scared at this point. I looked at my mom and grandma and they just said to get in. So I did. I sat in the back with my grandma and my mom sat in the front. We told him where we needed to go and we were on our way. He had taken a different route that he had claimed was quicker. On the highway in Calgary, 15 minutes is already pretty fast. 15, 20 minutes had passed and he had been chatting up with my mom in a very flirtatious way the whole ride. He had taken us into the countryside that seemed to be forever away from where we were going as it was actually the opposite direction. I asked him if he knew where we were going and if we were going to get back on the highway. He just ignored me and kept driving. Another 10 minutes passed and I was freaking the hell out. My mom was obviously quite uncomfortable as well and we were still in the countryside. He pulled over onto the side of the road and we just sat there for a solid five or six minutes. At this point I was shaking and I had to hold my grandma's hand. The driver turned around and put his hand on my leg but I quickly shifted away. Then he proceeded to look at all three of us and say, I'm sorry for the long ride, ladies. I know I've gotten out of the way, but you're all too beautiful for me to let you leave so soon. What the hell, man. I wanted to get out of the car immediately. We all just sat there in silence and all I could think of was, oh my God, this guy's going to kill us. He also made many other creepy remarks toward me, commenting on how youthful and full of life I am. Some real serial killer stuff. After sitting there in shock for what felt like hours, my sweet grandma screamed at him, telling him to turn around and get back onto the highway. He finally pulled off the side of the road and then continued on the country road. The whole way he just kept looking back at me and making increasingly sexual remarks. Then about an hour and a half later, we got to the grounds. As you can imagine, I was extremely shaken up and almost in tears. I wish we had just called another Uber. I really hope he doesn't do this to all of his female passengers. I'll never be taking a ride share again. To the Uber driver from hell. You made me miss like two hours of the show and you scared me half to death. I gave you zero stars. I hope I never encounter you again and I hope Uber fires you. This happened several months ago. At the time, I had recently lost my car due to a motor vehicle accident. So I walked for 30 minutes to the store, thinking I'd be able to beat the sunset back. But I was wrong. By the time I was done picking up my groceries, it was pitch black outside. The thing is, I live in a woodsy area where there are not even many sidewalks, so I didn't think it was safe to walk back. I tried getting my brother and cousin to pick me up and drop me off, but they wouldn't have been able to make it for a while. So instead I decided to get a lift. A photo of a suspicious looking, creepy old man popped up as my driver. I waited at the sidewalk for my ride and maybe like 10 minutes later, the driver arrived. It was a silver Toyota sedan and the driver was an old man wearing a baseball cap and he had large framed rectangular glasses. Pretty much instantly, something felt off about the man's aura, but I tried not to let it bother me too much. After all, my home was literally right down the street, I reminded myself. I asked him if I could put my groceries in the trunk of his car. He nodded. I dropped them in without noticing what was in the trunk of his vehicle, because where we were stopped, it was pretty dark with no street lamps. I held myself in the car and told him that I lived back there, pointing in the direction from which the vehicle had arrived, and that I let him know that he was only a three minute drive away from my home. I saw him nod, or so I thought, and as soon as the light switched to green, he made a right. I thought he was making the right to turn the vehicle around, but instead he drove past the main road that he was supposed to take to get me home. I let him know immediately that my home was that way while pointing in the direction, and he acknowledged it, but still kept going straight, claiming there was an issue with his gps. And he started driving us in the complete opposite direction of my home, where the roads were completely empty. Suddenly, I didn't feel safe. I had a terrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. In that moment of panic. I immediately reached for my phone to sos, assuming the worst. But then I stopped myself and told myself to calm down. Hey, make a U turn. I tried to tell the driver as calmly as possible. I didn't want him to hear the panic in my voice. He didn't respond. My request to turn around was completely ignored. I couldn't keep calm any longer, so I finally yelled for him to make a right and turn around. He reluctantly complied. Along the way back to the road that took me to my home, it felt like it was the longest three minutes of my life. But just when I thought that I'd finally be home safe, the driver then suggested an alternate route. Even though my home was a simple right and a right via the main road and very close by, I immediately felt that something was really, really wrong. I slowed down next to a woodsy, isolated path along the way, asking if I'd ever been that way before and that we could take this route. Instead, I froze again. I went into panic mode. But I forced myself to calm down so as not to let it be known that I was suspicious of him. I raised my voice once more, telling him that my home was that way, while pointing toward the main road, which wasn't very far. He finally obliged after some reluctancy, and he started driving back toward the main road again. The entire time on the way to my home, my heart was racing and my palms were sweating. We arrived in my complex maybe five minutes later, and I spoke to him very nicely so that he doesn't try something funny that would force him to react in such a manner that would actually put my life in even further danger. I told him I'd be tipping him well for such a short drive, which would be $10. I quickly hopped out of the car and jolted to the trunk to retrieve my groceries. As I grabbed my bags, I saw something that I hadn't noticed before because this time the street lamp surrounding my complex actually illuminated the trunk of his car. I froze as I grabbed my groceries and the trunk of his vehicle was rope and a mallet as well as a bag filled with some contents. I was trembling from fear. I ran up to my building so fast and checked outside my window as soon as I got up to my apartment just to make sure that he wasn't still lurking and watching. But thankfully I never had to hear or see from that old man again. My guess was that he had some evil, twisted intentions from which I miraculously escaped because for whatever reason, he decided to change his mind about the intentions he had for me that night. To this day, I can only guess as to what his intentions were, but judging by the items I found in the trunk of his vehicle, it's not something I would have ever wished to find out. I'm so glad that I trusted my instincts that day. My girlfriend just got out of a lift in Wrigleyville, Chicago, in the middle of a busy street. The driver picked her up in front of my house and suggested taking her to a dark alley rather than a busy road. My girlfriend of course refused and told him to take her to the main road. The driver was visibly angry and he was on the speakerphone with an unknown third party. He was speaking in another language. He had mentioned to her a specific address, a large apartment building. Then he proceeded to ask her in English if she lived at the address. My girlfriend smartly lied and said she was visiting a friend. The driver then repeated the address to the third party on the speakerphone. He then told her that her Lyft profile picture was hot. That's when she said, okay, I'm getting out now. They were at a red light and he looked shocked. She had to manually open the lock, open the door, and then get out in the traffic. She then called me immediately and I ran down the street to meet her halfway. I drove her home, circled her blog twice, keeping an eye out for that license plate number or any other lingering cars, and walked all the way inside the apartment building. If you're in Chicago, beware of a black Toyota Prius. I would like to say the license number here, but I don't want to get in trouble for doxxing, but they were very inappropriate to say the least. She's still very scared and uncomfortable. We reported this to Lyft, but does anyone know if we should call the police? No fun feeling unsafe, especially because we have no idea who he was talking to. We'll definitely be contacting the police through non emergency means and letting them know that it was an incident that makes us feel less safe. Unfortunately, I'm very aware that the Chicago Police Department prefers to do nothing when given the choice, but at least there will be a paper trail. After calling the police, they let us know the plate is registered to a rental firm. I'm really confused. How does Lyft allow that you just.
- [39:03]
Advertiser
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- [39:57]
Storyteller
All you homeowners have unique needs. Some feel the need to paint their door a vibrant shade of blue. Others have the need to decorate their bathroom with fish anchors and other nautical items. And because each homeowner has unique needs, GEICO helps you get the right coverage for your home and what's in it. That way you get exactly what's right for you, even if your needs are unique. Get more with Geico. This happened in December 2021. I was at an event about 40 minutes away. It was Armbazel in Miami and I went to an after party that my friend was hosting. I live in Broward county and I was drinking so I decided not to drive. My friend, being nice, ordered a lift for me. This was at about 3am Everything was business as usual in terms of getting a Lyft drunk in the middle of the night to take you home. About halfway into the trip, 20 minutes, the driver of very large men pulls off to an exit, not mine, and then down into a grassy ditch. Admittedly, I wasn't paying much attention up until this point. After swerving off into the ditch on the side of an exit ramp on a highway, I had started assertively saying, where are we? What's going on? He just sat there breathing heavily. No response to any of my questions. And the doors were locked. I kept looking to my right, which was a vacant lot of trees. I was convinced someone was about to run up and grab me out of the backseat. I had started crying. As soon as I started crying, he put the car into reverse, up out of the ditch, then up the exit ramp at full speed, throwing it in drive. He sped about 85 to 90 miles per hour to my exit. At this point, I'm just hoping he doesn't flip the car or slam into a wall. He takes the exit, speeds all the way into my neighborhood, running red lights. Once he made the turn, skidding into my street. I'd screamed out loud to let me out that this was my house. He unlocked the doors, I jumped out, and I kid you not, he gets out of the car, pulls down his pants, and then he takes out his penis. I started running towards my house, and the last thing I yelled at him was that I was going inside and grabbing my gun, and that if he was still outside when I came back, I was going to shoot off his penis. Apologies if that's way too graphic, but that's what I said and that's what would have happened. I get to my house safely and lock the door. I called my friend to tell him what has occurred, and I told him to screenshot me the driver's information. At that point, he went to get the info and it was gone. I have the Lyft app and I tried to call customer service. Turns out there's no number. They had sent me a text back and forth about what had just happened for about 45 minutes. I demanded that a representative call me. Someone finally did call, but they said I should just call the police, that they can't share the driver's information, and then they deleted the entire text thread. For anyone who's wondering why this happened, it's because it was on the app, not regular texts. It just disappeared, though. I couldn't believe it. Some freak out there now has my address, and after I reported a threat, they refused to give me any information to actually report him to the police. It's now about 5am When Lyft drops my call and erases all contact with me. I should have called the police, looking back, but to be quite honest, calling the police in South Florida when an immediate and continuing threat is not in place is more hassle than what it's worth speaking from experience to conclude. Screw Lyft. My car had died a little while back, and I've been using Lyft to Get around town as needed. I'm actually within walking distance to a good variety of stores, so it hasn't been too pricey for me. However, I recently needed to go to the pharmacy and the pet supply store, both too far to walk. So I go to the pharmacy, pick up my prescription, and then call my ride to the pet supply store. The driver who picked me up seemed initially very polite, asking how my day was, commenting on the weather, etc. But then things got weird very fast. He abruptly asked if I was hungry. When I said no, he began to insist that we stop at a restaurant to get food and would not stop until I lied and said that I had just eaten a large lunch. Then he asked me if I wanted to get a coffee. Again, no. He backed off and turned up the radio. A minute later he asked if I like music and if I like to dance. I answered that I don't care for dancing, to which he asked, well, why not? Then he asked if I like to drink and if so, what bars do I like. I felt very uncomfortable at this point and I said that I don't drink much. Well, why not? He asked again. Not even a little here and there. I then lied that alcohol makes me nauseous. Then he asked me if I live alone. I said no, that I live with my husband. He asked how long I've been married and if I'm happy with my husband. Then he'd casually asked, is your husband a strong guy? Does he hit the gym? I began to feel very panicked at this point. Why would this guy want to know if I live alone and how physically strong my husband is? He was being very pleasant and cheerful the whole time, but staring intently at me through the rearview mirror, which really disturbed me. I lied and said that my husband was military and that I was so happy to have him home with me. He became very disinterested after I began gushing about my husband and abruptly turned up the radio so loud that it actually hurt my ears while in the backseat. I'm not even kidding. The windows were actually vibrating from the noise. We arrived at the pet supply store and I jumped out of the car and hurried away. Once in the store, I really took my time perusing the aisles to ensure that the driver had really left. I stayed there for nearly 40 minutes. It was rush hour, so I was fairly confident he had received another passenger request and left. After buying feed for my bunny, I had headed out and requested another ride. I kid you not. The dude was waiting in the parking lot and he whipped his car around in front of me as soon as I walked out the doors. He accepted my ride request after blocking me from walking into the parking lot, jumped out of his car, took my bag of feet out of my hands, and then bundled it into the car. It all happened very quickly and looking back, I really should have canceled my ride right then and there. I really regret not putting down my foot and calling him out on his creepiness. Anyhow, I froze up and started panicking. I tell myself that I'm being dramatic and that it's all just a coincidence. I get in his car and realize with misery that my home address is logged into his gps. He's very jolly now and he asks, will you be happy when you get home? I had a stroke of genius and lied that I was actually visiting my friend for dinner. But oh yes, I can't wait to get home later on. It's been such a long day. He didn't seem to like hearing this and he gave me the loud radio treatment yet again. I arrived home and grabbed my bag of bunny feet so he couldn't try and help me carry it inside. The driver got out right when I did and he tried to push a piece of paper in my hand. It had his phone number on it and he said, you will call me tonight when you're ready to go home. Yes. Ya Boi demanded that I call his personal phone to get a ride home after dinner with my friend. I refused and he actually tried to force the paper right into my hand, grabbing my fingers and then crumpling them into a fist around the said paper. I lied again. I told him that my friend was actually going to be the one driving me home later on and then dropped the paper on the sidewalk. He finally gave up and got back into his car. I walked up to the door, but I realized that the driver was still parked at the curb, watching me. He saw me looking and quickly pretended to mess with his phone, but I suspect he was waiting to see if my friend would come to the door or if I was lying. I casually knocked on the door, waited a moment, then pulled out my phone as though to call my friend. While making the call, I had decided to turn and stare pointedly at him. It worked and he eventually eased his car out and drove away. Once he was around the corner, I rushed into the house and locked the door behind me. So yeah, that's the end.
- [49:01]
Advertiser
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- [49:54]
Storyteller
Geico's motorcycle expertise gives me the coverage I need. Like 24.7claims, I'm on cloud nine. Clouds are wholly unable to support the weight of an adult human. What's happening? Furthermore, clouds are not numbered. Even if you procured a jetpack and searched, you'd find no cloud number nine. However, at that altitude, you'd likely befriend a flock of migrating snow geese. Geese who'd encourage you to leave your 24.7geico motorcycle claims insurance behind as they would take you in and even share their dinner of crickets and clovers with you. GEICO assumes no liability for any indigestion that may occur from a clover cricket dinner. GEICO expertise for your motorcycle.
- [50:25]
Advertiser
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