An Important Story (ot)

[Guest guest]

Here is something my friend " Mr Mom " (Roy) just sent me and it is chilling. I

hope you will read it, take it to heart, and send it on.

JAN =^..^=

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An Important Story

This is not your typical thing you would find in Mr. Mom's Web Pages. But,

sometimes we come across things that need to get out on the net. So I ask you to

please take some time out of your busy life and read this for I feel it is very

important. There are no fancy graphics or blinking smiley faces. But, If just

one person gets the message that it's trying to relay that is worth all the

smiles in the world! Share this story with your friends and family who have

children who go on-line. There are sick folks out there. could hear the

footsteps behind her as she walked toward home. The thought of being followed

made her heart beat faster. " You're being silly, " she told herself, " no one is

following you. " To be safe, she began to walk faster, but the footsteps kept up

with her pace. She was afraid to look back and she was glad she was almost home.

said a quick prayer, " God please get me home safe. " She saw the porch

light burning and ran the rest of the way to her house.

Once inside, she leaned against the door for a moment, relieved to be in the

safety of her home. She glanced out the window to see if anyone was there. The

sidewalk was empty.

After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get

on-line. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel213. She checked her Buddy

List and saw GoTo123 was on. She sent him an instant message:

ByAngel213: Hi I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following me home

today. It was really weird!

GoTo123: LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone be following you? Don't

you live in a safe neighborhood?

ByAngel213: Of course I do. LOL I guess it was my imagination cuz' I didn't see

anybody when I looked out.

GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't done that have you?

ByAngel213: Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.

GoTo123: Did you have a softball game after school today?

ByAngel213: Yes and we won!!

GoTo123: That's great! Who did you play?

ByAngel213: We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are so gross! They look

like bees. LOL

GoTo123: What is your team called?

ByAngel213: We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on our uniforms. They are

really kewl.

GoTo123: Did you pitch?

ByAngel213: No I play second base. I got to go. My homework has to be done

before my parents get home. I don't want them mad at me. Bye

GoTo123: Catch you later.. Bye

Meanwhile......

GoTo123 went to the member menu and began to search for her profile. When it

came up, he highlighted it and printed it out. He took out a pen and began to

write down what he knew about Angel so far.

Her name:

Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985

Age:13

State where she lived: North Carolina

Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall. Besides this

information, he knew she lived in Canton because she had just told him. He knew

she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon until her parents came

home from work. He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons on the school

team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her favorite number 7 was printed

on her jersey. He knew she was in the seventh grade at the Canton Junior High

School. She had told him all this in the conversations they had on-line. He had

enough information to find her now.

didn't tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the ball

park that day. She didn't want them to make a scene and stop her from walking

home from the softball games. Parents were always overreacting and hers were the

worst. It made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she had brothers and

sisters, her parents wouldn't be so overprotective.

By Thursday, had forgotten about the footsteps following her. Her game

was in full swing when suddenly she felt someone staring at her. It was then

that the memory came back. She glanced up from her second base position to see a

man watching her closely. He was leaning against the fence behind first base and

he smiled when she looked at him. He didn't look scary and she quickly dismissed

the fear she had felt. After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to

the coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past him. He nodded

and she smiled back. He noticed her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he

had found her. Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her. It was only a few

blocks to 's home, and once he saw where she lived he quickly returned to

the park to get his car. Now he had to wait. He decided to get a bite to eat

until the time came to go to 's house. He drove to a fast food restaurant

and sat there until time to make his move.

was in her room later that evening when she heard voices in the living

room. " , come here, " her father called. He sounded upset and she couldn't

imagine why. She went into the room to see the man from the ballpark sitting on

the sofa. " Sit down, " her father began, " this man has just told us a most

interesting story about you. "

moved cautiously to a chair across from the man. How could he tell her

parents anything? She had never seen him before today!

" Do you know who I am ? " The man asked

" No " , answered.

" I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123. "

was stunned. " That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14 and he

lives in Michigan! "

The man smiled. " I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. You see

there are people on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them. But while

others do it to find kids and hurt them, I belong to a group of parents who do

it to protect kids from predators. I came here to find you to teach you how

dangerous it is to give out too much information to people on-line. You told me

enough about yourself to make it easy for me to find you. Your name, the school

you went to, the name of your ball team and the position you played. The number

and name on your jersey just made finding you a breeze. "

was stunned. " You mean you don't live in Michigan? "

He laughed. " No, I live in Raleigh. It made you feel safe to think I was so far

away, didn't it? " She nodded. " I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only

she wasn't as lucky. The guy found her and murdered her while she was home

alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are alone, yet they do it

all the time on-line. The wrong people trick you into giving out information a

little here and there on-line. Before you know it, you have told them enough for

them to find you without even realizing you have done it. I hope you've learned

a lesson from this and won't do it again. "

" I won't, " promised solemnly.

" Will you tell others about this so they will be safe too? "

" It's a promise! " That night and her dad and Mom all knelt down together

and prayed. They thanked God for protecting from what could have been a

tragic situation.

Please send this to as many people as you can to teach them not to give any

information about themselves. This world we live in today is too dangerous to

even give out your age, let alone anything else.

Be safe.

PLEASE PASS THIS ON!

~ " If I could reach up and hold a star for every time you've made me smile, the

entire evening sky would be in the palm of my hand. " ~