A Must Read for All who have children or grandchildren
EVERYONE NEEDS TO READ ALL OF THIS and HAVE YOUR
CHILDREN READ IT TOO!
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 seeAnybody 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 cool.
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: Shannon 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 eighth 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.
Shannon didn't tell her parents about the incident on
the way home from the ballpark that day. She didn't
want them to make a scene and stop her from walking
home from the softball games. Parents were always over
reacting 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 over protective.
By Thursday, Shannon 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 sudden 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 Shannon '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 Shannon 's house. He
drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until
time to make his move.
Shannon was in her room later that evening when she
heard voices in the living room.
"Shannon, 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."
Shannon sat back. How could he tell her parents
anything? She had never seen him before today! "Do you
know who I am, Shannon?" the man asked.
"No," Shannon answered.
"I am a police officer and your online friend,
GoTo123."
Shannon 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, Shannon, there are people
on-line who pretend to be kids; I was one of them.
But while others do it to injure 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 talk to people on-line. You
told me enough about yourself to make it easy for me
to find you. You named 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."
Shannon as 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. Tell others about this so they will be safe
too?"
"It's a promise!"
That night Shannon and her Dad and Mom all knelt down
together and thanked God for protecting Shannon from
what could have been a tragic situation.
*****NOW *****
Please send this to as many people as you can to
teach them not to give any information about them
selves. This world we live in today is too dangerous
to even give out your age, let alone anything else.
EVEN FORWARD THIS TO PEOPLE WITHOUT KIDS SO THEY CAN
SEND IT TO FRIENDS THAT DO HAVE CHILDREN OR
GRANDCHILDREN.Wondering
I was in a daze....
thinking about you.
Wondering who you are....
and what you mean to me.
I ask myself these questions...
Do I love you?
Do I want you?
Do I want to be with you?
These questions keep twirling in my head...
The answers on are my tip of my tongue
But I can't bring myself to answer them outloud
Maybe I'm scared...
Maybe I'm weak
Maybe I'm......not sure
Babe....I will let you know when.........I know for sure.
You are my heart and soul.....
One thing I know for certain....
I'm not about to let you go......
