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I run a short, local route in the Dayton, Ohio area every night. I make deliveries on 3rd shift. There is no one working at any of my stops. I have keys to the places and go in there myself to make the deliveries. I have 6 deliveries to make every night. I've never felt uncomfortable at any of them except for a delivery I have to make in downtown Dayton.
Dayton is not a big city, but it's large enough that we have our share of homeless people, strung out drug users, prostitutes, and criminals. I don't have a problem with the homeless people, drug users, and prostitutes. It's the criminals I'm afraid of. ;) That stop I have downtown always has me a little paranoid. A lot of people have the mistaken belief that truckers make a lot of money. That makes me think that I'm a prime target to be mugged and I get in and out of that downtown stop as quickly as possible.
Last night as I was unloading I noticed an old guy across the street digging around in a trash can, looking for recyclables. I see him often. I used to think he was homeless, but the guy is there every night at the same time like he's on a schedule. He pulls a shopping cart around and has big trash bags tied to the sides. I've never spoken to him.
I haven't seen many ladies of the night out there recently. Used to see one pretty often. One night last winter I saw her walking across the street toward an old guy's car that was stopped at a traffic light. She didn't seem right, like she was crazy or high. She walked right up to that old guy's car and tried to hop in the passenger seat without even talking to him. He took off with her still holding onto the handle. I was surprised she didn't get run over. I haven't seen her since.
I get hit up for money from time to time at that stop. I give them a couple of bucks or my pocket change. They usually start up with some tale of misfortune. I tell them to save it and give them a little money.
As far as criminals go, the building right next to the one I deliver to got broken into one night. It had a glass store front and someone had shattered it. It had happened right before I got there. There was a security guard there and then a couple of cop cars rolled up. I wonder what might have happened if I had been there when that went down.
I had just finished up my stop there last night and was walking up to my truck when a guy carrying a plastic bag with what looked to be something kind of heavy in it started walking my way. Then he started flashing hand signals at me. I had know idea what he was trying to do and I took the hand signals to be gang signs. That's when I started to get really scared. I hopped up into the truck as he was yelling, "Hey, hey!" and doing those damn hand signals. I got up in the seat, and slammed the door as he approached the truck. He was reaching down in that plastic bag and that's when I froze. I don't know why. I guess I was so afraid that it overrode my innate "fight or flight" response.
He was standing under my door and pulling out whatever was in the bag. I was fully expecting to see a hand gun. I was very surprised when it turned out to be.....a cordless drill. Kind of looked like a hand gun, though. :) He was down there pulling the trigger to show me that it worked. I was so relieved that I wanted to hop out of the truck and hug the guy. Instead I rolled down my window and asked him what he wanted.
He was trying to sell the drill because he needed a weekly bus pass. I asked him how much the bus pass cost. He said ten dollars. He said he had just gotten out of prison and didn't have anything. He showed me his inmate I.D. to prove it. I took out my wallet. I had thirteen dollars in there. I gave the guy a ten and told him to keep the drill. He was very thankful and went on his way.
I did up my paperwork and took off to my next stop. I passed the guy with the drill and he flashed some more hand signals at me. I just waved. :D
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