My heart goes out to Elizabeth Smart, the young teenage girl abducted June 5th from her Federal Heights neighborhood (Salt Lake City, Utah) bedroom while her parents slept.  My immediate reaction was unbelieving: How could her parents have not heard anything?  But more poignantly, why didn’t she cry out for her dad at the first dreaded moment?  Had that been my household, I know that my daughter would have screamed for me regardless of whether the abductor had a gun or not.  She would have screamed because she would have known that I would have not only eaten the bullets in a heartbeat, but the gun and the abducting asshole’s entire arm, too,  before I’d ever allow the night to steal her away.  So my speculation on the Smart household soon became that her dad must have really been weak and ineffectual—and his daughter knew it—for Elizabeth not to have released a primal scream.  Yet who knows?  Let’s just hope we come to know by her own account soon.

Could the following advice have helped Elizabeth?  Maybe...or not.  Yet reflect upon it and realize that someday someone now reading it may need it:

TIPS FOR WOMEN (and others), .... ON STAYING ALIVE

The elbow is the strongest point on your body.
If you are close enough to use it, ... do it!

If you are ever thrown in the trunk of a car
Kick out the back tail lights
Stick your arm out of the hole, ... and start waving like crazy.
The driver won't see you but everybody else will.
This has saved lives!

Three reasons women are easy targets
1) Lack of Awareness.
You MUST know where you are, & what's going on around you.
2) Body Language
Keep your head up, swing your arms, stand straight up.
3) Wrong Place, ... Wrong Time
DON'T walk alone in an alley, or drive in a bad neighborhood at night.

Getting in to your car
AS SOON AS YOU GET IN YOUR CAR, ...
LOCK THE DOORS AND LEAVE
Be aware, ... look around you, ...
look in your car, at the passenger side floor, and in the back seat.
If you are parked next to a big van, ...
enter your car from the passenger door.
Look at the cars parked next to you.
If a male is sitting alone in the seat nearest your car, ...
walk back into the mall, or work,
and get a guard/policeman to walk back out with you.
(Better paranoid than dead.)

ELEVATORS
ALWAYS take the elevator instead stairs.
Do not get on an elevator if a weirdo is already on.
(Of course, bad men don't always look bad).
Do not stand back in the corners of the elevator
be near the front, by the doors, ready to get off or on.
If you get on the elevator,
and the Boogie Man gets on the next few floors, ...
get off when he gets on.

If the predator has a gun
(and you're not under his control)
ALWAYS RUN!
Police only make 4 of 10 shots, in range of 3-9 feet.
This is due to stress.
The predator will only hit you (a running target) 4 in 100 times.
And even then, it will most likely NOT be in a vital organ.
RUN, ... !!!

Tips to save your life
if you've gotten into a violent situation
REACT IMMEDIATELY
If he abducts you in a parking lot, and is taking you to an abandoned area,
...DON'T LET HIM GET YOU TO THAT AREA.

If you're driving, ...
crash your car while still going 5 mph.
If he's driving, ...
find the right time, and stick your fingers in his eyes.
He must watch the road, so choose an unsuspecting time, and gouge him.
It is your ONLY defense!!!
While he is in shock, ... GET OUT.
(This sounds gross, but the alternative is your fault if you do not act.)

RESIST
Don't go along with him, .... run, ... if you are able
DON'T EVER GIVE UP!
You DO NOT want to get to a crime scene.

Always keep your distance when walking past strangers.

GET A CELL PHONE.

BREAK DOWNS
Avoid breakdowns, ...
by keeping your car in good working order.
If your car does break down
LOCK YOUR DOORS.
You better have a cell phone to call for help.
If it's noon on a business day,
you may want to put on your hazards, and walk to safety.

Physical defenses we can use
The EYES, ...
are the most vulnerable part of the body.
Poke him there, ... HARD.
It may be your only window of opportunity.
The KNEES, ...
Everyone's knees are very vulnerable, ...
and a swift kick in the knees will take anyone down.
A cautionary note about these things
If you do not do these things right the first time, .... you are in trouble, .... because it will only anger the individual, and that anger
will be TAKEN OUT ON YOU. I'm not saying don't attempt them (it may be your only hope),
but be forceful when you do.

If you are walking alone in the dark
(which you shouldn't be--at least in many urban situations), ....
and you find him following/chasing you
Scream, .... "FIRE!"
not, ... "Help"
People don't want to get involved when people yell "help", .... but "fire" draws attention, ....
because people are basically nosy.

RUN!
Find an obstacle, such as a parked car,
and run around it, .... like Ring Around the Rosie.
This may sound silly, ... but it's SAVED LIVES.

Our world is not as safe as we pretend, ...
and living in our fantasy worlds WILL get us in trouble.
The women who die EVERY MINUTE from violent crimes
expected to go to bed tonight, and wake up tomorrow.
BE PREPARED TO ACT
AND ACT HARD, ... !!!
ALWAYS, ALWAYS HAVE A PLAN.