Followed
June 1979
One Friday evening shortly after I was married, Darrell was away on a business trip. I accepted a dinner invitation from Duncan and Helen. While driving to their home in my convertible MGB I was stopped at a traffic light on Crowchild Trail. Once the light changed I would turn left at this intersection onto Brisbois Drive in order to get to my childhood home.
There was quite a bit of traffic and I was unable to get into the turning lane until the light changed and the traffic began to move forward. At the very second the light turned green the man in the driver seat of the car in front of mine turned around, pulled out his camera and took my picture. I could see him clearly and was a bit uneasy he did this. I could not understand why he was taking my picture, or for what purpose.
As soon as the picture was taken, he was able to drive straight through while I began to make the turn. I did not see him again that night or any other time I am aware of. However, I could not help but be a little concerned that someone might be waiting for me when I got home that evening. I told Duncan and Helen and they were initially very upset and then in a strange behavioural turn began to joke about it.
I had always been uncomfortable about being in a house alone, but at the time I did not realize why. I was left to wonder why he not only took my picture, but why he was prepared to take it in such a situation in the first place. He was prepared which suggests it was planned. At this time I had no reason to justify such an action and it has mystified me all these years.
September 14, 1992
The first day I became convinced I was being followed. It happened twice that day, once when Lucas and I were alone shopping in the mall and the second time when Patrick, Lucas and I were driving home. It was such a strange feeling. At first I thought I was imagining things, that it was just a coincidence this same man turning up in every store we went to in the mall.
It became obvious as he continued to enter every store shortly after me, pretending to be interested in a product, yet all the while watching me from the corner of his eye, and then following me out the store within seconds without making a purchase. After the third time it happened I got a bit frightened. We were at Deerfoot Mall in N.E. Calgary. Patrick had dropped us off and we were to meet him later before having lunch and heading back to our home in Olds.
Lucas and I were sitting on a bench outside Cole’s Book Store when I first saw him. As he walked by us he looked right at me and I looked back because he reminded me of someone, but I could not figure out who. The next time I saw him was ten minutes later while in Shoppers Drug Mart. He was standing by the cashier, looking into the store. He saw me, stared for a moment, and then turned his head away. I had to walk past him to get to the cashier to pay for my purchase.
He was not shopping, just standing there looking as if he was waiting for someone. No one ever joined him, however, and he came out of the store right after me. Lucas and I next went to the bookstore where I was looking for the title, Stolen Continent. I was standing at the cashier asking for assistance in locating the book when I saw him walk by. As he was walking past, he looked in and seeing me, retraced his steps and entered the store. He picked up a book and continued to look at it until I finished my conversation and left.
He put down the book he was holding and followed us out of the store. We did not see him again until much later. Now that the man was gone I began to wonder if I had over reacted. We kept our eyes open for him but did not see him again while we were shopping. When Patrick met up with us I explained what had just happened.
On the way home, however, once again we were being followed by another car while driving on the #2 Highway. He was driving a cream coloured station wagon (older model) with Saskatchewan licence plates. He started following us just past the Airdrie turnoff. As he passed us he made no effort to pretend he was not interested in us, looking right at us as he drove by. After a few miles, he slowed down and started driving on the left shoulder until we caught up to him. Right after we passed him, he pulled back out into the driving lane and pulled in behind us.
We slowed down and he slowed down to maintain his distance. We sped up and so did he. At one point Patrick stopped the vehicle, pulling over onto the shoulder and we waited. Yes, the man also pulled over onto the shoulder stopping as we had, but keeping some distance. At this point I admit I was concerned and a little scared.
We began to drive once again, deciding to get off the highway and pulling into the Texaco gas station just at the Crossfield Junction. He drove past, pulling over on the right hand shoulder just before the overpass. We waited for about five minutes before we pulled back onto the highway, watching to see what he would do. Once again we were forced to pass him idling on the shoulder. Once again he pulled onto the highway, this time staying behind us until we reached the Carstairs turnoff where we decided to make our exit. Not our usual route to get home, but we wanted to see if he would continue to follow us. Once we made the decision to take the secondary road, he did not follow, but continued on the highway. We did not see him again, nor were we followed by anyone else for the remainder of our journey.
Being followed became a common occurrence over the years with Patrick and Lucas. The strange thing was I could feel their presence before I saw them. Sometimes I would just stand still in the store, mall or on the street until I could locate the person’s presence I was feeling. As soon as I faced them in this way they would leave and usually I would not see them again. Although there were times when I would see them drive by me while I was walking to the next store. Sometimes they would be standing in that store as I arrived, leaving as soon as I noticed them. The consistent pattern is they never purchased anything, always leaving with empty hands.
On another occasion I was shopping at Superstore. It was summer and so I was not wearing a jacket. I had only my small purse and the basket with the items I was going to buy. Lucas was with me and to my surprise he also noticed this older man following us. He was not very discreet, in fact he seemed to be making an effort to be seen, perhaps to make me uncomfortable. But I was used to this, having to deal with it many times over the years, so I was calm and was doing my best to let him know he did not frighten me.
But he just stood about ten feet from us, watching me pick out various items, moving with me and stopping when I did. When I got to the till I asked the cashier about this strange man and suggested they look for him and find out why he was following me. They thought perhaps it was the store security, concerned I was trying to steal something. I just laughed, pointing out how I was dressed and the size of my purse. I had little opportunity to hide anything on my person. But they would not help me so I let it go.
In 2000 we went on a long trip, our walkabout through the northern United States and into Mexico and throughout the mountains of B.C. and Alberta. Along the way, in very isolated and often empty campgrounds, we would be awakened by the sound of a helicopter hovering above our campsite. Stepping outside we would discover a black helicopter indeed hovering a few hundred feet above our tent. The question remains, why would we be considered important enough for resources of this caliber to be used in this way, watching our lives? We really do not lead a very exciting life and certainly are not aware of important status to justify being followed. Time and time again I would ask, “Who am I?” This experiences can’t be normal.
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Another day I went for my run when we lived in a townhouse complex and had a strange experience. It had been raining quite a bit so I knew the country road I usually ran was going to be quite muddy and slippery. I made the alternate choice to run on the school track nearby. Starting with my first lap I noticed a small plane coming towards me, flying quite low. This seemed unusual and quite dangerous. At first I wondered if it was someone taking lessons, doing a practice run, and they would leave after the first lap. But they did not leave and I found this very distracting, their proximity making it difficult to enjoy my run.
The pilot would circle over me matching my laps, of course not precisely, having to make much larger circles, but it remained in sight at all times flying over the houses and field. I usually ran five to eight km taking around 30 -35 minutes to finish. The plane stayed with me for my full run time, which was a bit unsettling. As I was finishing I did a half a lap of walking to get ready for my final push to run as hard as I could. On this last lap the plane came straight for me and flew very low right over my head which made me quite angry as it did not seem to be a very safe maneuver on their part. The pilot then banked left and circled back towards the airport, not returning. Is this a coincidence? That it arrived just as I started and made a dramatic exit timed exactly with my last lap? I find it kind of unusual.
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Another day while on my way home from shopping I had a very close call just a half a block from home. I was standing on the corner waiting for the light to change before crossing the street. The light was just about to turn red and give me the walk sign. I watched two cars that appeared to be turning left, making sure they were not going to continue through the amber light before I crossed. I had my eye on them, about to take my step off the edge of the curb.
As the light changed to red the second car in the left turn lane suddenly jumped out from behind the first car, floored it, and ran the red light. Rather than swing around the first car wishing to turn, putting more distance between us, he chose to come into the right hand lane which brought him closest to me. One second more and I would have been struck. At the speed he was going I doubt I would have survived. I saw him make this change out of the corner of my eye as I started to look down to watch my step. I was able to pull my foot back just as he passed. He looked me in the eye and lifted his hand in a gesture that said oh well, keeping his eyes on me until he was completely past. It was an intimidating gesture.
I was pretty shaken realizing just how close a miss this was. Then I was shocked at the flippant attitude as he went flying by, my life in his hands. And then finally, I was angry that he came so close to taking my life and was obviously not concerned, and in fact could have been seen to be disappointed at missing me.
It was the speed he was going, accelerating so quickly and the fact he waited until the light changed to amber before making his move to pull out and drive through the red light that made it difficult for me to ignore his intent.
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Another day on arriving home from my run I noticed a car parked across the street from our townhouse. The reason it made an impression was the unusual license plate. It was what I would commonly think of as European or British in style, so not common to where we live. I arrived at our gate, going inside and then turning back to close the gate. As I did so I saw a man get out of the car appearing as if he had been waiting for me. Rather than wait for him, I went into the house and upstairs to the living room where I could watch to see where he was headed. He came to our gate, looked at it, but rather than come in, he turned around and went back to his car. He sat there for a moment and then drove away.
I can’t honestly say how I would react to these situations today, but at the time I was still very unsure of my past and the unusual circumstances I faced over the years. I was still a bit afraid of these encounters, not knowing for sure what could unfold from facing them square on.
If you have faced danger even once in your life you will understand the feeling in the pit of your stomach that sets off a reaction to similar situations. This was one of those times when a flicker of memory told me to be wary. Not being able to explain why does not change the need to pay attention to intuitive signals.
September 2007
I am writing about something which occurred mid-month over a period of one week, (I did not write down the dates originally).
Lucas was playing football on this day and later when I saw him he told me he had seen a man in the crowd watching the game he was sure was his father. The man was similar in height, wore clothes similar to what his father would wear, dark shorts, red jacket, and he had dark hair. Lucas had been very sure this was his father, but I did not think so because Patrick was not able to get away from work that day, much as he wanted to.
I got an uneasy feeling because earlier that day I felt that I had been followed by a man that had been in the flower shop where I worked. He came into the store to buy a gift for his fiancé as it was explained to me. He chose a Willow Tree figure, The Sign for Love.
At the time I felt a twitch because something about his story did not feel right, but I could not explain it. He was an older man perhaps in his 50s, balding at the front, had a moustache and glasses. Something about him made me quite nervous, my inner radar was pinging. When I walked home a short time later, passing through the breezeway between the buildings where we lived I saw this same man coming towards me from across the street. When I got to our gate I turned back to look at him after he passed me to see he was also looking back over his shoulder at me. He turned away quickly, but I watched him until he disappeared around the corner.
About a week after that incident, I was sitting at the window in the kitchen where I am sitting as I write this journal entry and looked up to see a man coming towards our house who looked very similar to the man from the store. I did not see from which direction he came, but he was crossing the street directly towards our gate. He was holding a cell phone which was now closest to me as he veered to his right and began heading towards the main road. He then lowered the phone so its back was facing our window while holding it beside his left elbow, not a natural position for talking – this was long before the smart phone. Holding it away from his head and against his left arm it appeared like he was taking pictures or video of our townhouse. He didn’t have an earpiece and hadn’t said a word, or at least his lips had not moved. His attention was focused on our unit alone, not any other part of the complex. I know I would not have thought twice about this had he not gone past our house the previous week. I had never seen him before that day and never saw him again.
Note— On September 22nd a man was found murdered in the school yard backing onto the complex where we lived. When I was walking to work that day (the flower shop was across the street from the school) I saw the police cars and ambulance in the field where the body was found. On the 26th I wrote that three more people had been murdered within the last 24 hours.
One was run over in front of the Catholic school, a hit and run, but they took the time to cover the body with a tarp before they left. The person found at the school on the 22nd had actually been killed at the skateboard park and the body was then dragged behind a vehicle at the school track where they left him to die. Another boy was stabbed at the skateboard park and lived, two were shot or stabbed down by the river and both died. The city went on high alert and the school issued a warning for students not to go outside if it was not necessary and never alone. Altogether this was quite a dangerous situation and very unsettling.
Did this have to do with the man I saw and the man Lucas had seen in the crowd? Perhaps, but we saw them before the murders occurred, so it’s hard to say. Still it made me take notice that something unusual was afoot. Perhaps it was all just a very strange coincidence, but as a rule I do not believe in coincidence. The timing of this man coming into the store and then showing up around our home raised my antenna, giving me the sense of being watched or followed. The fact all these people died in time with the arrival of this man was just very discomforting.
There were many additional occasions when we were followed by individuals over the years; black helicopters (hovering over our tent in the wilderness in the middle of the night), men following us through parks and so on. My concern was so great we established a code so Patrick would know if I had been taken, as well as a relay point should I be able to return. Trying to raise our children without sounding a paranoid alarm was unnerving to say the least.
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