Flashback Friday-When I was Almost Kidnapped

When I was six years old, I was almost kidnapped.  My parents were divorced and I flew alone (in the care of a flight attendant), back and forth from Milwaukee to Florida and vice versa, 3 or 4 times a year.  Once, someone tried to kidnap me.

I remember everything about this experience.  I was sitting next to a lady who wouldn’t shut up.  She kept talking to me and I didn’t want to talk to her.  I remember that she looked like the mom in that show “The Hogan Family” and that she was nice, but annoying and I remember feeling uncomfortable. 

We had a layover in some city (I can’t remember where) and she said “When we get off the plane, do you want to go to the store with me and I will get you gum?”  I said NO.  She continued to ask.  I said NO. NO.  NO.  NO.  NO.  NO.

Being a parent, this is the scariest thing about what I remember: I caved because she broke me down.  There is one thing that annoys me to this day and that is to be badgered over and over and over.  I hate telling someone NO repeatedly.  If you ask me over and over, I will say yes JUST TO SHUT YOU UP.  When people badger me and don’t take my first answer, it makes me want to crawl out of my skin and I feel like shutting down or running away or punching someone in the face.  I am sure I am not alone.  I mean, what kind of jackass does that in the first place???  No means no, until you meet me, annoy the crap out of me and get me to say YES.  Anyway,  I thought “Anything to get her to leave me alone!!!!”    I couldn’t take it anymore, so I said “Fine” and I got off the plane.

Now you are probably wondering how the lady physically got me off the plane once I agreed to leave with her.  Well, she must have known that the stewardess had an IQ of 2 because she asked the lady, and she said “Sure! Go ahead!  You can take her!”  The lady proceeded to take me OFF THE PLANE in an UNKNOWN CITY.  She took me to the store, she bought me a pack of gum, and she brought me back.  We got buckled back up, the plane took back off and we landed in Milwaukee.  Well at this point I remember thinking “Wow, this lady isn’t bad!  She bought me gum, and she really is nice!  I like her and I trust her!”

So the lady goes back to the stupid stewardess and says “I’ll take her to her mom for you!” And what does the lady say?  “Sure!  You can take her to her mom!” So the lady takes me out into the airport and instead of waiting by the gate like she was supposed to, she grabs my hand and starts walking away with me.  I see my mom, very far away in the opposite direction of where we were heading and I told the Hogan lady that I saw her.  I tried getting free and she held on to my arm.  I remember thinking that she just didn’t hear me, not that she was kidnapping me.  She was pulling me, and I broke free and ran to my mom.  My mom freaked out and said “WHAT ARE YOU DOING OFF THE PLANE???”  You can imagine how upset she was.  I responded innocently “This lady brought me.”  My mom said “Who?”  The lady was nowhere to be found. 

I think my parents got the stewardess fired and got a couple of free airline tickets for their inconvenience. 

I have thought about that day and how I could be in a basement somewhere in chains or a dog cage or something.  Or maybe I could be someone else’s daughter living with Stockholm syndrome, or maybe even dead.   

I feel like God has protected me and really does protect us more than we know.