Stranger Danger Isn't Enough

The dangerous realities of cases like Jaycee Dugard remind us that we can't protect our children from everything, no matter what we do

-Candace Buehner

I didn't really like rock candy, but I still said yes when the stranger offered it to me that day on the playground. I was roughly 5 or 6 years old, and from what I recall about the incident, it had all of the hallmarks of the Potential Pervert or Worse cliché: guy on a bench by our local elementary school, with a paper bag in hand, called my older sister and I over and asked if we wanted "some rock candy".

We had been playing by ourselves at the school, this still being the era when parents wanting an extra cup of coffee with the newspaper would feel perfectly fine shooing their offspring outside for the morning with nothing more than a reminder to come home in time for lunch. We knew better than to talk to strangers, but yet, when the Candy Man called to us that day on the playground, we still went over to him and his paper bag.

At that point, I remember thinking that although I would much rather have chocolate, rock candy was better than no candy at all, so..." Yes, sir, I WILL have a piece!" My greedy reach for the bag was interrupted by my sister who, having come to her senses, quickly yanked me away, dragging me home to my mother. There, we were properly greeted with a dressing-down by Mom, who reminded us that strangers, and especially strange men with paper bags and/or trench coats, were to be avoided at all costs.