Beware of the Christmas Bell Ringers....

This time of year, when I see all of the Salvation Army bell ringers outside of the grocery stores and Wal-Marts, I think back to my first year of college.  I worked at the grocery store and there was an older guy, mid-50's I guess, who wore a Santa hat and rang the bell outside the store.  One night, I dropped in some change and struck up a conversation with him. As the weeks went on, I would talk to him on occassion.  For some odd reason, he asked for my phone number, and weirdly enough, I gave it to him.  My friends thought it was strange when he started to call me.  (So did I, but, I wasn't sure why.)  Then, he started to talk to me about his career.  He said he used to be a police chief in Detroit and he saw many things and he could tell me some stories that would really freak me out.  He said he was an ice fisher and he asked where I lived because he wanted to deliver some fish he caught to me.  At this point, my friends said he was a weirdo and I better stop communicating with him.  Then, one strange night came when he asked me to meet him for coffee at a local McDonalds.  I actually went to the McDonalds, with my friends secretly nearby.  The man told me that he had a surprise for me in the trunk of his car. He then proceeded to walk with me out into the dark parking lot, open up the trunk of his car, and he showed me some ice fishing supplies.  He also said that he had some long-underwear for me to wear, and he wanted to take me on an ice fishing trip.  He thought I should get into the back seat of his car and try on the long underwear.  Well, at that point, I gave my freinds the signal and they pulled up in their car and I jumped in and drove away.  I had to change my phone number and lay low for awhile so the guy couldn't contact me again.  I quit my job at the store, too.

Well, I share this story with you because it's just a weird memory I've always had of my college days.  I was way too innocent and almost got in some big trouble because of it. 

Anyhow, everytime I see the bell ringers for the Salvation Army this time of year, I think back to that story and that creepy, Santa hat, ice-fisher guy!