How Do You Guys Look Harmless?

[+Snoogans]

My dogs and I (a woman) found a cache and a very small, family/kiddie oriented park.  It got me thinking that if I were a 20-30 year old man with no female or child or dog along, I'd possibly look like Chester the Mollester.  Do you single guys stay out of parks like this during family time?  How do you avoid appearing like a drooling lurker?

 

Just curious...

Yes, I stay far, farrrrrrr away.

 

Interesting reference to Chester though?

 

In a local kiddie park there is a micro near a bronze statue of a little girl wearing a frilly skirt. There is a picture of a grown man (geocacher) looking up the skirt of the statue; presumably for the micro which is nearby. You can see an empty play area in the background. Bad, baaaaaad JuJu. I never bothered.

 

Sn gans

Edited June 9, 2004 by Snoogans

[MMACH 5]

There are some hilarious replies here!

 

Since I do most of my caching at night, I don't run into many kiddos running around the parks. Day or night, I nearly always have my snake hook and bag with me. It's a modified golf shaft about 20 inches long. I have used this to ward off unwanted attention in some questionable parts of town...

 

Muggler: "Hey man, what are you doin' out here?" or "Hey, you wanna party?"

 

Me: "I'm trying to see how many copperheads and cottonmouths I can catch in one night." (I start to untie the snake bag).

 

Suddenly, I'm alone to continue on my quest.

 

Works every time.

[+flask]

 

I think you're being overly-PC about it, from my POV.

there's nothing pc about it. wailing about suspicious people and saving children is very pc lately. if you have not committed a crime, you are not a criminal and should not be treated as such. everyone has a right to use a public park.

 

if you are the parent of a child i would hope you're paying attention and watching out for your kid. there are some scary people out there. if you fail to adequately supervise your child, that's your failure.

 

i am VERY interested in the saftey of children. i am also very interested in people being able to use parks. a man travelling unaccompanied by a child does not constitute a threat, and there is no reason that such a man should be viewed with suspicion simply because he is present.

 

ESPECIALLY since women are really making such great strides in the traditionally male dominated field of child abduction and assault. there is every reason for a parent to keep close watch over her child, but not because there's a guy using the park.

 

now, if the playground in question is in your yard and there's a guy you do not know lurking there, you should be very alarmed.

 

and as for parks, i gotta stop using them 'cause some guy with a kid thought it would be a good idea to put a jungle gym here? nuts to 'em, i say. i just keep using the park. that kid is going to have to wait in line to use that slide, just like everybody else.

 

parents SHOULD be on alert if i put quarters in the pinball machine and offer a game to their kid. i could be a kidnapper, or worse. or i could just be someone who likes pinball and wants to encourage today's kids to try it, so pinball won't disappear from the arcades. it is up to the parents to check me out. i'm still going to the arcades, while they still let grownups in. and i still leave credits on the machine for kids to play.

 

and i think ACTUAL criminals ought to be nailed to the wall and left to dry.

[+rossinator]

According to my daughters (age 17 & 18), it isn't possible to go geocaching without looking like you are a lurking child molester. The whole concept creeps them out

 

Personally, I've gotten so that I hate micros in very public areas. It always seems that there are lots of muggles around, and you need to stop by multiple times to look for it without "lurking". Some of the strategies listed by you folks may help...

[+Confucius' Cat]

I just go hang upside down on the playground equipment. No suspicion there.

[+OzarksJim]

As someone else posted in an earlier reply, I use my GPSr as a cell phone. However, I've noticed that blocks the antenna and I keep losing the satellite signal, so I have to turn the display away from my ear and that usually solves the problem.

 

I've even fooled fellow geocachers when talking to my GPSr! When I realize who they are, however, I go up and greet them.

[+SixDogTeam]

Carrying a camera on a strap around your neck helps you to look disarming--I don't think too many muggers or serial killers carry cameras...

[+Criminal]

Carrying a camera on a strap around your neck helps you to look disarming--I don't think too many muggers or serial killers carry cameras...

Hey good one, I think I'll try that tonight. One hand in the pocket and use the other to take pictures of the little girls. I'll let you know how it turns out tomorrow.

[bnolan]

When I want to look for a cache in a playground, all I have to do is ask loudly "Who wants to be kid-ouflage?"

 

My girls know that means a trip to the park, so they don't waste any time getting their shoes on and jumping in the truck.

 

Dog-ouflage seems to work too.

[+zygote2k]

learn to live by the rules of nature and the laws of man will not apply to you.

[vagabond]

Park caches usually done best before 10 am on Sundays, 8 am the rest of the week. Usually about daybreak.

My first cache yesterday was a park cache, logged it at 5:14am