Okay.....
Several weeks ago I was assigned to transport a 16 (17?) year old girl from a group home to her therapy appt. in Lincoln. (a 60 mile drive)...
I had been told by the casemanager that Andrea will "slip away' from anyone, given any opportunity; all it would take was a moment staff turns away or gets involved in conversation with the receptionist, etc., that Andrea would 'seize' that opportunity to 'give us the slip.
I THOUGHT...ME??
HA.
I'm FAR too hyper vigilant to turn my back on anything...let alone a "flight risk' teenager.
So.............
I get her up to the 2 or 3rd floor of the building and she immediately starts wanting to 'wander' around the halls....excuses of going to the bathroom, seeing her therapist down the hall and wanting to go talk to her...etc.
I'm not fallin' for it, so I follow her..."flanking' her every step.
THING IS:::: THEY TOLD ME SHE WOULD SLIP AWAY. NO ONE said she would RUN.
So......as she keep side stepping closer and closer to the back stairs, I warned her..."Andrea, stay here'.
and
bam! Through that Door She Went!
and ME??
My "Vigilance' meter had been engaged for 15 minutes....she RAN.....And Without Even Thinking I CHASED!!
I'll have you know that I bolted after that girl and followed her down 4 FLIGHTS OF STAIRS....
CAUGHT up with her at the bottom, but immediately realized that THIS was NOT a part of the job.....
and there was NO WAY I could actually reach out and physically touch her.
So she ran outside and I called the casemanager.
I was advised that she 'always' runs to go smoke and always ends up going back up stairs.
Sure enough, five minutes later, the snotty little girl came strutting back up into the office ------I said " HMM.. THERE YOU ARE. Bet THAT surprised the crap outta ya....can't out run an old woman!!
She gave me a look that would freeze fire ................
So. On the Return Trip back......I decided I WAS HUNGRY........
I went to McDonalds Drive Through......Bought Myself a Lovely Strawberry Milkshake and a LARGE Fry and Nibbled and Slurped for 60 Miles....
I thought to myself.>>>little witch..you-may-run......
-but-I-have-MONEY....
“Hope has two beautiful daughters: their names are Anger and Courage.
Anger that things are the way they are.
Courage to make them the way they ought to be.”----Augustine