This post originally appeared on my blog StyleSubstanceSoul.com.
I am going to start this post the way Sophie started her phone call to me a few weeks ago. With a phrase that as a parent makes your heart pound the moment you hear the tone in your child’s voice even before the words come. “I’m OK, everyone is ok but . . . . ” This is how Sophie told me that she and two girl friends had been mugged the night before while walking home from her work study job at music theater at UC Berkeley. It was just after midnight. Sophie and two friends were walking on the sidewalk, three across when another group of three across walked up on them. The whole thing lasted about 30 seconds according to Sophie, her group of friends started yelling for help making a lot of noise right away as they had been taught to do. No one was hurt badly, although they were hurt, there was a struggle and physical contact. Sophie’s friend’s backpack was stolen before the perpetrators jumped into a car and sped away. Sophie and her friends were frightened, freaked out, but it could have been much worse. Much much worse.
I encouraged Sophie to tell everyone she knew what happened. To post it on Facebook. To let people know it can and does happen. Even when walking in a group. Even when you follow the rules and try to do everything right. I told her to tell people, not to scare them unnecessarily, but to make sure that no one takes their own safety for granted. To start a dialog, to get her friends thinking about what to do, how they can be prepared, so they have a better chance of reacting smartly if it does happen to them.
As parents Paul and I tried to ensure our girls had some preparation for the dangers they could encounter out in the world without making them paranoid. At my insistence they each participated in a self defense class as teenagers. And Sophie said that night they all made a lot of noise when this incident happened and that when she was being chased she ran to a well lit area and that she never went too far from her friend, she kept her friend in her sight at all times. And Paul bought us all whistles for our key chains, which Sophie had in her purse, not out at the ready.
My friend Sherrie got a mobile alert about this incredible new product just days
after hearing about Sophie’s experience. I contacted the company immediately and am now sharing the information with you, just as I instructed Sophie to share her story with her friends.
Scott McPherson, CEO of Spraytect, shared with me in an email the story he shares on his website, that he invented this product to protect his own daughter when she went off to college. Spraytect is a protective case for a smartphone with a removable pepper spray cartridge attached to the back of the case. After all, for better or for worse, we all know the phone is the one thing our kids almost always have in their hands!
I think you will agree after seeing the Spraytect website and watching the demonstration video, that this product is genius!
The product is brand new and has been available for less than 90 days. Currently Spraytect is offering free shipping and an introductory price of only $39.95. Based on Sophie’s experience, I feel this is a must have for any young person going off to college or traveling, or just living on their own. The Safety Blog on their site is a must read as well.
Sherrie ordered one for Sophie and one for Dana the minute she read about Spraytect. I urge you to do your research and if this product makes sense to you, share it with others, and help people protect themselves.
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