The Day I Almost Died in San Antonio. Texas... (Always Listen to Your Instincts!)
Some years back- when I was still living in Central Texas (mid-1990s)-- I spent part of a day visiting a friend in San Antonio. It was a Sunday, and we spent the day having a nice lunch and just hanging out on the historic River Walk in the downtown core of the city.
Swallowtail butterfly on lavender
A little after three Donna and I parted ways and I decided I wanted to linger and check out a few more things in the city before driving back to Austin.
As a life-long collector of "odd things," I specifically to swing through a warehouse-y area north of downtown where there (at the time) were a number of junk dealers, antique dealers and flea market type shops. It wasn't exactly the "best" part of town (much gentrified now, I understand), but was generally regarded as reasonably safe during daylight hours.
The Junk Shop
After driving a bit, I parked the car to go into what had once been an old print shop, where an elderly gentleman was now using the premises to sell everything related to old-fashioned printing, as well as a fascinating array of imported items from Africa and South America, as well as old comic books and magazines and seemingly random equipment, perhaps from nearby businesses that closed.
Dewdrops on a geranium
There were several large rooms with a multitude of folding conference tables, each stacked layers deep with anything from individual litho type clichés to type trays to old printed propaganda flyers from World War II to painted figures from Peru. It was summer, it was hot, and the back and front doors were propped open for ventilation. Even so, it was rather stifling inside, but I still took my time because there was a lot of fascinating stuff to look at, including a few items I decided I "couldn't live without."
The 70-something man running the store would occasionally come into the room to share a story or two with anyone who cared to listen, but mostly stayed in his messy back corridor, near the front service counter which was probably older than him. He was a friendly and cheerful sort; the type of person you think of when you say "he wouldn't hurt a fly," but also slightly "odd," like he'd inhaled a few too many chemical fumes at some point in his life making him prone to occasional outbursts at "beings unseen" around him.
The Strangeness Begins
I'd probably been in the store for about 30 minutes when a sudden loud "bang" came from what sounded like the back corridor. It seemed like a door slamming, or maybe a large panel falling on the floor. It was a bit startling, and I and a couple of other patrons looked around and at each other... and then went back to our browsing.
A random red flower in our garden
A little more time passed and I noticed that I was now the only person in that back room area. I looked at my watch and realized that it was getting close to 5:00, which was closing time-- so I needed to take my stuff and pay for it so the old dude could go home.
The front room-- with the service counter-- was also deserted. The store owner was nowhere in sight; I figured he was doing things in the back storage area.
I stood there for maybe a minute and was about to call out "Hello!?" when-- for no reason I could think of (and keeping in mind that it was probably 95 degrees-- that's about 35, for you metric folks in the store) -- I suddenly got a very BAD feeling and felt chills all over my body; the hair on my arms and neck standing on end. I thought I heard what sounded like low angry voices coming from the alley behind the building, but couldn't be sure... then there was another door slamming... then silence.
Silence, except for a voice inside my head screaming "LEAVE! NOW! GET OUT!" accompanied by a feeling I can only describe as "pure dread."
A random yellow flower in our garden
The Escape
I dumped the things I'd planned to purchase on the nearest table and walked quickly and very quietly to the front exit. On the way out, I cast a glance through the open doorway to the back corridor but saw nothing unusual. Just as I exited, I thought I heard something like a car starting and backfiring in the alley. Because there was a strong cross breeze, the front door slammed shut behind me with a second "bang" that startled me.
I quickly got in my car-- which fortunately was parked directly across the street-- and drove away. I'm still not sure why, but I checked the side mirror and noticed three younger men come out the front door of the store, looking around for something, or someone. They looked... "not right;" dangerous, somehow-- like gang members. They actually looked directly at my car moving away and one of them seemed to be yelling something, but they went back inside before they faded from view.
I drove directly back to Austin, feeling quite rattled and unsettled by the experience.
Flowering lavender and grasses
Epilogue
The next day I caught a brief news snippet that an elderly San Antonio shopkeeper had been robbed at gunpoint, shot and killed in broad daylight and three suspects had been apprehended by San Antonio police. Although few specifics were offered, I had no doubt what was being talked about.
That's when I really felt creeped out. Had I not had that gut feeling to GET OUT, I would have still been in that store, and possibly been regarded as a "dispensable witness" by those thugs.
The event replays in my head occasionally... even 20-some years later.
On reflection, I guess the moral to this story is to always listen to your gut feelings or your intuition. It seldom "costs" you anything to be wrong ("it turned out to be nothing"), but it can cost you a lot to ignore such hunches...
How about YOU? Have you ever had close calls where your gut feelings or intuition told you to be careful or bail out of a situation? Did you listen to the voice inside? Do you believe we "get vibes" from events/people that help us avoid disasters? Do you think these are "biological hangovers" from our cave dwelling days where early people's just "know" when predators were nearby? Or is there something else at play? Share a comment!
(As always, all text and images in this post by the author, unless otherwise credited. The is original content created expressly for Steemit)
I completely believe in following your gut instinct in a situation. Having never been in a situation like that I have been in some in which following my gut has been the right thing.
My theory is that your subconscious animal brain honed by hundreds of thousands of years of survival still processes all the background noise that we ignore in situations and can rapidly and mostly correctly put two and two together whilst our rational fore brain is still wondering what the hell that noise was and trying to rationalise it into something easily explainable. As you say at the end.
However there is a part of me that would love there to be more to it!
Glad you made it!
@meesterboom, thanks for sharing your thoughts. Whether it's pure biological imperative or we actually have some version of "guardian angels," I am just amazed by the number of stories I hear... to suggest that whatever the mechanism might be, it is remarkably accurate.
"What we know" is a constantly changing thing, so maybe what feels like it is "supernatural" today, will be scientifically measured and quantified 100 years from now. After all, if you showed a smartphone to someone in the year 1800, they'd call it "magic" or "witchcraft."
You are right there and it is always something to consider. We would all look like sorceries to the peoples of the past. Or just stark raving bonkers talking to our hands!!!
Wow, what a fantastic story!
I've had once close shave with death (that I am aware of!) but it involved the sea, and the natural force of a wave.
Your story is spectacular. I'm very thankful that you "got out" and that for whatever reason your "gut" drove you to do so. Also very thankful that you've shared this amazing story with us!
😄😇😄
![@creatr](https://steemitimages.com/0x0/https://i.imgsafe.org/b68e74b386.gif)
P.S. Re-Steemed!
P.P.S. I don't Re-Steem things very often...
@creatr, thanks for the kind words-- and thanks for the resteem!
I've had a few other incidents and experiences along the way... this one just sticks with me because of the very obvious ominous nature of it... and the fact that I had very tangible "follow up evidence" when I caught that news snippet.
Yes, definitely unforgettable!
Interesting how we have that awareness at times to do the instinctive. I have had similar experiences through my travels, especially in South America. This would be a good yarn for @papa-pepper's new travel story contest ... might be a bit late, unless you edit one of the tags to travelstory!!
It stands out as a somewhat unique experience, as I tend to generally be pretty cautious about avoiding "dodgy" places... had a few somewhat similar experiences living in Spain as a teenager, while it was still the Franco regime.
Thanks for pointing out the contest... I might enter this, or come up with something else; been around and about plenty!
Clever of you to include your very own art photos to your post. That's putting a stamp on it! Brilliant.
One of my close calls was in the Pacific Ocean last year. They weather was gloomy, no sunshine. Surfing the same spot with same group of friends for years, over a decade. When the water is also murky, muddy, not clear as usual. It can kind of creep you out of the unknowns down below. Let's just say that about 10 feet behind me I say a soft fin flopping in the water. Now I seen dolphins fins all the time, mostly hard and straight. This one was like bent or flopped down. That gut feeling not even to question it or give it a second thought. Immediately my friends saw me paddling towards shore as I repeat softy...shark,shark,shark,shark,shark... My friends got the message and paddled in too. As we walk back to the car with our tails between our legs. Come to find other surfers had already had some kind of Fear in their eyes as if they saw something too! What do you know, similar thing happened to them which caused them to get out just before us. Now normally people always ask me "aren't you afraid of sharks when you go surfing". My quick response was always "getting bitten by a shark is like winning the lottery, and I am not THAT lucky" ;-)
I don't ever say that line anymore as I respect the sea life in the ocean which is primarily their back yard. We surfers are just tourist.
I have a different take on when I do encounter a shark face to face, but I will refrain myself for a different time as I make my rounds.
Telling these true life most memorable events allows a different type of artist to paint and illustrate with their letters and numbers as well as "quotation" signs. Hope you enjoyed this smaller survival story of mine.
See you around @denmarkguy.
Steem on,
Frank
Thanks for sharing your story-- that's a pretty scary one, too!
I have a pretty healthy respect for the sea, too... I walk on the beach a lot and occasionally we get rogue waves on otherwise fairly moderate days. On some level, I think these incidents stick with us because they serve as a reminder of our mortality.
Thanks again!
Those rogue waves gets just about everybody once in awhile, now imagine what a Rogue Wave feels like in the Ocean instead of moderately head high, it doubled all of a sudden. No calling it quits, say CHARGE!!! I totally agree with you about these memorable incidents constantly reminding us to be very cautious and conscious of what it could of been like.
It has been my pleasure Sir, BTW dwin has another intriguing new post.
Keep steeming,
Frank
Very good story. Some people seem to have more "intuition" than others. Good thing you got out of there. Of course there are those that believe that when its your time, its your time. Who knows!
I'm pretty happy to have gotten out of there. I suppose if it had "been my time," I might not have felt anything, or I would have gone in the back to find someone so I could buy my stuff... and perhaps gotten shot. Who knows?
Thanks for sharing your story I have had many such feelings and I always go with the gut . Glad to see you did too.