In my neighborhood (Manhattanville), the guy to watch out for was “Sam the two-dollar man”. I never actually saw him, but the guys in my crew would occasionally say something like “Sam the two-dollar man was around yesterday, I think he was talking to Junior”. Then Junior would have to fervently proclaim he never got in the car.
Yeah I almost got taken in a car when I was young and my sister saw me and yelled. “Moudy!!! (Nick Name) Get over here.” The guy was offering Candy… I thought, hell I want candy. Then I got the big talk about strangers and never talking or going near them. Lost innocents. Thanks Sis, I love you.
I remember growing up in Brooklyn before they had the net and public outcry against pedophiles. All the kids knew where the creeps were. You could always find some guy dressed up as a clown sitting in his car parked outside playground gates, offering children candy or balloons twisted into animal shapes. Invariably some idiot kid would be stupid enough to go to the car and the low-life would flash them. Then the bunch of us would assault the creep with rocks and glass until he drove off. The thought of calling the cops never crossed our minds back then. I guess that’s because it wasn’t talked about in public much. Later as a teen, I remember that the pedophiles were always the guys who wanted to offer you change to play video games when you ran out. And I also remember there was a short bald guy in Washington Square Park who used to try to offer young girls $50.00 to step on him with spike heels in some private place of their choosing. I’m sure their modus operandi has not changed much over the years. Accept they’re more daring and want to do alot more than flash you.