A scary murderous night in Mobile

Yesterday I was thinking about a time in my life that was scary, weird, frightening, eerie and so I guess I'll write it down. In 2005 Dean had gone to Utah for one of our many (seperate) vacations. He was flying back home through Mobile because it was much cheaper to fly out of anywhere other than Pensacola Airport back then. We always drove to New Orleans, Mobile and even Fort Walton Beach - - whichever place held the best deal for us. On this night I decided to rent a car since ours was having problems so I could go pick Dean up in Mobile. He was scheulded to arrive at 7:00 p.m. I got off work, went to Enterprise Rent-A-Car and picked up the mid-size and got on the interstate. It was a lovely evening drive and I was in a very good mood because Dean was coming home after being gone for 10 days. On the way I looked out at the trees that lined both sides of the interstate and wondered if we would ever find a way to move back to the West. As a young married couple we set the goal and had the desire to leave Utah so we could experience new things, meet other people and grow in ways we felt would not come to us in Utah. We also knew that leaving Utah was the only way that Dean's career could grown as well as his knowledge in his chosen field of work - - IT. That chance to move came and we have never regretted it; but now after 16 years away from family and our roots, we had longings to return. I felt it was time and we had achieved really all we had set out to do when we moved to Florida 16 years earlier. As I listened to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir CD I had popped into the CD player, "This Land Is Your Land" began to play. I had the most peaceful feeling come over me; even a swelling in my heart for the people of the south. As I looked out at the beautiful green around me it was almost as if a golden aura surrounded the car. The feeling came to me that we would be in "The South" for at least a little while longer and suddenly, again, I was completely fine with that. I felt peace inside. As I arrived in Mobile and drove to the airport; after parking the car I went in. The flight itinerary board said that Dean's flight was delayed due to Mechanical problems and was still in Dallas - - would be arriving around 9:00 p.m. I decided to go back out to the car and go for some dinner. After dinner I went back to the airport and went in again. Another delay - - the plane would be coming in around 11:00 p.m. Now I was starting to lose patience. I looked around for a chair to sit on. The airport was being remodelled and there was nothing to sit on anywhere. Mobile Airport is the most unwelcoming airport in the world next to New Orleans. Not a chair in sight. It was apparent they don't want people hanging around or in the airport so I went back out to my car. I got in and locked the doors because I had heard that Mobile is one of the most dangerous cities in America. Didn't want to take my chances. After about an hour I let the seat go back. I laid down and tried to go to sleep. I was alseep about 20 minutes when something woke me. I was wide awake. It was an uncomfortable feeling. Outside there were a group of young men walking through the airport parking lot. As I looked at them I realized they couldn't see me but I had the distinct feeling to lay my seat back as far as it would go. I did that and lay quiet and still for as long as I could. At 11:00 I went back into the airport - - shouldn't have because I still had that uneasy feeling. It took all the bravery I had and I needed to find out the status of Dean's flight. Cautiously I got out of the car, looked around and quickly headed for the airport. The flight would be delayed again - - estimated arrival time - - 1:00 a.m. I was fuming and even muttered out loud, "this is the last time Dean will ever fly through Mobile and when he gets here he is going to get a piece of my mind" as I wondered what kind of shape I would be in the next day going to work without any sleep. I was a little bit uneasy as I headed back out to the car for a place to sit and wait. As I aproached the car and got in, there was the urgent feeling again to lock the doors quickly and lay down out of sight. The same group of boys kept walking by. I remember thinking, "where are your mothers and what kind of women are they - - to allow you out all night long to roam parking lots!" Dean finally came in at 2:30 a.m. I was so mad. I was mad at him, at those boys, at the airport, at Delta Airlines who always mess with us every time we fly; and I was mad at the mothers of those young men who were loitering in the parking lot. I was even mad at the woman at the information desk who looked at us as we exited the airport and said, "Goodnight folks, have a safe drive home." I was just mad! "All this just to save a few measly dollars," I thought. We headed back to Pensacola. I crawled into bed but before doing so called my boss, Celeste, leaving her a voice message that I might be a couple of hours late getting into work - - I needed at least 3 hours of sleep. We arrived home at 5:30 a.m. and went to bed. At 9:30 a.m. I was in the car heading to work and listening to the news on the radio. Two people had been murdered in the Mobile Airport parking lot just hours before in the darkness of the night. Gang members who were walking around trying to break into cars came upon two people and killed them for money. All of a sudden I was no longer angry, I was grateful. I knew I had been protected. I knew I had been prompted to protect myself in those early morning hours in a dark parking lot. Since then we have never flown out of any other airport except Pensacola. It's only money! It's only money! A few dollars for two lives. The airport parking lot is not large - - small in comparison to other airports. Two lives were taken that night in that relatively small parking lot - - probably very close to where I was sitting in my car - - - and for what? A few dollars. A few dollars! Mobile will always be a very scary murderous city in my mind. I have no desire to go there ever. When we would go through there or past there, even before this incident, I always have had a depressive feeling come over me. It's a bad place to be. One hour from home, it is the nearest city of any note for us but we don't go there. When the kids and I first came here to be with Dean after our things had been moved from Utah, we flew in to Mobile. It was midnight when we arrived. I remember looking out at the city and thinking, "this feels bad. Is this what if will feel like to live here?" As soon as we left Mobile and headed for Pensacola - - that feeling left me. Perhaps that first impression in my mind was a warning that Mobile is not a place we would ever want to be or live. Money? Life! Money? Life! It's only money! A few dollars to save? Nope -- Never again.