A few twisted preditors able to ruin things for rest of us

By Kyra-lin Hom

I'm a young girl with time to kill over the summer. Seeing as I live in one of the fattest nations in the world, shouldn't my father be happy that I want to spend it getting in better shape?

That was the reasoning going through my mind when I proposed to my parents the idea of walking down to a local track and running a mile or two every couple of days. I'm old enough to have a little independence and do this on my own, right?

My parents thought quite differently. The first words out of my father's mouth were something along the lines of, "You can't go alone. It isn't safe."

Excuse me? We don't have a treadmill at home and I don't have a gym membership. What else amI supposed to do?

Besides, it will be during the day and I'm trained to look after myself. What could happen?

For the year 2004 the Seattle Police Department has on record 145 rapes and 8,147 assaults. Minutes and decibels later I begrudgingly accepted my father's point.

I was proposing a repetitive, predictable agenda during which I would be alone and, for the most part, isolated. Tracks are generally not viewable from the street or sidewalk. When they are, the distance between the runner and the observer is no small step.

Take the West Seattle Stadium on 35th for example. Unless a passerby is specifically looking in the direction of the track, they wouldn't notice the people down below.

And if they did, how long would it take a person to get from the sidewalk, around the chain link fence, down the driveway, and through the narrow track entrance?

The fast approach of a good Samaritan might deter an attacker or it might provide just enough time for the attacker to kill their victim. Either way, it