Congressional Library, Washington, DC
Copyright Susan Ogden
This trip gave me the chance to see parts of the nations capitol that i have not yet seen. Our hotel was just a few blocks from the Capitol Building and the Congressional Library. We did a tour of the one and a self guided tour of the other.
The night before, we met my youngest daughter for dinner with her boyfriend, and his parents (who i have never met before). They live if Manassas and my daughter complains that i never visit her...because she has no kids to babysit for....just dogs!!! I chose a place for dinner on the recommendation of the concierge at the hotel, and used the GPS in my husbands phone to navigate the walk to it. The GPS took us a block too far, and corrected itself to make us take a right in the direction that we had just come from. i was puzzled, as this seemed to be walking in circles to get to the restaurant. When we turned the corner, there were a couple standing at the corner of the overpass, casually leaning on it.... and maybe 10-15 feet further up was a person....a young girl in her 20’s maybe...standing ON the overpass with one foot behind the railing and one foot in front of it................staring at the cars flying by on Route 395 below. straight down....staring and not flinching. i stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes wide as saucers, and quietly said “THIS looks not good at all”. My husband asked the couple that was there what was going on....they shrugged and just brushed it off as nothing. i was simply paralyzed. i could not walk past and NOT try to help. My husband said “Excuse me” a few times as we got closer and she did not budge....just stared at the passing cars below. Finally she turned her head to look at us. He asked if she was ok...her eyes stared back at us. empty and devoid of life....i have never seen eyes that looked like that. Absolutely no expression at all. i wanted to cry. she simply turned her head and began to stare at the traffic below again. i began to feel panic and started to trot to the corner to stop a police car or find someone to help us. My husband began dialing 911 as he tried talking to her, telling her to come down and we would try to help her. As i approached the corner, miraculously a patrol car rolled up to the light...i ran to it and when he saw me coming to tap his window he rolled it down to help me. I told him there was a girl poised on the bridge as tho to jump. his response was “You are shi^^ing me!” I was too afraid to even laugh!! i showed him where she was and told him to PLEASE HURRY.
A few people also out walking had strolled by and never stopped to help....but when they got to me they asked if i had spoken to the police....they said someone was talking to her trying to convince her to come down....i told her i knew that...and yes i had gotten the police to go there. We turned in time to see the police officer approach her quietly and say something and at just the right moment, grab her and take her to the sidewalk. i was never so relieved in my whole life. Within 3 minutes there were at least 5 other officers, in police cars, several on foot and on segways or bikes there to assist....oh...and a fire engine!!! we were detained to give a statement.
It has bothered me so much that i did not ask to speak to her as she sat on the ground....those eyes, so vacant have haunted me since then, and i regret not sitting on the sidewalk and just telling her that she was a valuable person with so much to live for, if she would just begin to believe that. She needed something to cling to....i feel like she needed just a tiny speck of kindness and hope. i still feel a twinge in my heart that i could have done more.... i have said a prayer that she will get help...and that the fact that i stopped to try to help might make her see that SOMEONE thought she was valuable enough to do that.
I honestly believe that there is no such thing as coincidence and that this glitch in the GPS was meant to happen....a God Wink, if you will. i hope that i passed the test....altho i still so wish i had asked to speak to her for just a moment. Just in case i could have put a spark back into her eyes.
Congressional Library, Washington, DC
Copyright Susan Ogden
This trip gave me the chance to see parts of the nations capitol that i have not yet seen. Our hotel was just a few blocks from the Capitol Building and the Congressional Library. We did a tour of the one and a self guided tour of the other.
The night before, we met my youngest daughter for dinner with her boyfriend, and his parents (who i have never met before). They live if Manassas and my daughter complains that i never visit her...because she has no kids to babysit for....just dogs!!! I chose a place for dinner on the recommendation of the concierge at the hotel, and used the GPS in my husbands phone to navigate the walk to it. The GPS took us a block too far, and corrected itself to make us take a right in the direction that we had just come from. i was puzzled, as this seemed to be walking in circles to get to the restaurant. When we turned the corner, there were a couple standing at the corner of the overpass, casually leaning on it.... and maybe 10-15 feet further up was a person....a young girl in her 20’s maybe...standing ON the overpass with one foot behind the railing and one foot in front of it................staring at the cars flying by on Route 395 below. straight down....staring and not flinching. i stopped dead in my tracks, my eyes wide as saucers, and quietly said “THIS looks not good at all”. My husband asked the couple that was there what was going on....they shrugged and just brushed it off as nothing. i was simply paralyzed. i could not walk past and NOT try to help. My husband said “Excuse me” a few times as we got closer and she did not budge....just stared at the passing cars below. Finally she turned her head to look at us. He asked if she was ok...her eyes stared back at us. empty and devoid of life....i have never seen eyes that looked like that. Absolutely no expression at all. i wanted to cry. she simply turned her head and began to stare at the traffic below again. i began to feel panic and started to trot to the corner to stop a police car or find someone to help us. My husband began dialing 911 as he tried talking to her, telling her to come down and we would try to help her. As i approached the corner, miraculously a patrol car rolled up to the light...i ran to it and when he saw me coming to tap his window he rolled it down to help me. I told him there was a girl poised on the bridge as tho to jump. his response was “You are shi^^ing me!” I was too afraid to even laugh!! i showed him where she was and told him to PLEASE HURRY.
A few people also out walking had strolled by and never stopped to help....but when they got to me they asked if i had spoken to the police....they said someone was talking to her trying to convince her to come down....i told her i knew that...and yes i had gotten the police to go there. We turned in time to see the police officer approach her quietly and say something and at just the right moment, grab her and take her to the sidewalk. i was never so relieved in my whole life. Within 3 minutes there were at least 5 other officers, in police cars, several on foot and on segways or bikes there to assist....oh...and a fire engine!!! we were detained to give a statement.
It has bothered me so much that i did not ask to speak to her as she sat on the ground....those eyes, so vacant have haunted me since then, and i regret not sitting on the sidewalk and just telling her that she was a valuable person with so much to live for, if she would just begin to believe that. She needed something to cling to....i feel like she needed just a tiny speck of kindness and hope. i still feel a twinge in my heart that i could have done more.... i have said a prayer that she will get help...and that the fact that i stopped to try to help might make her see that SOMEONE thought she was valuable enough to do that.
I honestly believe that there is no such thing as coincidence and that this glitch in the GPS was meant to happen....a God Wink, if you will. i hope that i passed the test....altho i still so wish i had asked to speak to her for just a moment. Just in case i could have put a spark back into her eyes.