To my fellow XM and tour managers or those travelling.
I really never thought anything like this would happen to me.
I accepted a short XM tour as my normal one has been pushed back a fair amount of time.
I flew to Nashville midday on Monday , took an Uber to my hotel, and passed out for a few hours. I woke up close to nine and decided I should probably eat something. The closest restaurant was right behind my hotel, however there was a giant fence that blocked the path. I ended up walking around the block to eat.
After I finished supper, I started walking back to my hotel. There was a homeless person on the corner. I offered up the two dollars I had turned and found a car just pulled up quickly on me. A man in the back seat had opened the door and he had a gun. He told me to get into the car. I laughed and said I was good, not really thinking what was happening. He pointed the gun at me again and yelled, I got in the car. I figured that if I was going to get shot, I'd like there to be some evidence somewhere. The guy kept poking the gun in my face, head, and side. I have a crazy response to fear or other things that make me nervous. I laugh and I run my mouth. I don't mean to. There's a voice in my head that tells me to shut up, but I continue to laugh and joke.
We drove around and finally stopped at an ATM. I told them that my card wasn’t working and that it had been flagged for fraud, I pushed buttons on the machine hoping there’d be enough photo evidence that this took place.
They placed Food Lion shopping bags over their heads as they yelled at me to get the money. I laughed more and asked if this was their first time robbing someone. I could get them money but we would have to return to the hotel. They left that atm and we drove for a long while. I had no clue where I was at that time. There are a lot of rural places on the outskirts of Nashville. I apologized for laughing and told them that I was taking it seriously, but it's what got my hide tanned as a kid. I heard the all too familiar “you think this is funny, you think this is a joke?” line from them just as I had heard it from an angry stepfather.
We drove further and I told them that I had Ulcerative colitis and that there would be not one but two murders that evening if they didn’t let me out as I was going to soil their car. They told me to go right there, I reached for some paper from my pocket, and he got nervous and put the gun on my back. I said it was just tissue and that I'd like to clean up if I made a mess. He yelled at the woman to pull over. He kicked me out on a dark road, lightly raining. They took everything I had on me. So no phone or wallet, I began to walk back to civilization.
I don’t know how long I walked but it was light out by the time I got to a gas station, several weren’t open or wouldn’t open. I finally found one and asked them to call the police. Some time later they arrived, took my statement and then were nice enough to give me a ride back to my hotel. The next day I stayed in bed, sore from my evening’s adventures. The next day I had to carry on with my programme. I walked from my hotel to the place where my rental truck was housed. I was lucky that I had a spare cell phone, not active, in my luggage. I brought it along so I could get a new sim. I had a digital copy of my license in my email and my work had already overnighted pay and fuel cards to my next hotel. I completed all my tasks for the day.
Sore from a busy couple of days, I slept like the dead.
Be careful out there.
Tour managers keep some copy or form of ID with their luggage or a spare pay card. You can always lock a card and keep the other active. Report things immediately and check back on the progress. They only got 60 from one of my accounts, but from the other, they got away with a lot. I’m glad I’m here to tell the story, just sad that I am.
Cheers
