Where Do These Salt Lake Men Come From?

Yesterday, I was walking home and talking to my sister on the phone. Up ahead, a car was pulling out of a condo building’s parking lot in front of me to get to the street. The driver was probably in his early 30s and was dressed in a white shirt and tie. At a glance, he seemed like a decent, normal guy. As he pulled directly in front of me, he rolled down his window. He looked at me as if he needed directions or something, so I told my sister to hold on for a second. He then said, “oh baby, oh baby” and made gestures with his hands as if he were grabbing my chest. He drove off. I must admit that I was sort of in shock for a minute. Is this behavior acceptable? Does a nicely dressed man in his 30s who is responsible enough to have a nice car and a condo really think that’s appropriate behavior or that it will get him anywhere?

I’ve had a few other odd experiences with men on the street since living in Salt Lake. Once, a man in his 50s was walking behind me on the sidewalk. I scooted to the right to allow him to pass. As he walked by, he ran face first into a tree. As if this were not awkward enough, he turned around and said, “I turned around to check you out and the tree jumped out and hit me.” I gave a nervous laugh and just slowed my walking so he would get ahead of me more quickly.

Then there was the time I was proposed to by a stranger on the street (also in his 50s). I simply said, “not today” and kept walking.

I think this has less to do with my looks than the fact that these guys are so desperate. Men, take this hint from me. You will not get girls by making lewd gestures or blatantly hitting on girls 30 years younger than you on the street. Try a nice social setting like church….or a bar…at least then the girls will (hopefully) be drunk enough to appreciate your pick-up tactics.