A LESSON TO BE LEARNED

Shannon could hear footsteps behind her as she walked toward home.
The thought of being followed made her heart beat faster. "Your being silly," she told herself,  "no one is following you."
To be safe, she began to walk faster, but the footsteps kept up with her pace. She was afraid to look back and she was glad she was almost home.
Shannon said a quick prayer, "God please get me home safe." She saw the porch light burning and ran the rest of the way to her house.
Once inside, she leaned against the door for a moment, relieved to be in the safety of her home.
She glanced out the window to see if anyone was there.  The sidewalk was empty. After tossing her books on the sofa, she decided to grab a snack and get on line. She logged on under her screen name ByAngel1213. She checked her Buddy List and saw GoTo123 was on.  She sent him and instant message:
 - ByAngel1213: Hi I'm glad you are on! I thought someone was following
   me  home today. It was really weird!
 - GoTo123: LOL You watch too much TV. Why would someone
    be following you?
    Don't you live in a safe neighborhood?
 - ByAngel1213: Of course I do. LOL. I guess it was my
   imagination cuz I didn't see anybody when I looked out.
 - GoTo123: Unless you gave your name out on-line. You haven't
   done that have you?
 - ByAngel1213: Of course not. I'm not stupid you know.
 - GoTo123: Did you have a softball game after school today?
 - ByAngel1213: Yes and we won!!
 - GoTo123: That's great! Who did you play?
 - ByAngel1213: We played the Hornets. LOL. Their uniforms are
   so gross! They look like bees. LOL
 - GoTo123: What is your team called?
 - ByAngel1213: We are the Canton Cats. We have tiger paws on
   our uniforms. They are really cool.
 - GoTo123: Did you pitch?
 - ByAngel1213: No I played second base. I got to go. My
   homework has to be done before my parents get home. I don't
   want them mad at me. Bye.
 - GoTo123: Catch you later...Bye
    Meanwhile.... GoTo123 went to the member menu and began
    to search for her profile When it came up, he highlighted it and
    printed it out. He took out a pen and began to write down
    what he knew about Angel so far.
     Her name: Shannon Birthday: Jan. 3, 1985 Age: 13 
     State where she lived: North Carolina
     Hobbies: softball, chorus, skating and going to the mall.
     Besides this information, he knew she lived in Canton 
     because she had just told him.
     He knew she stayed by herself until 6:30 p.m. every afternoon
      until her parents came home from work.
     He knew she played softball on Thursday afternoons on the
     school team, and the team was named the Canton Cats. Her
     favorite number 7 was printed on her jersey.
     He knew she was in the seventh grade at the Canton Junior
     High School. She had told him all this in the conversations
     they had on-line.
     He had enough information to find her now.  Shannon didn't
     tell her parents about the incident on the way home from the
     ball park that day. She didn't  want them to make a scene and
     stop her from walking  home from the softball games.
     Parents were always overreacting and hers were the worst. It
     made her wish she was not an only child. Maybe if she had
     brothers and sisters, her parents wouldn't be so over
     protective.
     By Thursday, Shannon had forgotten about the footsteps
     following her.
     Her game was in full swing when suddenly she  felt someone
     staring at her. It was  then that  the memory came back.
     She glanced up from her second base position  to see a man
     watching her closely. 
      He was leaning against the fence behind first base and he
      smiled  when she looked at him. He didn't look scary and she
      quickly dismissed the fear she had felt.
      After the game, he sat on a bleacher while she talked to the
      coach. She noticed his smile once again as she walked past
      him. He nodded and she smiled back. 
      He noticed  her name on the back of her shirt. He knew he
      had found her. Quietly, he walked a safe distance behind her.
      It was only a few blocks to Shannon's home, and once he saw
      where she lived he quickly returned to the park to get his car.
      Now he had to wait. 
      He decided to get a bite to eat until the time came to go to
      Shannon's house. 
      He drove to a fast food restaurant and sat there until time to
      make his move. Shannon was in her room later that evening
      when she heard voices in the living room.
      "Shannon, come here," her father called. He sounded upset
      and she couldn't imagine why. She went into the room to see
      the man from the ballpark sitting on the sofa.
      "Sit down," her father began, "this man has just told us a most
       interesting story about you."
       Shannon moved cautiously to a chair across from the man.
       How could he tell her parents anything? She had never seen
       him before today!
      "Do you know who I am Shannon?" The man asked.
      "No", Shannon answered.
      "I am a police officer and your online friend, GoTo123."
      Shannon was stunned. 
      "That's impossible! GoTo is a kid my age! He's 14 and he lives
      in Michigan!"
      The man smiled. "I know I told you all that, but it wasn't true. 
      You see Shannon there are people on-line who pretend to be
      kids. 
      I was one of them. But while others do it to find kids and hurt
      them. I belong to a group of parents who do it to protect kids
      from predators. I came here to find you to teach you how
      dangerous it is to give out too much information to people
      on-line. You told me enough about yourself to make it easy
      for me to find you. Your name, the school you went to, the
      name of your ball  team and the position you played. The
      number and name on your jersey just made finding you  a
      breeze."
      Shannon was stunned. "You mean you don't live in
      Michigan?"
      He laughed. "No, I live in Raleigh. It made you feel safe to
      think I was so far away, didn't it?" She nodded.
      "I had a friend whose daughter was like you. Only she wasn't
      as lucky.  The guy found her and murdered her while she was
      home alone. Kids are taught not to tell anyone when they are
      alone, yet they do it all the time on-line. The wrong people
      trick you into giving out information a little here and there
      on-line. Before you know it, you have told them enough for
      them to find you without even realizing you have done it. 
      I hope you've learned a lesson from this and won't do it
      again."
      "I won't," Shannon promised solemnly.
      "Will you tell others about this so they will be safe too?"
      "It's a promise!"
      That night Shannon and her dad and mom all knelt down
      together and prayed. 
      They thanked God for protecting Shannon from what could
      have been a tragic situation..