As a senior woman, I experienced an incident recently that everyone, in every community, can learn from.

Taking my daily exercise routine in Rumford, I was biking along when a clean-cut young man in a pickup truck called out to me from where he was parked. I turned around, went back and asked if he had called to me. He asked, “Could you tell me where Rumford Point is?” I proceeded to tell him and, in the course of the two- to three-minute conversation, he exposed himself.

I quickly biked off and, when I was certain he was gone, I went home and called the police.

I would like to say to him that if that is all he has to show for being a man, it wasn’t much. Men on the battlefield and men who love and support their families far surpass him.

To everyone, I emphasize that we all live in a crowded, complex and dangerous world now. Unwanted experiences are certain to happen. Sick people are everywhere.

To protect ourselves and our loved ones, it is simply good sense to develop safety awareness in all that we plan. Be aware, be prepared and get help as soon as possible.

Mary Ann Schlear, Rumford