Haven in the Hood
by
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“Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents and as harmless as doves.” Matthew 10:16 While driving, Maria had an urge to use the restroom. She whipped her little Ford into a nearby Stop to Shop grocery; a little neighborhood grocer with little more than a cash register, a few aisles of groceries and restrooms. She rushed into the women’s restroom in desperate need, locked her stall and sat down. A minute or two later, as she was preparing to leave, she heard the footsteps of someone entering. Maria listened instinctively. The footsteps sounded heavy; like a man’s footfall. Curious, Maria listened as the feet walked by her stall. Looking down she saw a set of men’s large, black cowboy boots. The cowboy boots paced to a corner behind the restroom door and stopped there. Holding back panic, she thought, “This person is not using a stall or washing up or anything. It has to be a man lying in wait for me!” Gripped in fear, Maria decided to stay in the stall. She waited for what seemed like an eternity, listening for the boots to leave. Finally, the man in the boots got restless; perhaps worried he would be found in the women’s restroom. As soon as she heard the door squeak open and the boots walk out, she rushed to unlock the stall and run out of the bathroom. Entering the main part of the store, she saw no-one. The stalker had eluded her. Vanished! He left only his cowboy boots as a clue that would lurk ominously in her memory.
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About the Book
Consider what it might be like to be a single young female with only enough money to buy a house in a dangerous neighborhood. Imagine what it is like to have a job but never quite make enough to take the chance on a modest loan for a decent car or a safe home. How does one survive in this dangerous environment? Perhaps you know someone trying to make it in such a neighborhood, usually referred to as “the hood.” This book will open your eyes to what goes on there. The main character is Maria, which is a fictional name for the actual main character of this short biography. You will be amazed at Maria’s determination to survive, to keep her sanity and her faith, and to keep her low-paying job. I have chronicled her stories over the twenty-six year period she lived in the hood. Every premonition, every bit of ESP, every criminal story actually happened. I could not make this stuff up. All the police reports are there, but I had to change the names of the people and pets involved. I did not mention the city or the exact details of the crimes that she reported to the police in order to protect her anonymity. My own name as the author of this book is a pen name.
About the Author
Raychel Ryder is the pen name for the author of Haven in the Hood which is based on the true story of Maria (fictitious name) and her life in a dangerous, high crime neighborhood over a 26 year period. Raychel started a teaching career in 1982 and took a twelve year hiatus as a “stay-at-home mom/wife” who raised her children, coached volleyball, managed a softball team and earned a master’s degree in education during that time. She only recently retired from a 19 year stint as an adjunct professor from a local community college. Haven in the Hood is the fulfillment of a promise to Maria to chronicle these stories of her life in “the hood”. Maria, herself is a very spiritual person who derives her inspiration from daily prayer and scripture reading. While it is true that she has an extraordinary sense of intuition and premonition, she attributes her survival through the most difficult and dangerous of situations to the power of God and God’s will in her life.