Have you ever taken off and nobody even noticed you were gone?

[skygazer]

Watched "Into the Wild" the other night and one thing that struck me was how his parents were worried about him.

I took off hitchhiking cross-country when I was 17 - on a whim at about 8 one night without mentioning it to anyone - and was gone for 3 weeks. No one ever called the cops, reported me missing, worried about me or seemed to notice too much when I returned.

I did that a few times in my teens and 20's. I never appeared on a milk carton, no one ever had dogs out searching for me, the MSM didn't run round-the-clock stories, my boyfriends weren't arrested and questioned...

It's because I'm not blonde, isn't it? :grr:

[grannylib]

1. My folks ALWAYS noticed when I took off hitchin', and they hated it.

They never reported me missing, or anything, 'cos they knew where (generally) I was going and I'd call once in a while.
But I DID "run away from home" once when I was about 7, I don't remember just what the hell precipitated this little incident, and I packed a little suitcase and put on my raincoat (it was pouring, naturally) and I left and when I came back I was crying and I went to find my mom and hug her because I thought she would be so worried about where I was, and she hadn't noticed I'd gone.

It put a wedge between us that's still there, I think.

[pitohui]

2. maybe it is because you are not blonde!

hell i took off just for the weekend and thought it would be okay and come back to find a panicked message from my mom on my cell phone wondering if i am still alive

and i'm a few decades past being 17! plus we don't live in the same city to begin with!