Beware of businesses in Dickinson that have a basement, and don’t ever be the last customer of the day.

In my previous two blog posts, I explained that now that the Oil Boom is over in Dickinson, instead of returning to a normal middle-class or lower middle-class lifestyle, the people in Dickinson have reverted to a “Street Survivor” or “Prison Life” mentality.

I didn’t know that this was going to happen.  Who knew, how was I supposed to know?  But once I realized that this was the case, everything seemed to make more sense now.  For five years, I have been writing that the local people in Dickinson are hostile, hateful, unfriendly, mean, uncooperative, not helpful, undermining, and that they feel a sense of accomplishment when they can cause someone else to fail.  I didn’t know that during the past five years, that the local people were on their best behavior.

When the people in Dickinson reverted back to their normal pre-Oil Boom behavior, they became the Street Survivor people and the Prison Life people.  This is when I realized, that I really, really could not go out anywhere in Dickinson anymore.  It was just too dangerous.  I stopped going out in Dickinson, just barely, barely before I was killed.

The local people in Dickinson, think all day, and all night about things they are going to do to people.  Below, I have written some Do’s and Don’ts, if you have to go anywhere in Dickinson now:

1. Before you get into your vehicle, Do look to see that a local person from Dickinson is not hiding in your back seat.
2. As soon as you get into your vehicle, Do lock your car doors and keep them locked the whole time you are in your vehicle.
3. Only stop to get fuel in your vehicle at a large, busy, gas station during daylight hours.  Do not get out of your vehicle if there is any suspicious person or vehicle close by.
4. Do not wear expensive jewelry, watches, or carry expensive designer hand bags.  Single women should purchase an inexpensive fake wedding ring, and pretend to be married.
5. Do carry a cell phone with you at all times so that you can telephone the Police in an emergency.  Do give the Police dispatcher a description of the vehicle and the people who are trying to abduct you.
6. Do carry a bundle of $1 bills, so that when money is demanded from you, you can throw the bundle of bills, and then try to run the opposite direction to get away.
7. Do park in a parking lot, and spend one minute scanning the parking lot before you get out of your vehicle, to make sure that no one is waiting in their vehicle, for you to get out.
8. Do wait for another shopper who looks trustworthy, to go into the parking lot with them.  Don’t try to go into a parking lot by yourself.
9. Do yell “Fire, Fire, Fire!” when someone is attacking you, if you yell “Help!” or “Rape!”, no one will come, or the wrong people will come.
10. Do Not, I repeat Do Not, walk within 100 feet of trees or bushes.

When shopping or conducting business in Dickinson, beware of businesses that have a basement.  When you do have to approach a business with a basement, here are some things to remember:

1. Telephone a trusted friend or relative, and explain to them that you are in Dickinson, North Dakota, and that you are about to enter a business, give them the name of the business, and ask them to call back and check on you in 1/2 hour.
2. If at all possible, just step inside the door to the business, do not walk in very far.  Do not let anyone maneuver to get between you and the door, if they even try, leave.
3. If you have to go into an insurance office to pay a bill or ask a question, you should say, “Hello, my name is Jennifer.  I don’t have any money on me, and my husband is expecting me to be home in thirty minutes, so I just wanted to stop in and ask if you offer renter’s insurance policies?”
4. Do Not, I repeat Do Not, accept an invitation to go down into the basement.  If you go down into the basement, there is not even a 1% chance that you will ever be seen alive again.
5. Do Not, I repeat Do Not, be the last customer of the day.  You might think that you are going to pay a bill, or just look at some greeting cards, but the business owner would probably like to bludgeon you, drag you down the stairs into the basement, take all of your cash, your credit cards, your jewelry, your shoes, and later once it gets late at night, go to your house or your apartment and use your keys to get in, and steal the remainder of your valuables.