Tuckerville said:

She LIVES down the street from this guy. Having a (safe distance) conversation with him and learning his NAME is not outside the realm of reasonable possibilities. "what if what if what if" What if simply speaking to him was like sticking a pin in his little scary balloon and he never bothered her again? That is JUST as likely (in fact more likely, since the incident of attack is far less common than simple every day interactions between strangers) as any of the scenarios that are being imagined, because no one HERE knows enough to make the judgment.

Again and again in my life I have befriended or at least neutralized difficult people; come to terms with their craziness or unpredictability or eccentricities or just creepiness; just by acknowledging their humanity, and TRUSTING MY INSTINCTS.

I'm just saying that she has not done everything I would do before I took drastic, final action. My instincts have spoken.

Karen
__________________
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
insidious ungovernable cardboard
I heartily agree with Tuckerville, though this does not appear to be a popular position on this board.

Speaking of martial arts, I once heard a great story told by Ram Dass about a tiny little old man, an Aikido master, who calmed down a very scary and aggressive man who was threatening people on an inner-city subway by simply connecting with him and not treating him like he was a very scary and aggressive man. The big, scary man just wanted to be seen. I am not saying this is the same scenario at all, and if I were the OP, I would definitely be feeling some fear and taking precautions, but I do think living as a captive in your own neighborhood is not a great option, living in fear of someone only generates more fear in the world (and makes you a victim), and there may be an alternative that might be more healing and liberating for both parties than arming yourself to the teeth and/or completely avoiding any possibility of ever coming into contact with him.

Really, though, good luck. It certainly sounds like a challenging situation.