It was August 1987; I was 20 yrs old. During an argument with my then-husband over his insistence to drive under the influence we pulled into a parking lot on Perkins, across from Theatre Memphis, and I started walking to Chili’s where I could call a friend to come & pick me up. It was late and dark. A man came out of nowhere, jumped in front of me and began slowing down. Then, he tackled me, forcing me to the ground with a knife to my throat. He drug me further onto the grounds of Theatre Memphis, away from the street. As we struggled a car pulled up and, from a distance, the driver asked if I was okay. This trio of girls had apparently seen the struggle. The attacker made me tell them that I was fine but, fortunately, they didn’t believe me. These girls drove to Chili’s, ran inside and just started shouting about a woman being attacked. A stranger jumped into their car and they drove him to where they’d last seen me (I had since been dragged further away). He got out of the car and just ran, blindly, in my general direction…not knowing who or what he might encounter. My attacker slapped me hard & took off running. The stranger chased him while the girls screamed for me to run to the car. I ran, they pulled me into the car and drove me to Chili’s where several servers worked to calm me while we waited for the police. With all of the fear, exhaustion & drama going on I never thanked the girls or the man who blindly ran to my aid…I never even got their names. Had it not been for the kindness of these strangers, and their willingness to get involved, I would have most certainly been raped and perhaps killed that night. There just aren’t enough words to express my gratitude to them. I thank you too, Diva, for giving me this opportunity to write about what has been in my head for so long.