[djmcmath]

I just completed another cross-country drive, sleeping in rest areas on the way across. It's way more efficient than sleeping in hotels, and just oodles cheaper, if less comfortable. I found out Friday night in a rest area outside an unnamed metropolis exactly how uncomfortable in can be.

So I pull in, and the rest area seems unusually busy for 1am on a Saturday morning. I ignored the crowds, a particular specialty for me, and I started going through my evening routine -- dig out my toothbrush, lay out my sleeping bag across the front seat, the whole works. After just a moment, though, I realize kind of a strange thing. The guy in the car next to me has pulled up, and he's alone in his car, and it's still running. He's just sitting there in his running car. I don't think twice about it as I go in to brush my teeth. I come back out and he's still there, though, and there's another one next to him -- same deal -- driver is alone, car is running.

That kind of makes me uncomfortable, for reasons that I couldn't put my finger on, so I got in my car and moved to another spot. ... They both followed me.

I pretended to ignore them for a moment longer, then the guy in the closer car blatantly adjusted his rearview mirror to watch me without looking directly at me. That threw me over the edge.

I got out of my car and walked around to his car. He rolled down his window. "Is there something I can help you with?" I asked.

"Uh, no, I guess not," he muttered, sounding somewhat sheepish. He was mid-50's, maybe, with crinkly skin, a scraggly beard, and one ear-ring.

"What's that?" I asked -- I wasn't sure I had heard him.

"I, uh, thought you might be, uh, interested in something," he replied.

Then, all of a sudden, I _got_ it. Walking back around to the driver's side of my car, I made the mistake of looking into the car parked on my left side. Some guy was apparently getting "warmed up" for an encounter. Or maybe "cooling down" after an encounter. Or something. Ew, right there in public! ... What an evening. I ended up sleeping there anyway, with my doors locked, trying to ignore the people who pulled alongside, left their engines running, and just looked at me through my windows.

Anybody else have one of these? Know any more details? What kind of signal do you have to give to say "I'm not interested in anything?"