Dad livid after son nearly killed over cell

This is how I know Calgary still has a small town mentality.

Someone asks you to give them your cellphone, and you give them your cellphone. In Toronto, I wouldn't even acknowledge that request with a responsive glance. I'd completely ignore them and keep walking. If I didn't, I'd be talking to every homeless and shady crack head on the sidewalk.

I feel very bad for the kid, but a bit of awareness and sense, dare I say street smarts are necessary on his behalf. Calgary isn't a small town tight knit community. It's a sprawling city of over a million people, with a much higher per capita crime rate than Toronto.

What happened is terrible, and I feel for the kid, but he seems to lack the instinctual big city common sense. You know; the stuff mom and dad teach you as a kid, don?t talk to strangers etc.

I guess Vancouver is in the middle. I, and I think many people, would offer to call the cops or whatever, but not hand over their phone.

I wouldn't even think of giving my phone to a stranger (even when I first moved to Calgary), give them 35 cents for the pay phone, pretty unlikely a car full of young guys wouldn't have 1 cell among them, this is a case of someone being too trusting and paying the price for it.