On being stalked ... part 1

Quite seriously, I have been stalked 3 times .... once by a relative stranger, when I was 18.  Once by an ex, when I was in my early 20's.  And once by an old man; I had been friends with his wife; this finally ended last spring.  I must be some kind of loser magnet.  Or I make really bad choices (aside from dating people of Scottish decent ...) Or people don't understand the difference between basic common decency and "Yes, I am interested in you."

If you ever find yourself in this situation, I recommend the book "A Gift Of Fear" by Gavin de Becker.  I also recommend martial arts training, (self defense courses, in isolation, give you a false sense of security if the training is not maintained) and keeping 4' lengths of 1.5" hardwood doweling conveniently located in your home, office, and vehicle (honest, officer, I had these around to make curtain rods, and when he got in my face I just panicked and grabbed one ... ) 
I have been told I am paranoid, and need therapy for this.

I met the relative stranger one summer when I worked in a resort town on the shores of one of the Great Lakes.  He was an older man, and seemed nice, but lonely.  I was polite to him, and he took to coming to my store and visiting.  Then he brought me a book of poetry he had written, autographed to me; and started telling me that he was a black magician and that all the other magicians where he was from were afraid of him.  And he could sense my power and that we were destined to be together, and he had so much he could teach me.  
The warning bells started to sound in there somewhere.  
Then he started inviting me to his home for dinner and drinks, and the more I refused, the invitations got less friendly.   He was also sending me dozens of red roses, at my place of work.  Being a naive 18 year old, I went to the police. The officer assigned to me was great - he used to pick up the flowers that Crazy Guy sent me, take the card as evidence, and take the flowers home to his wife.  At least that's what he told me, and it made me laugh, whether it was true or not.  
"My" cop asked crazy guy politely to leave me alone.  Crazy guy got very, very angry.  Crazy guy started following me around town at night.  Cop told Crazy Guy to back off, or he would be charged with harassment (The "Stalking" laws did not exist then).  Crazy guy then started sneaking up on my friends and baring his teeth and growling at them.
Summer ended, my friends and I went back to our September-May lives, and things moved on.  Once and a while I would be back in the resort town and I would see Crazy Guy, standing off in the distance staring at me.  Creepy.  But he never approached me again.
I do still wonder what ever happened to him.  
A small part of me, that part that is in touch now with my self confidence and my personal power, would like to have some kind of closure on the fear, but I doubt I will get that satisfaction.  He had to have been in his 60s when I was 18; I expect he is long gone now.
To be continued ...