A Lovely Woman Jill Meagher
Without Prejudice
Jill Meagher was a lovely woman. As are most women, and if they are not, they should be. All women watched the search for Jill. Knowing the answer could not be good. We watched as she came into view on a CCTV, lovely coat and high, fashionable shoes. Our hearts were in our mouths as we saw the few last tottering steps before she stopped to make a call.
I wish only that her instincts had told her to call the Police. But her instincts were muffled by being tipsy. I think at that moment, she did feel fear. A man was being over friendly to her a woman on her own in the wee small mean hours. The hours when women are not safe. Some men are sexual predators. We heard that there is a small band of middle aged men who trawl the streets on the weekends here in Melbourne. And stalk from cars, inebriated young women.
Our responsibility to other women and ourselves is not to get in that state. Our Mothers told us the perfidity of some men, that they just wanted S.E.X. And our Fathers made sure we were safe. I could not go to a dance, any dance, without my short chubby Scottish father coming to pick me up. He would stride straight on th the dance floor and say,
Janette,,,,,,Home"
And stride off in his Russian hat and coat. At that stage I didn;t want my friends to know I had such a thing as parents at 15. They were my cross to bear, I thought. My Dad was a rational intelligent loving man and he loooooved his girls. So he didn't give too shits what I thought at 15 and rightly so.
He knew I was boy crazy, a flirt, passably attractive and he knew that spelt TROUBLE. But he was the man for the job and he did a good one as Father. I never trusted creeps or sleazes, I could sense them and run a mile. I/m still running. I know how bad some men can get and it/s neither pretty or fun
He taught me to be a lady, I was the rebel, the naughty, curious one and he never ever wanted me to get hurt. So he made sure I knew everything about survival and Mum did the rest. My Mum was a prude and found it hard to say the words but Dad had no bother.
He taught me everything i needed to know, take your shoes off and run. Sense who is around you at night and trust no one. I was lucky he didn't drink neither did my Mum so Pubs were taboo to us girls. Ladies did not go in Pubs, it was considered, "low class" I still feel this way.
The images of Jill will haunt all women forever. Shes a lady, a lovely lady. being stalked by a predator in the full view of the world on the CCTV footage. And all we can do is watch helplessly, the beautiful gazelle as she stumbles a little and we all die a little right there, watching the monster seek out his prey. There is no Jill after a few minutes of footage and we know something horrible, terrible has happened.
For 5 days as she is not found, we wait, knowing with every growing minute she's not going to be found alive. A beautiful woman gone forever. I'm more sensitive, highly exposed as I watch and then don't watch. I lost a daughter aged 12 in darkness and mystery. All my senses are on red alert the whole time. I feel all the old wounds opening up and I try to master my emotions, but my skin feels raw, like being scraped with razor blades.
It's not something you get "over". I remember Gregory Peck saying at the loss of his Son, when asked if he still missed him after 30 years.
"Every second, of every minute of every day"
Some twit said that too me once,
"It was a long time ago",
hint hint,
Get Over It"
The man that made that statement has a young daughter, wonder how he would feel if God forbid something happened to her. Would he forget her ??? I don't think so, but ignorance is
normal in this world of virtual reality, when our experiences are often slightly removed from reality.
People don't have any idea, I will miss my child till the day I die, I don.t make it an excuse for living or poor me. I never turned into an alcoholic or pill popper. My Doctor and grief counsellors
I would one day learn to live around it and I do.
She/s now something beautiful to think about when I feel low, as understandably I do at times but I have my other girls who share how I feel and take good care of me when I'm upset.
By Friday morning when we heard the news and the word rape and murder our worst fears were confirmed
Its Sunday Night and as I bake the lemon meringue pie from scratch I watch the news. And the 30,ooo people that marched today in honour of Jill Meagher make me proud to be a Human Being, today. There will always be evil in this world, but thanks to technology, that I sometimes love and sometimes hate, its good to know that good people come together in protest and action against it.
xxx
Jill Meagher was a lovely woman. As are most women, and if they are not, they should be. All women watched the search for Jill. Knowing the answer could not be good. We watched as she came into view on a CCTV, lovely coat and high, fashionable shoes. Our hearts were in our mouths as we saw the few last tottering steps before she stopped to make a call.
I wish only that her instincts had told her to call the Police. But her instincts were muffled by being tipsy. I think at that moment, she did feel fear. A man was being over friendly to her a woman on her own in the wee small mean hours. The hours when women are not safe. Some men are sexual predators. We heard that there is a small band of middle aged men who trawl the streets on the weekends here in Melbourne. And stalk from cars, inebriated young women.
Our responsibility to other women and ourselves is not to get in that state. Our Mothers told us the perfidity of some men, that they just wanted S.E.X. And our Fathers made sure we were safe. I could not go to a dance, any dance, without my short chubby Scottish father coming to pick me up. He would stride straight on th the dance floor and say,
Janette,,,,,,Home"
And stride off in his Russian hat and coat. At that stage I didn;t want my friends to know I had such a thing as parents at 15. They were my cross to bear, I thought. My Dad was a rational intelligent loving man and he loooooved his girls. So he didn't give too shits what I thought at 15 and rightly so.
He knew I was boy crazy, a flirt, passably attractive and he knew that spelt TROUBLE. But he was the man for the job and he did a good one as Father. I never trusted creeps or sleazes, I could sense them and run a mile. I/m still running. I know how bad some men can get and it/s neither pretty or fun
He taught me to be a lady, I was the rebel, the naughty, curious one and he never ever wanted me to get hurt. So he made sure I knew everything about survival and Mum did the rest. My Mum was a prude and found it hard to say the words but Dad had no bother.
He taught me everything i needed to know, take your shoes off and run. Sense who is around you at night and trust no one. I was lucky he didn't drink neither did my Mum so Pubs were taboo to us girls. Ladies did not go in Pubs, it was considered, "low class" I still feel this way.
The images of Jill will haunt all women forever. Shes a lady, a lovely lady. being stalked by a predator in the full view of the world on the CCTV footage. And all we can do is watch helplessly, the beautiful gazelle as she stumbles a little and we all die a little right there, watching the monster seek out his prey. There is no Jill after a few minutes of footage and we know something horrible, terrible has happened.
For 5 days as she is not found, we wait, knowing with every growing minute she's not going to be found alive. A beautiful woman gone forever. I'm more sensitive, highly exposed as I watch and then don't watch. I lost a daughter aged 12 in darkness and mystery. All my senses are on red alert the whole time. I feel all the old wounds opening up and I try to master my emotions, but my skin feels raw, like being scraped with razor blades.
It's not something you get "over". I remember Gregory Peck saying at the loss of his Son, when asked if he still missed him after 30 years.
"Every second, of every minute of every day"
Some twit said that too me once,
"It was a long time ago",
hint hint,
Get Over It"
The man that made that statement has a young daughter, wonder how he would feel if God forbid something happened to her. Would he forget her ??? I don't think so, but ignorance is
normal in this world of virtual reality, when our experiences are often slightly removed from reality.
People don't have any idea, I will miss my child till the day I die, I don.t make it an excuse for living or poor me. I never turned into an alcoholic or pill popper. My Doctor and grief counsellors
I would one day learn to live around it and I do.
She/s now something beautiful to think about when I feel low, as understandably I do at times but I have my other girls who share how I feel and take good care of me when I'm upset.
By Friday morning when we heard the news and the word rape and murder our worst fears were confirmed
Its Sunday Night and as I bake the lemon meringue pie from scratch I watch the news. And the 30,ooo people that marched today in honour of Jill Meagher make me proud to be a Human Being, today. There will always be evil in this world, but thanks to technology, that I sometimes love and sometimes hate, its good to know that good people come together in protest and action against it.
xxx
