A week of great opportunities

This week has been filled with meetings, performances, phone calls, new friends and grant proposals. We attended two great performances, one at Mesa HS - Seussical The Musical, where we briefly spoke with the Director, Sandy Stones. The other was so moving that I not only saw it last Friday evening, but took my husband and two friends this Friday evening - "Dodging Bullets", a one-man show by an outstanding performer, David Barker. I'm certain this show will spread far and wide.

Tuesday night I went to a book-signing by of Bones In the Desert by Jana Bonnersbach. This book is the true story of the murder of Loretta Bowerstock by her husband.

Wednesday night was spent at ASU campus for Take Back The Night, an annual event to bring awareness of sexual assualt and dating violence.

Soooooo, basically I spent my week the same way I spend every week, talking to people about domestic violence, trying to educate others and listening to personal stories.

My friend, Vickie Florschuetz, Bravery Project founder and talented artist, received recognition for the great work she does helping survivors and bring attention to the pandemic of domestic abuse.
Now it's the last day of April and this past week has been busy. I have had the opportunity to meet some truly incredible people. On Monday, I was priviledged to speak to Dr. Durfee's class in the Women's Studies Program at ASU. My intent was to spend about 5 minutes talking about the May 11th performance of "Domestic Violence, The Musical?" sponsored by AzCADV. The class was wonderful and very engaged, and I spent about 20 minutes with them.

I spoke to two groups of high school students at different ends of the Valley, that were attending a White Tiger Arizona Girls' Conference, brought to the Valley by Paul Henry from Canada. Paul teaches self-defense to teens who find themselves in precarious situations. He gives valuable advice to help them protect themselves from strangers and people that they may be familiar with. I told Lisa's story. The audiences were awesome and Paul brought together a great group of presenters from across the state. Good job, Paul.

Probably the most touching time I encountered this week was speaking to the prosecutors, advocates and staff for the City Of Phoenix at their annual luncheon to commemorate Crime Victim's Rights' Week. Just look at this lovely necklace which was presented to me. It was handmade by Donna Eyring, with love -

I could tell because everything was perfect, from Lisa's picture in a heart, the Fix the Hurt logo, the words LOVE, a ribbon with purple stone and a music note. Reconnecting with Rickie Allen, a great lady, and meeting those people in her office was delightful and the food was great!!

I am given so many opportunities to meet great people who believe as I do that everyone deserves to be treated with love and respect. No one deserves to be hurt, emotionally or verbally.

Last of all - get ready for "Domestic Violence, The Musical?" on May 11 at the Herberger Theater.

Abusers come in every color, size, occupation . . .

I thought my heart would break as I listened while my friend told me of the pain she has endured over the past several years, as she has been victimized by her husband, as he ridiculed her, demeaned her, insulted her, called her fat, undesirable and totally revolting.

This woman is a stay-at-home mother of three beautiful children, she supports them and has supported her husband as his career has continued to rise. She has made a beautiful home for their family. She is such a talented decorator and can truly make a wonderland out of the back yard. I have seen her, walk, join fitness clubs, exercise and work to make herself into "his" desired weight for her.

BTW, she is beautiful, not fat and certainly undeserving of his insults.

What breaks my heart is that even after he has moved out, left her in financial ruin, she still worries about how she looks and how much she weighs and how he sees her. Nothing will ever be good enough for this man as far as she is concerned, because it's not about her. It's about him, everything is about him -- his wants, his needs, his life.

The interesting thing about this whole situation is that this man was very helpful to our family when Lisa died. He was concerned about the safety of our family. He assisted us in getting Lisa's dog away from her abuser after Lisa died. He was even present when Lisa's abuser was arrested.

But . . . . I'm sure it has never occurred to him that he is just as emotionally and verbally abusive to his lovely wife as Lisa's abuser was to her.

Wake up. Whether you are a loser, an educator, a car salesman, or in law enforcement, you can be an abuser. Just because you see yourself as superior, does not mean you are and, does not give you the right to use your power and control over you family.

I love you CJ, as do many other, and I will be here for you. Love Linda