Monday, October 15, 2007

Monday Memories--The Stalkers

Usually when I write a Monday Memory, it is something personal--a family or employment snippet. This memory surfaced while I was reading Clarence Thomas' My Grandfather's Son. Anita Hill's charges were so bizarre and unfounded, according to everyone who knew Justice Thomas, that you are left to wonder why would any woman do this, and how could she pass a polygraph test?

Unfortunately, there are people in every walk of life whose fantasies and longings are so strong you can't shake their beliefs with logic, recall or the facts. They may not fit any definition of mentally ill, but somewhere a false memory has taken root. I knew two such women about 30 years ago, and they were both "in love" with the same man, and firmly believed their love was being returned, if they could only get to him to consummate it. A glance, a kind word, a chance meeting at a grocery store--they were the building blocks of their burning desire.

One woman was divorced with 2 or 3 young children about the same age as mine; she was employed, homely, helpless and more than a bit strange. All of us at church felt sorry for her--until we had to spend more than 10 minutes with her. She was deeply in love with a staff member of the church and thought he returned her interest. He finally had to get police protection and a restraining order. I ran into her several years later on a job interview, but have no idea how that problem was resolved.

The other woman was also in love with this same staff member (he was extremely good looking and very charming with a great personality). They had had a bit more contact because her husband worked with him so they saw each other socially. She had almost become glue--I'm sure he had trouble shaking her once he became aware of it. You often saw them together--in a group of course, because it was a large staff, but she tried to be as close as possible. The adoration on her face was embarrassing. Eventually she divorced her husband--I don't know which one kept the children, but both left the church.

The much beloved staff member eventually "married" his gay partner.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

"Unfortunately, there are people in every walk of life whose fantasies and longings are so strong you can't shake their beliefs with logic, recall or the facts."

The only explanation is that God has blinded them to truth. Because NOTHING logical can explain it. There is not enough rationale in the world for us to understand how people can look at failing socialist countries and their horrible health care systems and then turn around and demand that we have the same here. Not only is it crazy that the "masses" want it, but the politicians (both left and right) are all blinded enough to go along with it. There is no other way to explain how educated, successful people can be such idiots!

--- sorry, I've just been doing a lot of thinking on this as of late, and it's the only conclusion I've been able to find.

ChupieandJ'smama (Janeen) said...

I remember watching the whole Thomas/Hill fiasco unfold on TV. I remember thinking that the things she claimed were so strange that I had a hard time believing that he'd done them. But I had a hard time believing that a woman would make those things up too. Maybe your suggestion is correct. We may never really know for sure.
Too bad about those two ladies. Both must have been troubled. But too funny that the man ended up marrying another man. Those ladies weren't only disturbed, they were blind too.