"I Survived...ALMOST BEING RAPED"

Hey there people! Life has been...well, life. I saw this true life story-more like my father made sure we read this story-in an O magazine. O magazine is the Oprah's magazine for those who do not know. My Dad constantly and this is not even an exaggeration, CONSTANTLY teaches us self defense techniques because it's such a scary, dangerous world. *Shudders*. Anyway, share this story with your sister, wife, girlfriend, cousin, friend, acquaintance...whoever it can help. Because like I said, life can be weird, for lack of a worse word.

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"I was on my way home from work, cutting through the park. On that day, the sun seemed to set faster, and suddenly I found myself walking in the dark. I was less than half a mile from my apartment, but the path led me over a bridge, across train tracks, and through an unlit underpass.

Then I heard him- a stranger running alongside me in a half crouch, partly obscured by the bushes. My mouth went dry, my legs felt like water. But I didn't pick up my pace; instead, I stopped, turned and faced him. He came out of the bushes and said he'd been watching me 'for a long time.'

As he walked beside me, I steered us closer to the edge of the park. When we reached the bridge, a train rumbled past, and he seized the moment, lunging at me as his hands closed around my throat. HE FORCED HIS TONGUE INTO MY MOUTH. The self defense skills I had learned years before kicked in, and I DUG MY THUMB INTO HIS EYE, HARD. And then came the shock: he didn't flinch. he only grew bolder, pulling at my clothes. My mind flashed to a tip from an old guitar teacher: Press the strings like you're pinching a flea.  I PUT EVERY OUNCE OF MY STRENGTH INTO THAT THUMB, and finally he let go.

'Don't be like that,' he said.

'It IS like that.' I replied nonsensically.

I was shaking with fear, but I looked him straight in the eye and began to back away. I turned to sprint the hell out of there, but then I remembered another self-defense lesson: NEVER RUN, because then you're prey. So I walked away-alone-through the pitch-dark tunnel as I punched 911 with trembling fingers."
- Kris Herndon
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The words in caps; they are things my Dad always told us prior to reading the story especially the thumb rule. Also, he made sure to underline them in the magazine for us. Lol. You'd be surprised how many people could NOT have been raped if they knew just what power their thumb or teeth had. Also if they maybe knew to not let fear overpower them in such circumstances. Just share if you can, let's hope that we can end the scourge, rape. One word at a time. One blogpost at a time.
Love,
I

In Response To Doctor Ola.

It's about 6:25 a.m. I'm awake because my sleep was interrupted by a bizarre nightmare. So bizarre, I don't even take it seriously. And I usually take my dreams very seriously even though I dream every single time I sleep. If I take an ordinary nap, I 'll definitely have a dream, no matter how short. Blame it on an extremely over active mind. So I get up to use the bathroom. I'm back now. I'm thinking of that article Dr. Ola, CEO of Flying Doctors wrote on Bella Naija. She titled it 'The Myth of The Runz Girl'. I don't remember the title so well right now and I don't care. Oh, if you follow me on Twitter, you would know I tweeted something about it. Anyway, I'm slightly upset because of that article.

First of all, Myth and Runz are not words to be used together. No, never. You can't just sit in your corner of the world where you are really successful and pretend like all is perfect with the world. IT IS NOT. All isn't perfect, that is. I know I blogged about such naivety HERE and how it is sometimes what it is, naivety. But this issue is just as glaring as the fact that Barack Obama is the president of the United States of America. Every body knows that right? One can't even be too sure. Does Dr. OLA  know that there are women right there in Nigeria who actually hawk their bodies for money? Now when I mean hawk; they parade their bodies at night on popular streets with the hopes of getting customers either for some minutes, hours, or perhaps 'till day break'. And when the said customers come, there are sometimes bargaining and negotiations that may make you think you are in an abattoir or mile 2/12 or your local market and price is being haggled over a piece of meat.

Now, that is the lowest stage. Move from there to the Universities. At the risk of giving too much information, I believe that 1 out of every, say 20 girls in Universities (excluding perhaps private Universities) must have either lived with a Runz girl or attended classes with one. Let's go ahead to define this term; Runz Girls! Quite simple; girls who sleep with men for financial gains. It happens vice versa too. Sometimes, where men sleep with women for money. But we are dealing right now with Dr. Ola's article and that was about Runz Girls. Does Dr. Ola know that there are girls about my age in their early twenties, scratch that, teenagers in fact, who sleep with men older than their Dads? Sometimes for something as petty as the latest mobile device and gadgets? Sometimes for fancier things like trips to Dubai. Personally, I never knew any girl who ever got things like trips abroad. However, I knew and still know tons of girls who slept with all shapes and sizes of men for flimsy things like 5,000 Naira cash or Brazilian/Mongolan/Peruvian hair or at the time BlackBerry was a craze, a Blackberry phone. Some got trips to bars, clubs, maybe the cinema but like I said, I never knew any personally who maybe got a car or a trip abroad. But I'm sure there are other people who know such people. Wait a minute, did Dr. Ola watch the last season of Shuga? Because the character Sophie and her sister were NOT figments of anybody's imagination. That's usually the case. Only, not many Runz Girls are as lucky, to have a 'maga' as rich as Solomon. Actually, if you look closely at that word 'maga', you will realize the men aren't really 'magas'. Does Dr. Ola know that some Runz Girls come from quite comfortable homes, maybe not rich but you know, comfortable enough and that sometimes these girls just lack contentment? Apologies to you Runz Girls but no reason, not even poverty which I abhor quite a lot (and wish very much that it should be eradicated) can justify prostitution. Because, let's not mince words here.

Now, Dr. Ola made mention of Runz Girls being overestimated or something like that. What she meant was they really aren't as many as people think they are. I actually just laughed at that thought. Look around Miss. Just look closely around. Even some professionals, yes. Women who actually have jobs that pay. People do these things. C'mon Doc. People sleep with their bosses sometimes to gain office favors, sometimes for money. Politicians can tell you more Doc. They may know better than me. So, Doc, you are very well respected. Your vision and your achievements inspire my brother quite a lot and frankly, they inspire me too but look around. Look closely.

People, women like you, like some of our mothers and female cousins and big sisters and Marissa Mayer (I just had to add her hehe) remind us that hard work pays. They remind us that we don't need to do our bodies such dishonor. And I agree with you, that many women who, in fact work hard for everything they own have been mistaken for being Runz Girls, sometimes because of their glamorous lives. And that there, is a big shame. You deserve to treat yourself to the best when you have earned it by working hard and smart, and by using your brain. I know there's the argument that Runz Girls work hard too and they use their brains but c'mon you know what I mean. Lol.

Like I said Dr. Ola, no disrespect whatsoever but look around. Look closely.

It is is now 7:21 a.m.and I think I still want to nap a bit. Have a great February you all, and let's all remember to be content with whatever God has blessed us with.

Love,
I.