Four For Friday - Scared For Her Life

It is May 1 today so that must mean it is May Day somewhere. People do celebrate that right? It is not just some holiday that I have in my head. I now officially declare it to be summer and not just because the temps have been approaching 100 here all week. Summer of course means leaving early on Fridays and long vacations. It is kind of like Christmas time except there are no gift baskets that somehow end up hidden away in my office filing cabinets where they are pillaged of the good stuff like parents going through their toddler's Halloween baskets.

A few nights ago I sat down with this person for about 20 minutes. I had never met her. I don't honestly remember if I had ever seen her in person prior to the other night. It was one of those times where I had lots of questions but wanted to make sure I didn't give myself up and also couldn't get her alone for 20 minutes all at once. It was two minutes here and then I got five once. When I would "accidentally" run back into her each time I would pick up right where I left off. I had so many questions. So many. She is probably B-/C+ list in overall celebrity status and maybe A-/B+ in her corner of the entertainment world. She recently went through a life event and that is what I wanted to ask her. I started off by telling her I was sorry to hear about what happened and if she was doing ok. She was kind enough to not be completely rude at the very personal opening statement/inquiry. It was after some comfortable banter and some bacon jokes that she kind of warmed to me. That happens and then they start looking at the lack of hair and large stomach and moobs that are larger than Dolly Parton's breasts and the warmth turns to fries that need to be reheated and never quite taste the same as when they were fresh. Anyway. We talked. Well, she talked. I asked. She said that when the life event happened she didn't suspect it would be any different than anyone else going through it. She was wrong. A series of hotel rooms, friend's guest rooms and even a couch or two to avoid the people following her and staking out some of her family's homes. The warnings sent  to her e-mail and of course the texts. Lots of those. She changed numbers twice. The first time they somehow managed to snag that number and she realized someone she thought was a friend really wasn't. She kept her original number because of work purposes so she sees all the messages. It won't do any good to go to the police because they don't actually threaten. The messages are just reminders they are there and watching like noting what she wore or what she ordered from Starbucks. They want to make sure she stays quiet. There have been in person warnings. There was the photo of the dead dog they sent her which had been run over by a car. The photo caption said someone might have seen her driving from the scene in her car. She had not of course but it was just a reminder. She thought it would only last a few days but it has been going on intermittently for months now and the chain smoking and fidgeting were pretty obvious signs it was getting to her. She says that she will probably leave the country for a bit and try to relax. Get a house in Thailand (not really; different place) for a few months and stay off the grid. I will say that when she was talking to people she knew that night she could still dazzle a room with her smile and her looks and presence. It is when she is alone or away from crowds that she is scared.