Mile Marker 183

So I can't visit my folks without passing the road my ex tried to kill me on. It's a reminder I don't have to deal with now that I live a couple hours away, but it still hits me when I drive past and I can't help remembering. So like with other things that try to destroy me, I combat it by creating something. In this case, I wrote a song... it was very Sarah McLachlan in tune.

Mile Marker 183
Lindsay Archer

Standing at the Crossroads of Music Row and Memory Lane
Remembering the chill of a burnt out old flame
staring at the wreckage that to this day remains
A head to head collision won’t leave you the same
When you encounter a pile up of the criminally insane
Standing at the Crossroads of Music Row and Memory Lane

He gritted his teeth and gripped the wheel
His foot hit the gas and the rubber peeled
down this old country blacktop street
toward a wicked curve of near 90 degrees
On the other side all I could see
was the interstate’s mile marker 183
That’s when I realized it was death staring at me
as the speedometer buried somewhere near 90
It was my life at stake and him at the wheel
If he couldn’t have me, then my life he would steal
I’d be free of him, even with my last breath, I swore
At least I wouldn’t have to live in fear anymore

Standing at the Crossroads of Music Row and Memory Lane
Remembering the chill of a burnt out old flame
staring at the wreckage that to this day remains
A head to head collision won’t leave you the same
When you encounter a pile up of the criminally insane
Standing at the Crossroads of Music Row and Memory Lane

He curved to the left and couldn’t believe
that I was more angry and ready to leave
This torturous game of predator and prey
I could never gain, only lose more each day
That’s when crocodile tears formed in his eye
His frequent trick to avoid caught in a lie
That’s when I realized it was death staring at me
On the other side of mile marker 183
There was no way he’d ever let me leave
The passing of freedom, which I still grieve
Left cleaning up the mess that he made
and his deep debt that can never be paid.

Standing at the Crossroads of Music Row and Memory Lane
Remembering the chill of a burnt out old flame
staring at the wreckage that to this day remains
A head to head collision won’t leave you the same
When you encounter a pile up of the criminally insane
Standing at the Crossroads of Music Row and Memory Lane

Now I’m exhausted and all I want is to sleep
But slumber since has not been deep
Would that I could, finally find rest,
so rare in this world, even at my best.
If only it were just him, but that’s a far cry
There many like him, both girl and guy
That’s when I realized it was death staring at me
Well, beyond mile marker 183
In the dirty looks and the judging eyes
of those whose life has never capsized.
Reopening old wounds that can never quite heal
At the hands of people who can’t know how it feels

Standing at the Crossroads of Music Row and Memory Lane
Remembering the chill of a burnt out old flame
staring at the wreckage that to this day remains
A head to head collision won’t leave you the same
When you encounter a pile up of the criminally insane
Standing at the Crossroads of Music Row and Memory Lane



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My Prayer

Since I've prayed for things in the past and am pretty sure God likes me to be specific, I thought that I would share those things I earnestly desire for those in my life. Though I believe in the power of prayer, I also know that sometimes it's powerful to know that someone wishes good things for you, especially when you have a hard time even wanting them for yourself. Even if you are an atheist, if you're my friend, know that this is what I wish for you and take it as the positive thought that it is, even if you don't believe in prayer.

So here is what I pray for all my friends, family, animals, and myself... (I like to pray for us all together as an affirmation of our connections and relationships.)

To be Healthy (Physically, Mentally, and Spiritually), that all ailments of thought or flesh might flee us and free us to live a life unhindered. That all damage might heal rapidly and restore us to full health.

To be Strong (Physically, Mentally, and Spiritually), that being healthy and unhindered we might find strength to combat all that life might throw at us, whether flesh or thought, so that we might be strong in our defense and indomitable in the face of foes.

To be Beautiful (Physically, Mentally, and Spiritually), that in that Strength there might also be beauty and grace to temper what could be brutish, wisdom to temper the strength of mind, and love to amplify the strength of the soul.

May these things together create a perfect balance and bring us Peace and Prosperity. Keep us from pain and persecution and may we never seek to cause pain or persecution to another. In so doing, make us a blessing to those around us that the very act of being is more of a testimony than any word we may speak.

Bless those who Bless us, and for those who wish good things for us, I pray that they might also be blessed with the same.

For those who curse us, I pray they develop empathy and understanding and begin to be healthy too. That they might come to grips with what is broken inside them that makes them hate us, as much as anything that we have done. Convict their hearts that they might repent and ask for forgiveness so that we might move forward.

And for those we have truly wronged, I ask forgiveness for those times when we were neither healthy nor strong. Help us to repent and be forgiven that we might move forward.

I pray that all these things work for good, and that the human race might wake from the sleep that shuts its eyes to truth. That we might all see things as they truly are and move in a positive direction toward healing instead of wounding.

In Jesus' Name,
Amen

IT WORKS! DO IT!

I feel like I'm yelling at walls concerning certain topics, and it doesn't seem like anything gets through to people. Often a couple years later, people will come back with "I should have listened to you", but by then it's too late and just more of Cassandra's tears.

I've been saying for years that we have the technology to GPS track criminals who have already been convicted of violent crimes to prevent them from repeat offending. Times have changed, but as usual the laws haven't. Restraining orders are just a piece of paper, and parole officer check ins are a comfort to some, but in general the restrictions like don't go near a school zone or other such things are not very well enforced. Just take a look at how many sex offenders live in your vicinity some day, it will frighten you. But now that we have GPS tracking there's no reason for that! We chip our dogs for goodness sake! It's been proven safe and effective. The tech and premise are solid.

Violent Sex Offenders are more likely to repeat offend than any other criminal. Therefore releasing these high risk individuals back into the population is like releasing a wolf into a herd of sheep. He might be nice and full when you release him, but sooner or later he's going to get hungry for what put him in a cage to start with. So why not track them?

Forget the responses for why not, because they are all invalid now. It's recently been proven to work extremely effectively by being put into practice in Massachusetts. Tried and tested, IT WORKS!

"not a single case she's taken on has ended in murder, and the men who have been sentenced to GPS tracking have not committed any future acts of violence. "

They say that you can tell what your enemy fears by what he uses to threaten you. This employs that same principle and uses it effectively in a way that has broken the cycle of oppression that comes at the hands of abusers and stalkers...

"The system works in no small part because it turns the logic of an abusive relationship on its head. The abuser works by making the victim feel like she will never be free of him, his violence, and his surveillance. If she tries to leave, he escalates. If she gets a new boyfriend, he escalates. The idea is to make her feel like her choices are to submit or to live in terror. The high-risk teams shift the burden of being surveilled from the victim to the abuser. Now, if he makes a threat, Massachusetts has the power to escalate. If he uses visitation time to attack her or her children, Massachusetts restricts visitation. Now he's the one who has to make his decisions with the understanding that someone with power can further restrict his movements and his ability to live freely. Abusers often victimize for years before taking things to the level of a serious beating or murder. By restricting movements in the early stages, it appears that the program helps keep abusers from getting to that point. "

At last someone gets it! The solution has been staring us in the face for some time now, and someone finally put it to good use. The number of social problems that this will solve are numerous. Out of all the worthless legislation being pressed for, THIS addresses a real social threat. Now that we know that it works, there is no reason we shouldn't have this in every state. IT WORKS! DO IT!

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