I just learned that when a couple gets married. They have to share friends. It turns from “my friend” to “our friend.” Gross. It’s sad to know none of my friends are going to be friends in a decade.
I feel bad for anyone that doesn’t feel that nostalgic, warm and cozy feeling whenever they hear one of the songs from Twilight. To think that there will be generations that won’t feel the same way about Twilight is bonkers.
This is Fidèle. He napped on that windowsill, over the Groenerei canal in Bruges, Belgium, for over a decade. By doing so, he quickly became one of the most photographed dogs in the world...
I’ve thought a lot about the LISK victims and their families over the last week.
One thing I noticed is how many media outlets refer to them simply as “sex workers” and “addicts,” and how their suspected killer’s name and face is shared so much more than theirs. That bugs me.
When I made my mom’s cold case public, I chose to share the full reports because I wanted the facts known. These facts included her alleged sex work, substance use struggles and more. I was afraid people would judge her and not care about her case, so also chose to tell what I learned about her life and who she was as a person in the hopes others would understand. To my surprise, she was not only accepted, but loved.
The LISK victims deserve that same acceptance and love, not just “[Name], a XX-year-old sex worker…” If I died tomorrow, I hope my job wouldn’t be how I was remembered or defined. So I decided to learn more about these women to help tell their stories.
Last night I reached out to @morethanlala to get her thoughts and approval to talk about Jessica Taylor, one of the presumed LISK victims. Jessica was just 20 years old when she was found on July 26, 2003. At the time, she was trying to escape a tough lifestyle and reach her own goals. But who was she as a person? After reading what her brave loved one wrote, I don’t think I could say it any better, so:
“She was a true force, one who wouldn’t easily take disrespect. She was somebody that I looked up to. I always think of her eyes first when I think of her, so big and beautiful, matching a smile that lit up her face. We used to have sleepovers all the time where we’d drink soda milk and watch Nick at Nite. She taught me how to double Dutch. “Cinderella dressed in yellow…”
When I first started really working on her case and making moves, I almost had this dream that I’d bring her back. Lately I’m learning even if we may have answers it doesn’t bring them back. It’s been so hard to process through all of these emotions, it’s like living it all over again from the beginning. She is very loved and missed.”
That’s who Jessica Taylor was and the impact her life left on those she left behind.
That’s the story that deserves to be told for all the Jessica Taylors and Lori Lee Malloys out there — who they were as people. Everyone has struggles, but no one deserves to have their life taken. I’d like to see the LISK victims’ names and faces shared more than their suspected killer’s, because they deserve to be known and remembered more.
Starting today, with Jessica Taylor.
#JusticeForJessicaTaylor #JusticeForAllVictims #LISK