Fandango’s FOWC is reason and the Word of the Day Challenge is trust.
The following is a combination of truth and fiction; for the purposes here, there is no need to distinguish truth from fiction.
“Trust me.”
Like when mommy said the shots wouldn’t hurt.
It did hurt, every one.
Like when daddy said it was just my imagination.
There was a woman in my closet.*
Like when Billy said let’s go play in the park.
He tried to kiss me, but when I refused, he punched me hard in the arm.
Like when Sally asked if we could trade shoes.
The heel of one of hers was broken. I told the teacher and Sally punched me in the back.
Like when my baby daddy said he’d pull out before he came so we didn’t need a condom.
Ended up pregnant and he was nowhere to be found.
Like when my ex husband told me he cared about me.
He’d punched me in the face within six months.
Like when my ex boyfriend said he’d found true love at last.
He was a love bomber and a gaslighter.
Like when the boss says you’ll get a promotion for your ideas.
He claims the ideas for himself and gets promoted.
Like when elected representatives say they act in our best interests.
“Our” is defined as their own personal pockets.
Trust is overrated and chronically exploited. There is no reason that can make me trust.
Remember what Fox Mulder said: Trust no one!
*note: this one is TRUE. As a child, I heard someone in my closet and ran to my parents’ room and told them. My dad said it was my imagination, but when they came and checked, to prove it was my imagination, there was a woman in the closet. Some woman my dad was carrying on with and who had snuck into our house one night.
What are your thoughts on trust?
Tao Talk 
“Some woman my dad was carrying on with and who had snuck into our house one night.” Yikes. Sounds like a “Fatal Attraction” tale.
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When stuff like that happens to a youngster it really messes with their mind.
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WOW!! how sad and scary about the woman.
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yes, it was!
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😢
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Lots of stories in the blended tale. Makes one wiser. My parents’ advice,”Trust no one” has served me well, though at times it gets lonely. So many stories are shared and circulated. I can trust a person on one thing and not on another. I recently listened to an interesting story about an early FBI case that involved a rich Native American tribe that was infiltrated by a organized group of mostly Caucasian white men who were trusted by this community. They pretended to fall in love with the Native women to inherit the wealth and then kill them.
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Oh my gosh. Does evil have no limits?
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I have always thought that trust and respect must be earned, not taken for granted.
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Irene, exactly and that takes time…
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Great post! And an X-Files fan to boot!!🤗
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yes i used to watch it every week. i need to go back and watch it all again
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They had reruns for awhile. Can’t find it in my area. Netflix maybe!
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Freaky about the mistress!
I was trusting for far too long. My ex abused my trust (not in the usual way) and so I abused his. After that I became less and less trusting. The few times I’ve let my guard down since have not been good for me. Best just to stay distant imo.
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My mom has told me bits and pieces about my dad over the years. She was no saint, admittedly, but he was no angel! At the time I just thought it was some random woman, and later found out my dad was a “womanizer”. My now-ex physically abused me but the ex-boyfriend way worse with mental stuff/gaslighting. Paula, sorry your ex was a jerk :( Yes, at this point in the game I agree, a distance is the healthy way to go.
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I’ve had gaslighters in my life too. Everyone thinks cheating is the worst thing, but there are many ways to hurt and lie and betray. Yep done!
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:(
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Terrible about physical abuse. ❤️❤️❤️
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Thanks Paula <3
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OMG I could relate to your last true story. I would have been screaming bloody murder if I thought someone was in my closet. As a child my closet was built into the wall with doors which sounds like every other closet but it wasn’t. It was a half closet. In a small house. Many a night I stared at that closet because more than once I would have closed it and in a.m. would find open. Like you I was imaginative. Never did figure out what it was.
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Jay-lyn that had to be so unnerving. Because of that woman I have a fear of closets now!
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I can believe that. I always make sure closet door are always closed. Thankfully I only have two which makes it easier. I can believe your fear.
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The house I’m in now has an open closet in the bedroom, no door, just an accordian door thing, and that is kept totally open. It makes a big difference in sound sleep.
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I have to have mine closed. Always. T has one door on and one door off. And keeps open all the time.
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I try to trust until I have a reason, not to…If I see something coming…then that is it.
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I don’t actively mistrust a person, I’m like you where they have a blank slate to start. I keep a mental tally over time if someone tries something “funny”. I might still talk to them and act like things are cool, but that’s as far as it will ever be. Sad it has to be that way but I’m tired of being burnt.
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Oh I get it. My wife doesn’t understand why I’m as trusting as I am. I saw more by 12 than most kids should.
I do pay attention closely but I’m careful not to try to go out of my way to find something.
My wife…one strike and your out.
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It’s a double edged sword, trust. I understand why your wife is like that, as she doesn’t want to get burned. I think there are levels of trust. Like I might trust you to pick up my dry cleaning from the store, but I wouldn’t trust you with any secrets. If I only associated with people I 100% trust, I’d be 100% alone :(
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Ok I get the part about secrets. I have to know someone well.
Talking about your dad… mine was average looking and women adored him… I didn’t get that trait lol… they divorced when I was around 6
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My parents had a very dysfunctional marriage that lasted 10 years, then my mom stepped into another dysfunctional marriage with my stepdad when I was around 14. That one lasted until my stepdad passed away a few years ago.
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My dad had 70 kidney stones in his life…in the seventies, the doctors gave him everything and he lived like Elvis taking something to get up and down… Mom went to see him in the hospital…my dad was with a nurse in the hospital bed…then came the divorce…
But I was a happy kid…my mom worked her but off but I had a good childhood.
My dad wasn’t evil…him and mom would get along.
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I’m glad you had a happy childhood, even with the bumps along the way…
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Oh my…what a short story that would make. ‘the woman in my closet’
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I’ll keep that in mind :)
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Gosh Li! If I had to face all you did, I wouldn’t trust anyone. I trust people instinctively and people I don’t trust have invariably proven me right.
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Punam, just a drop in the bucket :(
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Good post, Li. My most recent encounter reminiscent of these kinds of concerns was online, at a blog I hadn’t been to until recently. A person can say some outrageous things that many people aren’t able to notice or grasp or most don’t want to believe are what they are. And then there’s the occassional, just joshing tact, or a laugh.
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Thanks Marleen.
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