Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Open Your Eyes!!!

I have done some pretty crazy things in my life, nothing that I regret. I have met fascinating people, in the strangest places who have taught me some of life's biggest lessons.

One night at 3:00 in the morning, Hayley and I decided to stop for smokes, driving back from Roseboys, of course the most obvious place to stop for smokes is at the Caltex garage on the 
corner of Oxford. Being a little bit tipsy after a few tequilas ( my favorite drink) I walked into the garage grabbing an Ice tea, a packet of cigarettes and then decided I needed a little something to snack on, what's better than a greasy packet of Nik Naks at this time of the morning? Keeping it Old School Kids.

As I walked to the chips shelf in my intoxicated state, well it took me about 10 min
utes to find the shelf where all the chips were. I love to chat to everyone in the garage after having a 2 minute conversation with the lady who sells pies, eventually I found the Nik Naks...and there she was, with the nastiest weave I have ever, you know the ones that look as though they are about 6 months old and haven't been brushed for weeks, let alone days, a shorter than short pair of Red hotpants and silver shoes and a yellow top ( don't we just love the combination of red and yellow together? BELTER).
Now I have a bad habit, when I buy treats early in the morning I like to buy for everyone around me...Hey it puts a smile on their faces :) 

So thats how I met Cindy. After realising that we both had great taste and our choice of snack for the morning was exactly the same, how could I not offer to pay for her packet of Nik Naks?
It all began with one simple question, What are you doing at the garage so early in the morning I asked? What a Stupid question I thought as the words had already sprung from my tongue, isn't it obvious!!!(Lisa you IDIOT!!!) she answered , "Ahhhh, Honey what else would a women dressed like me be doing here at this time in the morning, I am a prostitute my sweetheart"

Not knowing how to reply, I smiled and said, let's get you that packet of Nik Naks, after paying for the chips I asked her how her night was going? Before I knew it I had made  a new friend, 15 minutes later after talking about how her night was going, I remembered that Hayley had been waiting for me all this time, not that she would mind, we can sit in her car for ages just listening to great music and reminiscing about the nights adventures and I must say a night doesn't go by where we don't have fun, we make sure our lives our filled with it.Thats what we live for.

Of course I had to introduce my new friend to Hayley and Hayles being Hayles offered her a cigarette. And before we knew it, Cindy was sitting in the back of our little Opel Corsa having a cigarette with us and chatting about life, men, the industry and why this was her chosen career path. Cindy was from Mpumalanga and was studying to get a Diploma in management, however due to certain circumstances of her mother and father passing away due to AIDS, She was in Johannesburg to support her entire family as well as send her younger brothers and sisters to school. On top of that she had to pay for their food every week.

After enjoying the conversation with Cindy so much, we decided to invite her to join us at a friends Digs for a drink, YES people we asked a prostitute to come for a drink and it was the best thing I ever decided to do!We ended up spending the whole night with a prostitute and guess what, we didnt have to pay...ha,ha I think she just wanted some friends for the night. She gave up a night of work and money to have a chat, a smoke and a drink with us. 
What an honor, she was one of the most inspirational women I had ever met.

When we arrived at our friends digs, there were 4 boys living there. They opened the gate and in complete shock said " Who's your friend ladies? Weren't there only two of you?" our answer, " Ahhh yes, this is our friend Cindy from school" - of course they knew we were lying.

But due to the fact that I have the coolest friends in the world, they welcomed her into their home and we sat outside drinking wine,well Hayley and I did of course Cindy opted for a Castle Cortz. We sat and spoke for ages listening to what someone from a different background had to say.

Cindy told me so many stories that I found it hard to believe, about rich men with beautiful wives and children who pick her up and take her to their homes in the middle of the day whilst their wives are at work and when taking their families out for dinner will sneak to the bathroom and phone her whilst she waits on the street, saying " wait for me, I will fetch you in an hour". I was in utter shock and dismay thinking about the fact that one of these men could be someone's father or a friend of mines father. It happens and its reality.

Cindy taught me two things that night, she asked Hayley and I to promise her that the day we find the men we want to be with for the rest of our lives we will love them and give them EVERYTHNG they want, because if they are not getting it from you, they will get it from someone else . It's the truth, its the way men were made, they have needs and as a wife you have a responsibility. It was one of the most amazing nights of my life, I may never see Cindy again, but she will never be forgotten. Thank you Cindy.

We all choose different paths in life, some people become lawyers, some people become politicians, professional athletes, strippers, plumbers, prostitutes, but at least their being what they want to be and just because you may choose to do a career different to someone else's, does not mean you have less integrity or self worth. Your career does not make you who you are and we are all judged by what we do, but there is so much more to people than just their job status.

Today I was asked by an old friend to ask around if there were any girls who would like to be in the music video that was being made in tribute to Lolly Jackson, the concept was to show how he wanted people just to have fun. Now after the death of Lolly Jackson there is alot of controversial debate going on. After posting on my facebook that Teazers was looking for girls, of all sizes, tall, skinny, attractive and unattractive to be in the video and just have fun-NO STRIPPING,  I received an extremely negative response, at first this annoyed me, one response was that " Lolly was a launderer, involved in human trafficking and a bad man" Im not saying he was or wasn't, I don't know the man. 

However I truly believe that as the youth of today we need to start creating our own opinions and this made me realise that I wasn't annoyed, I was actually happy.

Whether someone's opinion was negative or positive the fact of the matter was that they had an OPINION and thats what matters.

I truly believe that we all need to make up our own minds, the media is there to sensationalise situations, hey someone's gotta sell newspapers right? but as the future of our country we need to create of own opinions, stand by our own beliefs and say what we believe.

I have been to a few strip clubs before but don't end up watching the strippers, instead ask them "Hey, how are you doing?" and get to know them better. Why you may ask? I don't know..why not? They are people too. I  have once again met some of the most respectful women, who have families to feed and at the end of the day they will do whatever they can do make ends meet.  One of the women  I met worked a 10 hour shift as a travel agent and then stripped every night till 4am to support her child.         
         
We are so quick to judge but ask yourself this...If your family was starving or you had to put yourself through studying would you not do whatever you could to reach your dreams or to feed your family?!

I went through to Teazers this afternoon, no matter what the truth is or what happened Lolly was loved by the people that worked for him and with him, I saw it with my own eyes, the kitchen staff, the girls, the club managers. I don't know what he did and I really don't care, the point I am trying to make is that what we have read in the newspapers and seen on TV and in the media is not all true and I saw it with my own eyes. 

This man touched many lives and still has the support of many wonderful people.

The point I am trying to make is that no matter whether or not you agree or disagree with the industry or the people that are apart of it, we all need to start opening our eyes and minds...


Next time you are afraid of someone because of what they look like or what they do maybe just take a second to give them a chance, you never know when you are going to learn something life changing that will benefit you for the rest of your life. 

We need to stop being so judgmental, we are not 
here for a long time, we are here for a good time so seize the moment, meet fascinating people, have thought provoking conversation and enjoy every minute of it.

Thank you to all those people who have opened my eyes and I look forward to meeting the rest of you in the strangest places.


3 comments:

  1. Hi Lisa

    Stunning blog. I've recently travelled overseas and was horrified to find how closed-minded people at home are. It shocked me even more to think that I had once been like this too. Well done on forcing people to open their eyes and take back the strict lines that they had drawn. An excellent example of this is kids - they go by their instinct of whether or not a person has a good heart - job status and/or money means nothing to them.

    Thanks for an awesome post - its great to know the battle's not being fought alone :)

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  2. WOW u gave me goose bumps! I'm so glad there is someone as real as me and she is my best friend! YOU are an inspiration to many, you SEE things for what they are! YOU WATCH before you speak and take someone else's opinion!

    People like us often get labeled as living life on their collars or not being wise nor conventional.. Stuff that, be an individual and make a difference who cares if people don't like you- their are many more fish in the sea- right! ;)

    Keep on moving LD- i will be watching- i love reading your blogs- you write beautifully too btw_ so natural!

    Talk later beautiful girl! :)

    ps. how funny was it when Jono answered your phone in class! lol pretty cool though that he passed my message to you - "you video is wonderful" :)

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  3. Love it!!

    That's the beauty of life. Once you open yourself up to learning new things and being guided by your intuition you'll discover the most amazing truths in the most unsuspecting places!

    Keep it coming Girl!

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