Flada Blog

*editor’s note: This is the first of (hopefully) many entries written by my mother, (The Tent Lady). She actually hasn’t sent any new writings, but has given me permission to go through some of her older writings and enter them for her. This entry originally appeared in her Open Diary on 6/29/2001. The events took place several years before that during her walk across the country.

I had walked from Rockford, Illinois to Indianapolis.

While staying in Indianapolis for a month I rented a room. It was just a few blocks from Fountain Square. A cheap, drab place. It suited my needs perfectly. I had no needs except to mend hurt feelings and come to terms with what I was going to do about my mother.

It was July and super hot in my small room. The room was right off the street side.

I opened the window to get any air The room could capture.

I woke up to find a young man standing on the curb. Looking in my window and doing his… .

The next morning he was standing on the sidewalk, Looking in my window. Doing his… .

I asked the landlady if she was allergic to poison ivy. If so do not touch my window.

At that I went across to the parkway and got poison ivy.

I seem to be immune from the ivy effects. I put a lot in a plastic freezer bag. Rolling the bag in my hands until the leaves were just mush. I coated the window casing green.

Then I put the bed in the middle of the floor. Placing clothes and things on the bed and covering them like there was a person there. I slept on the floor.

In my hand I slept with an awl. It was my “look like a weapon” in the dark. By my side I kept a wire coat hanger.

It happened. The idiot came in to rape me.

Jumping on the bed left him off guard for just the moment I needed. I pointed the awl at him like a gun. It was just dark enough to get by with this insane move.

I had him get over on the wall and place his hands behind his back. Then I pulled the wire coat hanger up over his arms. I had read that this makes a good way to restrain a man when you have nothing else. It cuts into his arms and he can’t get out of it. It also can control him from the pain factor so you can lead him around.

I then went ahead and pulled his pants down the rest of the way. Using my bag of cream and green poison ivy I coated this young man from the top of his head to his feet. Everywhere, leaving no skin without being covered, except for his feet.

Then I pulled up his pants and let him know he had a choice. He could either have me call the landlady and get the police or I would be glad to walk him across the parkway down to the stream.

You can’t know how relieved I was when thinking he was getting off easy he choose the walk to the parkway. With the police I had a fear of them getting poison ivy and not being too happy with me.

I grabbed the coat hanger and marched him over to the parkway and down the bank into the stream. Shoes and all.

Then I pulled his pants down around his ankles and started up the hill.

“Hey! Wait! You can’t leave me like this.”

“Sir,” I said to him, “you made the choice of what I could do with you. I made this choice. But! I want you to remember. I am 53 years old. I weigh 110 pounds. And! I am The Wicked Witch letting you know; You will have a pox in a few days. It will drive you nuts. I expect you to remember with it to leave women alone.

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I heard from the landlady that he got taken to the hospital and the whole neighborhood found out what had happened.