Joy in the Mourning

Part one of this new story series ...

Maxwell House coffee.

Even today, 21 years since those three weeks in November 1991, I know the aroma of Maxwell House over any other brand.

And every time I snatch a whiff of it, I see Joy in my mind's eye:

Joy, with her Shirley Temple auburn tendrils that lushly framed an ivory complexion and soft brown eyes.

Joy, whose silky Alabamian drawl perpetuated a facade of seduction mixed with innocence.

Joy, the envy of every woman within 30 feet of where she stood, the embodiment of charisma and grace.

And Joy was my rival -- not only in the feminine sense, but also professionally.

We worked for competing newspapers in northeast Maryland -- she, for The News Journal of Wilmington, Del., and I -- for a 150-year-old daily rag called "The Cecil Whig," which had all of a whopping 13,000 readers.

What she had on me in experience and age, I had in pit bull aggression. For it was my goal to beat Joy on every daily story imagined. We both covered county politics and also occasionally court trials. Joy had an arm sleeve of contacts and sources that she'd developed over several years. I was an upstart who had only arrived on the scene a couple of months earlier.

Every time I beat Joy on a scoop, I did a little victory dance in front of my desk in the newsroom. Every time she walloped me? I put my head in my arms and moaned at her headline.

I didn't like Joy at first, not at all. To a cocky 24-year-old, Joy and her 38 years of maturity were infuriatingly annoying.

But that all changed in November 1991, when both Joy and I went head to head, covering a court trial for a Bonnie-and-Clyde bank robbing team.

You see, that's where I first took a whiff of Maxwell House coffee, which brewed every morning in the judge's chamber and wafted into the courtroom before proceedings began.

And that's where my life was changed forever ... by Joy.


Tune in tomorrow for part 2 of the story ....

New Blog Story Series to Start Soon

Thanks to all of the readers who regularly check for new postings!

I'm in the midst of writing up 13 stories for one of my magazine clients. When I finish, we'll be jumping into a new story series. The topic? An atheist friend who accepted Jesus as her Savior before she died in 1996.

Stay tuned for "Joy in the Mourning ..." to be released this coming week on Christian Safehouse.

Thanks!

--Heidi Rafferty

HEIDI_RAFFERTY ON TWITTER IS NOT ME

UPDATE ON THE POST BELOW: TWITTER HAS REMOVED THE IMPERSONATOR. MY NAME HEIDI RAFFERTY HAS BEEN RESTORED TO MY ACCOUNT AND IS PROTECTED BY AN OPEN CASE NUMBER ON FILE AT TWITTER. THANKS TO ALL OF MY SUPPORTERS AND FRIENDS WHO HELPED ME THROUGH THE ATTACK FOR MY FAITH.



MY IMPERSONATOR HAS JUST CREATED A "@HEIDI_RAFFERTY" ACCOUNT ON TWITTER. THIS IS NOT ME. PLEASE BLOCK AND READ STORY BELOW FOR MORE DETAILS. THAT'S @Heidi_Rafferty, with an underscore between first and last names. Thanks.

The Tale of Queen Aravis & The Thief in the Night

Jesus told a parable that has come true in my life during the past few days.

"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." -- John 10:10.

I had to change my Twitter name from Aslansmane to Queen Aravis after an atheist continually copied my identity, followed people I knew on Twitter and pretended to be me. He/she tweeted blasphemy as well as other things.

After I changed my name to Queen Aravis ... the thief found it and changed his name to Queen Arivas (He switched the I and the A). He is now following many people who know me and is doing what he can to destroy my name.

As a result, I have quit the social network Twitter to debate atheists for a few months, until I decide whether I want to continue with this. If you know anything about my personal life, you know that I have lost everything during the past 12 months. Now someone is trying to take the only thing I have left, which is my name. It's the one thing I have left to protect.

If you are being followed by Queen Arivas on Twitter and are my friend, please block this person, and please report this person to Twitter for impersonation. Twitter has allowed this person to continue to harass me unabated.

Additionally, a few minutes ago I learned that the impostor has copied a second protected Twitter account named, "abusedsurvivor." This was an account I was using to help victims of domestic abuse. He/she has renamed it "amusedsurvivor" and is now trying to pretend he's me. If you are followed by "amusedsurvivor," please block.

I also want to give everyone the heads-up that this impostor is now trying to copy my blog. I have changed the title to "Christian Safehouse" from "Priscilla's & Aquila's Place." I spent about two hours last night overhauling the design, after he/she repeatedly tried to copy mine. The address for this fake account is http://christianfakehouse.blogspot.com. The person has gone so far as to copy my former ID badge and copy my profile information word for word so that people will think this is me. I have reported this harassment to Blogger but am skeptical anything will be done. I realize the Internet is like the Wild Wild West with no rules, and this is the chance I take.

If you are willing to let me know if this person takes any other measures to rob my identity, you may email me at randrwriting@gmail.com.

And let's not forget -- the thief in the night comes to rob and destroy -- but Jesus does provide abundant life. We are treasured children. I believe on His Name.

Thanks.

Heidi Rafferty

Note To Readers from the How Good Is That Wordpress Blog

A step out of the current story series for an important announcement:


It's come to my attention that a lot of you are now visiting Christian Safehouse because of a blog entitled, "How Good is That" on Wordpress.

I have not read the blog entry, because it has been written by a person who is angry with me for backing out of a book deal with him.

He is unemployed. I met him on Twitter and shared with him an idea I had for a book. He asked if he could co-write it with me. I received his first draft and saw he was going in a direction that was opposite of what I'd intended. I tried to back out. He persisted and suggested that I do two books, one with him and the other on my own with my original idea.

At the same time, I was working on his behalf to find him magazine freelance work with my editors. I write for eight magazines. I thought this guy deserved a break and wrote letters on his behalf to people in the industry.

At first it seemed to be like an okay arrangement. But then my co-author decided to smear me on his blog because he disagreed with a matter taking place on the social network Twitter. This matter had nothing to do with my professional life or the book we were supposed to be co-writing. I also was uncomfortable with the chapters he was submitting to me, as he seemed to be trying to determine the sole direction of the book content.

I decided it was in my best interest to back out of the book project. He'd only written 2 chapters, and not much work had gone into it. We did not have a contract. We always had the agreement that if we decided it wasn't going to work relationally, one of us could back out.

In retaliation for my decision, rather than accept it as a professional would and move on, he has chosen to write about me on his blog.

As I said earlier, I have no idea what the content is -- only that he is promoting this on Twitter and doing what he can to discredit my reputation.

You can believe what you want, but I just wanted to let everyone know that I tried to help this individual, and this was his repayment for my professional kindness and courtesy.

Oh. No comments will be posted on this entry. It's my blog, and it's my right to moderate comments and print them or not print them. If you don't like it, go read another blog.

Thanks.

Heidi Rafferty

ATHEISTS POST SECOND IMPERSONATION ACCOUNT OF ASLANSMANE ON TWITTER

We'll continue with Part 5 of "The Great Twitter Experiment" tonight.

Please be advised that for the SECOND TIME, atheists on Twitter have created an impersonation account of my Aslansmane account.

If you are a Twitter user, be aware that they have switched the "L" and the "S" so that it reads "alsansmane." It is a protected account and so far is following 448 people.

PLEASE BLOCK THEM.

Thanks for your attention to this matter. Back to our story tonight! Be sure to tune in!

Heidi Rafferty.