Who Did I Marry?: The Stranger Beside Me (1995)

Who did I marry?

I saw this film about four years ago when I was going on a Lifetime binge on youtube. It is still up there so you can check it out for yourself if you wish. It is based on a true story.

The film starts off with Jennifer Morgan (Tiffani Amber Thiessen). She is a respite worker for a man in a wheelchair, she wants to be an artist and keeps to herself-no dating and no men.

She gets encouraged to date Chris Gallagher (Eric Close), a guy she meets at a picnic, and at first is hesitant-but quickly falls in love.

We discover why she is so closed off, she reveals to Chris that she was raped by a friend’s stepfather. Chris understands and later proposes. The two get married and Chris reveals his dream of joining the navy. He enlists and the two are off to base.

All are happy

There Chris starts changing, he is extremely jealous and starts becoming anxious about being away from Jennifer and underwater. He starts acting out-very angry and frightening, but is always apologetic afterward.

Then a neighbor gets spied on by a peeping tom. One night when her husband is on duty she is raped.

Jennifer is terrified, but Chris just blows it off as no big deal.

Hmm…

Meanwhile, Chris has a panic attack and is relieved of his duties. Jennifer finds out later that it wasn’t an attack, but that he threatened to kill himself if he had to go under and is getting psychiatric help. But that doesn’t seem to help his possessiveness and anger.

Chris gets discharged when he is caught and charged with voyeurism. Jennifer wants to leave him, but is pregnant and decides to give him one more chance.

Things get better and then they become very much worse. He becomes angry, bad tempered, abusive, and voyeuristic. To add to such terror a masked rapist starts attacking women in the neighborhood.

Jennifer has the baby, and Dana, Alyson Hannigan, Chris’ niece, reveals that he molested her her whole childhood. Jennifer wants to leave him, taking the baby with her, but Chris attacks Jennifer.

Noooo!

Jennifer tries to go to the police to press charges, but he has a friend in the police and not enough evidence to connect him to the rapes.

Chris tells her that she cannot leave or else he will hurt her and their daughter. Jennifer stays and pretends to be a dutiful wife always watching, and trying to find a way to catch him, looking for a slip up.

She becomes friends with a detective that believes her husband is guilty, the two working together in the hopes of getting evidence and putting him away.

It has a great and powerful ending, you should check it out for yourself.

It is an amazing film, but so sad. Watching that was like watching my life when I was married. It was awful, and I feel so bad for this woman. If you would like more information on the actual case, go here. But even though she encountered hardship, she took that guy down like a true hero.

No banner this time as there weren’t any pictures big enough to use. Oh, well-there’s always next time.

To start Horrorfest VII from the beginning, go to It’s the End of the World: The Birds (1963)

For more Lifetime films, go to It Was the Curse. My Curse: The Cheerleader Murders (2016)

Runaround Suesanville

“Here’s my story, sad but true
It’s about a town that I once knew
It took my time then ran me around
In circles round and round
Now listen people what I’m telling you
A-keep away from-a Runaround Suesanville.”

Have you ever gotten the runaround from someplace? Where they just keep sending you here, there, back here, back over there; until you snap; thinking why even bother?

Well this happened to me the other day.

So for the purpose of this story, and how when I think of this experience it makes me think of the song Runaround Sue, I gave the place I live the fictitious name of Suesanville. It does not relate at all to the real town Susanville, that is why I put an “e” in mine. Got it? Good.

So last month I recieved a ticket for running a red light.

I know, I know. I could hardly believe it myself. But first of all I was making a right turn on a red light, so it wasn’t as bad as running straight through traffic. I still couldn’t believe it though. I always drive carefully and cautiously. Like Cory on Boy Meets World when he first got his license. 

The only reason I can think of for doing this, is that the day I ran the light was two days before my wisdom teeth surgery, and I had a sinus infection plus a horrible headache; but could take no medicine as you had to be clean of everything 10 days prior to surgery.

So being a good citizen I went to the courthouse, prepared to pay my ticket. But what happened next was not what I was expecting.

Argh!!!

So I reported to the office it said to go to, and there was only one window open. So I went up to the lady and asked her about making installment payments on my ticket. She told me she couldn’t help me, and that the traffic person was gone for the day, and sent me on to window 13.

Oh well

So as I was walking, it turned out I really far to walk. The floor was set up circular, going one way, and window 14 was all the way on the other side. I mean this felt like it took forever, as if it was neverending. Kind of like that time I felt I was going to be lost in the mall.

ARRRRGH!!!!!!!!!!! Why won’t you end!

Finally I reach the window, but just my luck the person was talking to someone and helping them. It seemed like it was going to take a long time. Luckilly I was prepared.

So I sat waiting, reading my book. When the man was finished, I got up to ask for help with the paperwork, but the guy shut his window.

So I went next door, to window 15, to see if that person could help me, but no. She had no idea what I was talking about.

So I went all the way back to where I started. The lady I had originally talked to was gone, but now the window that had been previously closed was open. I went to her and told her my issue, and she said the window I needed to go to was Window 2.

I hate you all.

So I went to window 2, and when I got there the man asked if he could help me. I told him I hoped so because I had already been shot around to four windows.

He took my paperwork and started asking me all these questions, of which I knew nothing of. I told him I hadn’t filled out or done anything yet, just walked around in circles. He told me that he couldn’t help me, I had to go to window 9.

I was so mad! Another trip around!!!

But on I trekked.

So when I first got there was nobody else was there. But by now, due to my constant ping pongging back and forth, when I reached window 9 there was a person being helped, a lady with a baby, and after me two more people came.

I saw the guy place my paperwork on the desk, and then he took off back to his window. But even though I had found the correct place (hopefully), I now had to wait until the people were done.

Finally the person was done, and the lady with the baby walked up to the window, but she was stopped as the paperwork wasn’t hers. I was  ecstatic, It was MY paperwork! I would finally get help and be able to move on!

Majorly

It turns out as the lady was in front of me, although technically I had been waiting longer, I had to wait until she was done. NO cutting.

I was so upset!

I just wated to leavve. I was tired of it all.

The only thing that kept me was the fact if I might have to go through it a second time, or have my fine increased to $700. So I decided to wait.

Lucky for me, the lady let me go ahead.

So when I finally explaimed what I was here for, the lady at the window asked me if I ran the light straight or right turn. I told her a right turn, and then asked to pay installments.

She said “I’m going to have you see the judge…”

Excuse me, but that is not what I asked for. I wanted to pay the ticket and be done!

But the lady wouldn’t give up. She told me seeing the judge would reduce the fine. I said that I wanted to pay and be done. She insisted seeing the judge would cut the fine in half.  I said I wanted to pay and be done with it all. She told me that seeing the judge was better, as it would help…It was like she wasn’t listening to me at all.

By this time I was so worn out I caved and made an appointment to visit the judge.

It was such a waste of an afternoon, and now it is even prolonged. Ugh.

Until part two.

For more on my everyday life, go to Every Month at the Quarter Moon There’ll Be a Monsoon