After a long and tedious year of somber interrogation, we decided it was time to blow off some steam and have a bit of fun.
The BLADE Rower
By Nick van der Leek and Lisa Wilson
Rowing: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the star rower Nascar Shitstorius. His continuing mission: to explode into even more media, to seek out new models and new sponsors, to boldly row where no armless Olympian has rowed before.
Be advised: This book is a work of fiction and is not intended for the politically correct.
Hidden behind monsters and walls of steel, lie treasure.
All of it within us, all of it created by us.
Breathless joy and crippling pain.
One does not exist without the other. One can never grow without the other.
But what happens when our expectations of joy fall short?
What happens when the sting of pain festers too deep?
Do we erect a prison, safe within our walls, and wait for somebody to show up with a key?
Or do we close our umbrellas and dance in the rain?
Find a sword and face the dragon?
The journey to 8Restoration is not a carefully plotted trip to a far away land. The path is not always clear or free of debris. It’s a trek much closer to home; one that spans the terrain of our own minds.
And the answers you seek about Oscar and Reeva… They do not exist in a bathroom at 3am. They do not exist in a fifteen minute window of time. They exist over years, in the dark corners that nobody has addressed… that nobody wanted to see… nobody until now. This journey to 8Restoration will open your eyes, make you pay attention and make you question everything you think you know.
I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don’t want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I’d like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can’t be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free.
When nightmares woke my son Daniel in the months before he was murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary – two years ago this Sunday – my wife Jackie and I knew what to do.
We hugged him, held him, and comforted him. We told him there were no monsters. We assured him he was safe.
The horrific shooting in Newtown on Dec. 14, 2012 has often been referred to as “a parent’s worst nightmare.”
And it’s the nightmare most parents don’t prepare for – because we convince ourselves
it could never happen to us.
Before that awful December day, I certainly wasn’t thinking about gun violence when it came to keeping Daniel and his siblings safe. Seat belts, cutting grapes in half, holding hands when crossing the street – that’s all I thought I needed to do to keep my children out of harm’s way.
Then, in one unthinkable moment, I was plunged into my worst nightmare – one we’re still living – and the cold, brutal reality that gun violence can happen anywhere.
It can happen in Newtown, and it can happen in your town.
So, as our tragic anniversary approaches, we’ve made a powerful video every parent and person with children in their lives needs to see. Please watch it, share with as many people as you can, and ask them to join you and Sandy Hook Promise in protecting all children from the very real threat of gun violence.
Watch Sandy Hook Promise’s “Monsters Under the Bed” video, and then share it with your friends and loved ones. Help us continue to build our parent-and-community-powered movement for change.
If I could relive the months and years before Daniel’s senseless murder, I wouldn’t change how he saw the world. The sweetest, kindest, happiest kid you could ever meet, Daniel’s usual worries were whether the worms stranded on the driveway after a rain could return to their homes or whether his favorite stuffed animal Ninja Cat had eaten enough dinner.
The best way to protect our kids’ childhood innocence, including the worries and imaginary fears every kid has, is for us to CONFRONT THE REAL THREATS and MAKE THE NECESSARY CHANGES – however hard those changes might be – to keep them safe.
That’s the message we at Sandy Hook Promise hope our video will spread – with your help.
Every single second of that morning of Dec. 14, 2012 is forever etched in my mind: hearing Daniel’s flip-flop-clad feet padding after me and his brother James on that cold, December morning on our early trek to James’ bus, then cuddling as we watched the Christmas tree lights twinkle against the sunrise’s glow and holding hands as we strode together to Daniel’s bus for what would be his final ride.
On Sunday I will, once again, relive that morning, moment by moment – and while I know I’ll again feel sadness and heartbreak, they’ll be joined by hope. And that’s thanks to the support of friends like you, who’ve joined in our Promise to create a safer world for all our children.
Thank you for supporting Sandy Hook Promise during this difficult time – and all the time. We’re truly grateful.
“As far as I could see people were always conning each other to get what they wanted. We even con ourselves. We talk ourselves into things, you know, we sell ourselves things. When we don’t even need or want, you know, we’re dressing ’em up. We leave out the risk, we leave out the ugly truth.” – Irving Rosenfeld, American Hustle
I want to hear from all of you…
What were the most notable bullshit moments from Oscar’s defense team during trial?
Here are a few from my list:
1. Oscar screams like a woman.
2. Roux comparing Oscar to an abused woman in his closing.
The Oscar Trial never disappoints with mysteries to unravel!
Let me know your theories and thoughts…
Who’s telling the truth?
Who’s lying? And why?
OSCAR CALLS NETCARE AT 3:20AM
DR STIPP – DIRECT TESTIMONY:
Dr. Stipp went back outside (after examining Reeva) and asked Stander if the ambulance was on their way. Stander said no, he hadn’t called them yet so Stipp called the Wilgers Hospital emergency department and asked them to send an ambulance. They told him he had to call an emergency number directly, not them. So Stander then dialed Netcare and handed his phone to Stipp who spoke to the dispatcher. Stipp described the nature of Reeva’s injuries to them.
JOHAN STANDER – DIRECT TESTIMONY:
Stander states that while he was outside, shortly after arriving at OP’s, Dr. Stipp arrived. He introduced himself as Johan and stated that he was a medical doctor. Stander says that he asked Stipp to go inside and see if he could assist. He also asked Stipp for the number to an ambulance because he couldn’t get a hold of them. Stipp gave him the number 082911. Stander then phoned 082911 and managed to get through.
While he was speaking on the phone (he indicates for several minutes), Stipp came back out. Stander states he said to Stipp he was having a hard time explaining to the dispatcher how to get to the house, so he handed the phone to Stipp who then spoke with the dispatcher.
[NOTE: On cross examination, Nel wants to know what they (Stander & Stipp) discussed. Did they discuss the injuries? Stander says no, Stipp just told him that she had a fatal head wound but he did not discuss any of the other injuries with him. Nel asks him if Oscar or anybody else told him how many wounds she sustained. Stander says no. Nel then asks, “not even your daughter?” Stander pauses, then answers, “I can’t recall.” But wasn’t Stander with Stipp when Stipp detailed Reeva’s injuries for the ambulance dispatcher?
CARICE STANDER – DIRECT TESTIMONY:
Oscar said “just take my car, put her in the car.” Carice said no, just put her down. So he placed Reeva on the ground. At that moment, Carice’s Dad stepped outside to call the ambulance. This was within moments of them arriving.
A few minutes later, Carice told Oscar that a doctor had arrived. She claims they were both relieved. Stipp walked in and Carice went back outside with her Dad who was still calling the ambulance. So at this point, just Stipp and Oscar were inside with Reeva, and Carice and Johan are outside on the phone. Carice testifies that when she was outside with her Dad, she also spoke with the dispatcher. Why? How long does it take, and how many people does it take, to request an ambulance?
After examining Reeva, Stipp went back outside and Carice went back inside. They passed each other at the doorway. Carice said Stipp wasn’t in there very long. Upon coming out, he stated, “it’s very bad.”
BABA – DIRECT TESTIMONY:
Oscar came down the stairs carrying Reeva in his arms. Baba was very shocked by what he was seeing that he couldn’t think for a few moments. How could everything be “fine” when Oscar was carrying a bleeding woman down the stairs? When Johan Stander said “OSCAR”, Baba snapped out of his shock.
At this point, Stander told Baba to go call police and the ambulance. He also gave the guards instructions to make sure that no cars were parked at Oscar’s house. Baba then left to go make the phone calls. He also called the control room office and informed the manager of what was happening.Baba never went in the house that night. He does confirm though that the lights were on inside the house.
The RS of the title of this book stands for Reeva Steenkamp, a 29-year-old South African model and law graduate, shot dead by her new boyfriend, Olympic runner Oscar Pistorius. He is currently in jail, serving a five-year sentence for killing her which could see him released in less than half that time. Prosecutors are appealing.
Readers should be aware that it’s the seventh in a series of e-books on the crime and subsequent trial, and a certain amount of foreknowledge is presumed. Those looking for a straightforward, basic explanation of how, when and why Reeva Steenkamp was killed, might be advised to start with some background reading.
Even if readers are already familiar with the case, they should be prepared to go on an unpredictable journey that reaches to the stars and moon, and back. The book is a lesson in freedom, and freedom takes a wandering and often complicated path. ‘It’s complicated’ is a phrase repeated several times in the narrative, and it applies to the way this book sets out to tell of Reeva Steenkamp, as well as of the world which made her and ultimately took her away. The black hole her killing created truly is complicated; Reeva could not escape it, but it absorbed all around it and continued to grow until its mass was felt by much of the world.
The collapsed, darkened star of Reeva Steenkamp drew the world in to share her darkness and in doing so, brought in the light of freedom. With her death, and the ending of her life, Reeva was also set free. No person in the world can catch, harm, hold or control her. Nobody can trample her dreams – or make them come true. Nothing on earth can touch her. Perhaps Reeva might put up her thumb somewhere up there, as Neil Armstrong once did, and blot out the tiny star that is earth and its teeming humanity, if its light should ever pain her ageless eyes…
“Science, Neil [Armstrong] tells us, has not yet mastered prophecy. We predict too much for the next year and yet far too little for the next 10. In much of society, research means to investigate something you do not know or understand.
The important achievement of Apollo was demonstrating that humanity is not forever chained to this planet and our visions go rather further than that and our opportunities are unlimited.”
The reason why #RS is so special to me is because it’s not just a tribute that focuses on one person… it’s a tribute that focuses on all of us.
For all of the world’s troubles and (to use Nick’s favorite word) fuckedupness… it’s hard to deny that there is far more beauty in this world than anything else. Beauty in our surroundings and beauty in ourselves.
That beauty is a gift.
Some of it was given to us and some of it was created by us and creation comes from dreaming. So when people ask, what does the first Man on the Moon have to do with a tribute to Reeva… well, in honor of Reeva’s legacy, it is the recognition of the power of our dreams.
While writing about Reeva and considering the life that she lived, I thought a lot about her parents, and I thought a lot about my mine. Just like all families, my family has not been without struggle, as I discuss in the books. But those struggles pale greatly in comparison to the love that we share for each other and it reminds me that we are nothing in this world without the people that we love and the people that support us.
The 1960’s were a pivotal time for America. The decade began with the romance of Camelot and ended triumphantly with a Man on the Moon. But in between, we suffered the loss of three great men who had done so much to change the minds and hearts of this world – JFK, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. – and it could have been so easy for everybody to give up and stop chasing dreams in the wake of that devastation. But the opposite happened. Those losses fueled a fire that changed our ability to dream and explore forever.
I wanted to talk to my Dad about what it was like to live during that time and witness the broadcast of the
Man on the Moon
My Dad (and my Mom) have always encouraged my brother and I to be our very best and to shoot for the Moon.
They have selflessly pushed us to go after everything in life that inspires us and were always the ones cheering loudest from the sidelines. This post is in honor of them! Thanks, Mom and Dad.
Coming together as a community, in times of need and in times of grief, is a beautiful thing. It restores our faith in that thing…the human spirit. It lives in others and it lives in us. It can be a resilient thing, phoenix-like, invulnerable and yet able to disappear and reappear in an instant, almost like magic.
As resilient as we are as human beings, there are moments in life when we just can’t make it on our own. Moments of brokenness steal on us sometimes, and it’s then that we realise we need each other; we need to stand together, to lift each other up and be loud with our ideals in one collective voice.
Yesterday, Twitter user, Sandy, and her husband, Denver, traveled to Port Elizabeth to meet Barry Steenkamp and delivered to him a beautiful card of condolences from people around the world. It was a lovely moment that she wanted to share with all of you, via this audio below and further details in the book.
Barry was clearly very touched by this gesture. It’s a true testament to
the power of togetherness and the power of love.
We left smiling and felt privileged to have met Reeva’s Dad, a gentle, friendly soul and also very kind… Meeting Barry reminded me of my late father. I can talk about my Dad now, but cry each time. I was his ‘Treasure’. I make the most of each day and enjoy it with Denver, who has loved me since I was a teenager…
I think Reeva was scarred and thus naive when it came to love, same as Oscar was. Their idea of love was like being in a dream, you have to close your eyes to the world in order to dream…and especially dreams of love…
But as most of us eventually – hopefully – realize, love is that most vital area where you need to be most awake. Love in the romantic sense may seem the most like dreaming, and may feel that way, but much of those feelings aren’t real. True love is work. True love is a shared project, it is DOING things together. And you can’t do anything with your eyes closed.
That romantic immaturity, given a cocktail of glitz, glamour, money and media, is a recipe for a disaster of monumental proportions. It means not only tightrope walking with your eyes closed, while your own ghosts and demons come to the surface, but putting up a brave face to sell to the world, and your partner. There are three-too many balls being juggled there….
Reeva’s attachment to the idea of being in love meant finding somebody to nurture and heal. By the act of healing Oscar, she could also heal herself. And considering her financial stresses, perhaps she thought that partnering with Oscar could provide a better life.
On 8 February 2013, less than a week before her death, Reeva posted this haunting image to Instagram:
“…breathing in some fresh air and chatting about life…”
Yes, contemplating the tree of life…and how to rise above her raising. And how and when and who to have children with and to raise herself.
The tree is what connects the Earth to the Heavens, and Reeva was contemplating her connections…and where they could take her.
But look carefully…what you see is not one tree, but several…and only one (on the left) is catching the sunlight. Meanwhile the tree on the right, Oscar’s, has become tall and dark and has begun to blot out the sky….
I think the possibility of finding somebody who needed her as much as she needed him was exhilarating. They ran in the same circles and were moving in the same direction. But that kind of luminous possibility will quickly dim when your stars are not aligned with the right person… or worse, you find yourself with a dangerous person. Although June would like to believe her daughter had not been intimate with Oscar, there are many signs that tell a different story…
Juror13 