Taxi Ride

A friend of mine had to escape from a Taxi when we were at Uni: she was alone and he was driving her in the opposite direction to the one she'd asked for. She opened the door when he stopped at a roundabout and legged it. I agree with you: I think a women's only service would be great. This struck home for me on a personal level; I often drive and forgo drinking so I don't have to get a taxi home alone and always offer lifts to friends who would otherwise get taxis or walk alone. On a different note, although the letting off of lanterns is a lovely gesture, it's not lovely in that they're a menace: I have often dragged the unsightly litter from hedgerows and fields when they are set off around me! They have thin wires and crosses of wood in their structure which could seriously harm an animal (domestic or wild) that investigates it. I especially fear for the lives of young calves and lambs that may try to eat them! Rant over! Thank you so much for commenting and for sharing your similar feelings towards this horrendous tragedy. J x

Yes, I think a candle would be more appropriate. The lanterns are a lovely gesture, but so potentially damaging to animals and the environment. It's akin to the sentiment of leaving flowers on graves or by accident sites; a lovely thing to do, IF the plastic wrappings are removed first... I'm quite passionate about such things, you'll find... J x

Thank you, Insert... and Pinda for your lovely supportive comments. It's funny, we automatically trust people in positions of responsibility without question, don't we? Perhaps taxi drivers should be CRB checked... after all, they often drive home 'children' of school age late at night... J x

Dear Blighters Rock, It is possible to be critical without being downright rude, or totally insensitive to those that have been affected or simply touched by this tragedy. Some proper, helpful feedback on how you think I might improve my writing, in the true spirit of abctales (a site which you insult while still utilising to showcase work) would have been more appropriate. Thank you so much for the feedback, however, I am delighted to find that you express yourself with such an eloquent turn of phrase and that the editors have seen fit to decorate some of your own efforts with cherries too! J x

Dear Everyone else, (esp Tony - thank you so much for the compliment of making me 'pick of the day'), Thank you for all your wonderfully generous comments - and for sharing your own feelings towards the tragedy on a deeply personal level. This piece has meant so much more to you all than I could have envisaged when I posted it. J x

Dear Blighters Rock, I feel I ought to address your gripes now I have calmed down somewhat: Gripe Number One: 'My main gripe is with poetry in general. I feel it's abused as a form of writing in ordwer [sic] to puff up words that could be written in ordinary sentences as prose.' Well, some of us don't abuse poetry to puff up our words - poetry is a natural form of expression to the poets amongst us - this poem took about ten minutes to write - it just flowed out, pretty much as it is above. For me, the words just come out in a sort of rhythm and rhyme. I actually find it much, much harder to write prose and some of my prose can be very lyrical and have a lot of internal rhymes. To me, prose feels like the 'puffed up', slightly forced writing form. As writers, we're all different in the way we express ourselves and just because poetry is not your thing, please think carefully before assuming that prose is the most natural form of expression for everyone, just because it is YOUR most natural form of expression. Gripe Number Two: 'My other gripe is to do with extremism in modern social thinking. The media's so fixed in people's minds as a tool to divert us away from our true selves, and people use it almost as if they need to feed off it in order to think and have an opinion about something/anything.' Yes, I actually happen to agree with you; most of the time, the media tries to whip us into a frenzy with opinion dressed up as fact, unfair bias and angles, etc. I have actually studied both linguistics and media, and in fact, had only heard about the murder this poem is inspired by as a radio headline. However, if you read my initial comments, you will find that the topic is closer to home than you might think; a close friend of mine was the victim of an attempted kidnap by a taxi driver. Personally, I've never taken a taxi alone. I suppose that, not being a young female, you might find it harder to identify with what is, let's face it, a highly 'female' fear. It's sad, but unfortunately very real to a lot of us. I did not intend to insinuate that ALL taxi drivers are evil, murderous, rapists; I was merely expressing my personal reaction to an amalgamation of feelings and memories brought to the surface by recent events. Finally, while I concur that you should be allowed to 'air an opinion', I maintain that it is the WAY you put that opinion that should be more carefully considered, especially since you're a writer, so theoretically could have easily phrased your opinion so as not to cause such great offence. I have no problem at all with the fact that you dislike my poem; just don't be so bloody rude next time! J x p.s. I think it only fair that you read my poetic response: http://www.abctales.com/story/jennifer/lets-get-critical

Thankyou, littleditty, a thoughtful comment and exactly right, J x

Dear Blighters Rock, Thank you for your reply and for what you have said, it is much appreciated. I quite understand that, sometimes, the personal stuff can get in the way. I hope you manage to find a resolution. Write about it - that always helps me! Regards, J x

Thank you, shyrewode, what a fantastic compliment to receive, J x