Ever have a mouth full of Febreze?

[derby378]

I did.

As an experiment, I sprayed two or three fingers on my hand with Febreze and then stuck those fingers in my mouth for about three seconds. Bleaaahhh. I do not recommend it. Febreze tastes like a mad-scientist cousin of your favorite ale or lager, and even after the taste left my mouth, the scent had managed to permeate my sinuses. I got a dose of "springtime fresh" every time I took a breath for the next four hours, which got old very quickly. No ingestion, though, so no trip to the doctor for me. Just don't try this at home. Please.

So why did I deliberately do this? Auditioning for the next Jackass movie? Hardly. I did it in response to a news report that I heard on television about a local man who was spending time in jail for beating his wife. To wit, he struck her repeatedly with a plastic wiffle bat and then held her head still as he squirted a considerable amount of Febreze into her mouth.

Naturally, on an intellectual level, there was no reason for me to try this experiment because every 5th grader knows darn well that Febreze + mouth = really bad idea. Even in one of those "double dog dare" displays of proto-manliness. No, the reason I did it is because I believe that every once in a while, each of us - all of us - need a reality check.

A lot of us know at least one person who's been the victim of domestic violence. Some of them have since found loving, supportive relationships with someone who loves them and treats them with as much respect and understanding as possible. Intellectually, we know how these battered spouses and partners have suffered. But we haven't felt the blow of the fist against the cheek, the knee to the kidneys, or the sensation of being pulled across the room by our hair. Frankly, we'd rather do without that sort of experience. But our loved ones had little choice in the matter, so the least we can do is remember to show them some love, patience, and warrmth - a little light to help banish the phantoms from the dark corners of our minds.

[frazzled]

1. I can't even stand the smell of Febreze

But kudos for trying to understand the victim. Somehow, I think the emotional terror is the hardest thing to understand. We all know what pain feels like, or a bad taste. What is hard to imagine is someone you thought was a partner who loved you attacking you and expressing that kind of violent rage toward you.

[Warren DeMontague]

2. I think a donation to a woman's shelter would probably be a more effective use for your empathy.

But, hey, your call.

[derby378]

7. Way ahead of you there

My beautiful wife's ex was also a batterer. On the other hand, I did my best to show her patience and unconditional love. She was my best friend and the light of my world, and I miss her so much.

[Warren DeMontague]

16. Been away, just finally reading this. I want to say I am sorry for your loss.

:hug:

[louis-t]

3. I hate Febreeze.

Our country is fixated on covering up smells. Listen, if the carpet stinks, wash it. If the sofa stinks, wash it. If your car stinks, clean it. If your house stinks, don't plug one of those stupid vanilla oil things in the wall, clean the damn house. Sorry, crashing from too many pacskis today.

[slackmaster]

4. No, but I know a guy who brushed his teeth with Preparation H once

Don't even ask what happened to his wife.

[rzemanfl]

6. Bet his gums didn't hurt. n/t

[slackmaster]

8. They certainly didn't bleed

For a while, at least.

[eppur_se_muova]

14. Well, at least she didn't grab the Ben-Gay by mistake ...

and it burned, burned, burned -
that ring of fire, that ring of fire.

[nadinbrzezinski]

5. Donate to a shelter

volunteer at one.

Trust me, the stories will be more shocking than the febreeze in mouth. Oh and you still swallowed a little of it, no way around it.

It is a toxic soup. I refuse to use it at home.

[derby378]

10. A shelter story to share...

A few years ago, my wife and I got this frantic call from a woman who was one of ChickMagic's distant relatives, saying she had taken her son and was hiding out fom her violent husband and needed help. So we scooped her and her son up and drove them to a restaurant across town, where we made sure they got a decent hot meal. Then Ginny put them up in a hotel room for the night and we started making calls looking for a shelter to take them in.

We had to call in a favor, but we delivered mother and child to a parking lot on the other side of town where a counselor from a women's shelter took them under her wing and spirited them off to parts unknown to be safe. There would be various house rules, including chores and a curfew, but at least it would be the start to a new life.

It was only a short time until ChickMagic and I learned that the woman bolted from the shelter with her son after only 24 hours because she couldn't stand the regimen. It turns out that the woman had previously been diagnosed as mentally ill, and the husband may have been innocent all along, but he couldn't deal with his wife's outbursts, so they separated. She's been cared for by family members across the state ever since.

[nadinbrzezinski]

11. Well I am not surprised at several of these elements

I got one that is a little more in the we wish we had one.

We responded to a fire.. ok those are dime a dozen... this was not.

The house, rather hovel, belonged to a lady in her thirties, if you can call that belong. It was burned to the ground by husband while she slept with the two kids. She was lucky to make her way out with kids. You see he used gas.

As we did the debrief for the cops to file charges, we found out she had been in the ER with broken bones a few times, rape a few times... yep, we had admin dig out records.

Alas there are no women shelters, or at least there were none when I was doing that.

So her husband was finally charged with attempted murder, three counts. destruction of property and arson...

The woman... we contacted one of the local shelters the Church runs... and managed to get her in... we were allowed to know where it was, since we were part of the Emergency Services. It wasn't a shelter really, but it was the best we could do. It was a nunnery. I think there is one these days... but I could not guarantee it.

Here in San Diego, we got three shelters, and yes... nobody outside them and maybe law enforcement, knows where they are. It is for their own safety. I've heard some horrible stories, from both victims of abuse and war victims.

[tammywammy]

13. I regularly donate to the local Women's Shelter in my town

I thought it was pretty well known that no one except those that have "need to know" know where the actual safe houses are.

My mom was beaten by her first husband, this was in the early-mid 70s and there weren't resources available to her. While they were separated, she knew when she dropped her kids (my older brothers) off he'd come after her later that night. She told me that she used to check into the seedy pay-by-the-hour motels for the night, because he'd never think to look for her there. My mom was pretty strong to get out from it, this was the early-mid 70s in east Texas, and you just did not get divorced. She told me the judges would tell her that "well, he said he's sorry, why don't you give him another chance?"

[Kennah]

9. Although I empathize with rape victims ...

... I don't plan to slam my weiner in the car door when I get home.

[A Simple Game]

12. Listerine wouldn't cut the halitosis huh? nt

[PlanetBev]

15. Won't use it....it kills domesticated birds

along with overheated Teflon. They have warnings against using Febreze in avian veterinarian offices. We're putting so much shit in the environment and birds are an early warning system.