Cherie - Geese Guy

 

My story starts back in 2014 where I got blindsided by my now ex's addiction. To sum up, the marriage would probably be the one I would have taken a bullet for, ended up being the one behind the gun. So, during this whole process of divorce, he was going to crush me. It was going to happen the way he wanted and how he wanted it. So, it was really difficult. And during this whole process, all I wanted to do was be held. I found that challenging to get met, because it's like I'm not just going to go up to a guy and say, “Hi, I'm Cherie. You want to hold me?” That could be awkward. [audience laughter] 

 

My best girlfriend was in Florida. And I'm like, “Wow.” I just wanted to be held. This was been so stressful. He was pushing and pushing and being outrageous. I kept in my mind thinking, we're going to get in front of a judge. Whatever you say, whatever you write, whatever you do, put the judge there. So, I never reacted to what he did, but it was just building and building and building. I would talk to God a lot about it, like, “Help.” 

 

And so, this one day, I live off of Ellsworth, down from Ann Arbor Airport. I was driving towards State Street, and there's the airport to the right and Casco to the left and this bank and there's this pond that I would always go visit. Ducks and geese go there. If you're from there, the ducks and geese, they're going to cross when they want. They don't wave their little wings. They just go, and one follows the other. 

 

So, I'm in the front line at the light. Everybody's behind me, and there's a whole like eight geese and they're going to cross. Light turns green, but I don't move because they're going to cross. And so, I can see in my side view mirror that this truck is pulling out into the center lane, probably thinking, “What the F? Why are you people stopped?” He doesn't see the geese. And I'm like, “Oh, shit.” He's really coming down. And so, I turn my car into the center lane. And he's still coming. 

 

I don't know, if somebody's going to hurt animals, I become Robert De Niro. [audience laughter] I got out of the car, I made an X. [audience laughter] So, he comes and obviously, he stopped because I'm here. He swerves to the right, and so the truck, he's in a big truck is to the side and he rolls down his window and I'm like, “Okay, here it goes.” [audience laughter] He just goes off on me. I mean, “Motherfucker. Little red headed bitch.” And in my mind, I'm kind of motherfucker. Not really sure that's possible, but little. Yeah. Redheaded, you're going to go Irish on me now? [audience laughter] And Bitch. Yeah, we'll see. [audience laughter] 

 

And so, he paused to get air, and I said, “Do you have a gun?” He didn't do Valley Girl, but that was his like, “No.” And my mouth went off [audience laughter] on its own journey, I was motherfucking him. People are out of their cars. They've got their cameras [audience laughter] and I'm going to be videotaped. This is going to be on the news. “She tried to save the geese, the little motherfucking red headed little bitch.” [audience laughter] And so, it's just going off and it's just going on. 

 

He pauses, and I'm tracking his face, and he stops and he starts to see the geese. He sees them walking across and he goes, “Oh, my God, I see what you were trying to do. I'm so sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I see what you were doing.” When he did this, I just buckled. I fell to the pavement and I just was bawling, because it's all this tension for two and a half years with my ex never getting out. And so, I was just sobbing. 

 

The next thing I know is I see boots, and he said, “Give me your hands.” And I couldn't. I was spaghetti. I couldn't. He bent down and he literally picked me up. He looks at me and he said, “Well, okay, I should probably ask you if you have a gun.” [audience laughter] And I said, “No.” He just grabbed me and started holding me and he said, “I don't know what's going on in your life, but let it out. Just let it.” 

 

He's holding me and I'm crying and my prayer is getting answered, because I wanted to be held and I wanted to cry. Granted, it's not how I thought God would answer that. [audience laughter] I was looking, still am, for maybe a more long-term solution to that. [audience laughter] So, helped me off the road, traffic resumed and we're friends. So, thanks.