DJ is a community of citizen journalists who work and play together every day and interact, but most of us only know each other from our avatars. Or from certain stories. This new weekly article will rectify that. Here we will get to know each other.
Every week there will be a different theme focusing on different aspects of the real live's of Citizen Journalists. This weeks theme: The Secrets of Citizen Journalists.
I emailed 10 CJ's and compiled a top ten list. Let's begin:
#10-
wanderlaugh 
(I know nothing about wanderlaugh so I eagerly awaited his reply)
My secret would be that I'm largely self-educated, including my writing, and I'm one of Nature's hermits.
(ok...Not the most Earth-shattering of revelations, but at least I am getting to know people. Looks like I'm not the only hermit here at DJ)
#9-
Picasso 
(I was hoping to get some really juicy secrets from her. What I got was Too Much Information. This self proclaimed DJ mom to all does have one secret though.)
As soon as the weather gets warm I go get a pedicure & get those toe nails polished, put on the sandals, and wear toe rings all through the warm weather.
(Ok....I'll see if I can get anything spicier out of her next time. At least we made the foot fetish people salivate.)
It takes alot to admit what permafrog admitted to me. And I can only imagine the kind of courage that it takes to come clean about something like this....
#8-
permafrog 
"my secret, I like the Dixie Chicks."
(Profound as usual. That took guts. The man ain't just whistling dixie. He's listening to them. You won't hear me admitting I like country music. *Hides the Johnny Cash CD*.)
#7-
Patxxxoo 
(We all know the hip chick with the cat avatar right? She's got alot of spunk. Good kid. Or...?
"Hey bot,
....an even better secret is ...i'm a grandma of four ..."
(wtf? That ain't no kid. What is it with hip older babes around here. I thought for sure she was my age. I thought Picasso was as well, before she revealed her age. The older DJ ladies are certainly hip and young at heart. Gotta love em. I wonder what other grandma's are around here, while I believe they are young squirts. )
#6-
Planetjanet 
"Okay, here we go..erm, Okay....
I got nicked for speeding two weeks after I passed my driving test - that was about twenty years ago!
sad eh?"
(It was so easy getting that out of her, I was tempted to go for more. Something controversial...But I was afraid of what I might find. I know she is hiding something. I think we have to watch PJ closely. And for all my fellow Americans "nicked" is a British term for "busted". No doubt she will now call me "cheeky". I love British talk.)
#5-
Jag 
"What the heck DOESN'T everyone on DJ know about me?! Geez!
I've even revealed my bra size! Want to know my panty size too???
ROTFL
:-P "
(Please. I am collecting data...One day I will trek across the continent and use that data to please every single DJ lady I can. Oh, there goes my own secret.)
"I do have a secret *turn-on*!"
(Oh really. This should be good.)
"It's men's hands!"
(Scared...I don't want to play anymore.)
"I can look at a pair of hands on a man & really get off if they're strong & thick & large.....oooooh, I'm starting to get hot already! LOL
So if a man sees me staring at his hands, he should save me from myself & my dirty thoughts - hide those things in your pockets!!!!
ROTFL"
(Finding it hard to take notes with my hands in mittens. Still ya gotta "hand" it to her, that's some weird sexual? stuff. We love our Jag.)
#4-
Amaranth 
"Oh btw, what people don't know about me is that I am a paleo conservative ( which is more liberal infact is what people classify as liberal today), and I am actually a Ecumanist. Which means I am a Christian I just believe that all religions are right. ummm... okay maybe people do know that... I dunno. I don't really want to reveal my deepest darkest secret..... but I am the head of the Illumanti and secretly rule the world. It is my world, you peons are just living in it... pffffft lol."
(Why do I sense that "domination" is deep in that closet? And I don't mean world domination...I am confused by the big words she used.)
#3-
Leah 
"I used to model a lot, Have appeared in magazines, and I showed horses in a ton of shows. I am not sure what to say.....LOL"
(Thanks for telling me a secret I already knew. Maybe it's news to some. Looks like we found DJ's Next Top Model. Showing Horses what exactly? Do they have a hard time seeing? You all know I got a thing for her, so I'll just say she's the prettiest Citizen Journalist. Remind me to talk to you about a DJ swimsuit issue.)
Now onto #2 & 1. These both might surprise some of you. Nothing surprises me after learning about all your filthy little secrets. These both deserve the #1 spot for VERY different reasons.
#2-
Scoop 
"My boyfriend and I have always enjoyed "dangerous" sex, i.e. doing it in
places considered inappropriate and where we could be easily caught. We were having lunch at a Chili's Restaurant one weekday afternoon...."
(Show of hands. How many people are gonna look around first, trying to spot scoop when they are eating out from now on? This can't end well...)
"It was rather empty in the dining room as we had lingered past the regular lunch crowd. When he excused himself to go to the men's room, I waited about 2 minutes and then followed him in! I locked us in the stall and we had some pretty wild stuff going on. Suddenly another man came into the bathroom and I had to stand on top of the toilet seat so he wouldn't see my feet. I listened, trying desperately not to laugh as he relieved himself and left the room. We both laughed so hard over that one!"
(The things that go on in the next stall when you are just minding your own life and taking a piss. Then along comes Scoop...)
"Or the time I decided to perform a little act while in an elevator in a very small and usually quiet shopping mall. I knew from experience that few people ever used this elevator as it was far from the beaten path, so figuring I was pretty safe, I proceeded to
drop to the floor, and well you get the picture......"
(Uh...yeah...Seeing Scoop in a whole new light here. At this point, I'm thinking her name needs to be 2scoops.)
"Suddenly the elevator door opens up and this guy is standing there ready to get on. He looks down, sees me and just stands there dumbfounded as the elevator door closed."
(Well, I don't know what to say. Certainly that secret sucks...)
And now for our featured secret.
#1-
skyangel 
My son that is in prison pleaded guilty to a murder that he did not commit.
(Have you read her op/ed piece on "
The Handyman"? It's where she started a bit of a revelation about her son...without saying it was him.)
"My son Shawn, is a jack of all trades and does very well in any task he sets out to do, be it as a mechanic, construction, remodeling, just anything. His personality is one of those that is infectious...he's easy to get along with, caring...just has that 'draw' to him. And that's probably where it all went wrong."
(A little backstory)
"He worked for a guy for a few years, remodeling houses, but his real gift with this employer was his knack of laying flooring...hard wood floors and even marble...quick and efficient. He became the right hand man...the guy practically worshipped the ground that my son walked on. Until my son did the unthinkable...he stole a bunch of payroll checks and forged them to support a crack habit. He ended up with probation and restitution...but this was the beginning of the downhill slide."
(He did get himself cleaned up quite a bit, but was still doing drugs. Mostly painkillers. He a real workaholic. Later she found out that he was also a thief.)
"After he lost his job with the flooring/building outfit, he hired out as a handyman. At one point, he was working for a local man who owned an antiques business. Shawn was hired to do some remodeling in the guy's home. It went well, until the house was broken into and things were taken, and my son swears it wasn't him that did it...and there was never any proof otherwise. Anyways, the guy ended up cancelling the job."
(Fast Forward a year later Sept 2004. Imagine that you are a mother. Now imagine waking up one morning to hear on the local radio station that this antique dealer's wife had been murdered.)
"My first thought was...and God help me for thinking this...that it was Shawn that did it. He was questioned the next morning, and he had in his house stolen goods from that home...so things went downhill in a matter of hours for my whole family. The police questioned him 13 hours straight before charging him with the murder, while also refusing to let him get a lawyer. Strike one against the so-called small town law!"
(Details emerged and according to Shawn, he had been in that area early that morning and hit a deer about half a mile from this man's property. He grabbed a lug wrench and took off after the wounded deer. Soon enough, he found himself on the antique dealer's property, and as he came around the corner of the garage, he saw the husband bludgeoning his wife to death next to his car. He offered Shawn $10,000 to remove the body and hide it, then they would stage things to look like it was a burglary-gone-wrong.)
"Fast forward a little more, and now we're on the second of 4 public defenders, the first one backed out of the case, and this one swore he could get Shawn off...no problem. The reality here is that there is not one single piece of evidence that says he did do it! Not one! They found a lug wrench, took his clothes, shoes, truck, anything and everything that "might" have her DNA on it...all negative or inconclusive!"
(The beginning of the trial. The public defender keeps calling her, telling her that Shawn did it, and he needs to accept a plea bargain or he will end up doing 75 years before he's ever a free man again....The lawyer tells her that he has to lose this case, because the D.A. needs to win it as it's an election year!)
"So, a couple of days into the trial and this public defender starts railroading Shawn telling him he has to plead guilty...now. He even started yelling at my brother, Shawn's Aunts, grandfather...a policeman had to come in and escort this damned lawyer out of the room! By this time, Shawn didn't know what to do, so he ended up pleading guilty, out of fear that he could end up with 75 years if it went all the way to trial! No one expected that he would do this."
(Like I said, imagine you are a mother in this situation. Can you imagine the nightmare? What would you do?)
"Since then, a lot of things have come to light...we now have witnesses that say that the husband is the murderer, and this was a conspiracy that the D.A.'s office knew about prior to the murder but did nothing to stop. Shawn has a new public defender...a lawyer originally from California...so these small town jokesters mean nothing to him. He's prepared to do whatever it takes to get Shawn out of this mess..."
(The husband of the woman sold everything and remarried before her body was 1 year cold, and moved to Costa Rica. They just found out that his new wife's husband died not too long ago too...and the death is being reconsidered as possibly suspicious....)
"As a mom, I don't believe he did it...now...hope and belief has been restored. As a human, if he had done it, then where he is now, is where he should be. Do you know how hard it is to reconcile that inside your heart and mind? Mother versus your own morals and beliefs? It's damned hard."
(That took guts. And I hope justice prevails. I can not imagine being in that situation and all of the turmoil that it entails. You have the support of all your DJ friends here Skyangel.)
So that is the first week of Behind The CJ. If I have done my job, you have learned more about your fellow journalists. I can't seem to get Scoop's scene out of my head for some reason.
See you next time on Behind the BJ...I mean CJ.
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This article was awarded TopGossip piece by Digital Journal Editors as part of Digital Journal's Weekly Top Find Awards. Digital Journal staff review all articles published by Citizen Journalists every week, selecting the top stories for special recognition. To see a full report of all news and more details on this award, check out TopFinds.
