DEAR YOGESHREE
Initially my thinking was that there would be three letters to you on fantasy as an experience in our work as child and youth care workers.. This is the third already and it seems there could be two more exploring the theme. This one relates an experience in which drugs and alcohol played a significant part in fantastical thinking but it struck me in the next letter it could be worth exploring the impact fantastical television characters may have on children's self concept and so on their behaviour.
Caroline pitched at the house where her son was in care with us. It was just before six in the morning and she was in a dreadful state. The child care worker didn't want to disturb me at that time so they had coffee and waited until eight. It was then I got the usual call. " You had better get here .. quick!"
She looked particularly dishevelled. She had walked from the centre of Hillbrow in Johannesburg. For those who may never heard of Hillbrow - - it's famous for being the most densely populated high-rise apartment square kilometre in the world. It is well known for a night life that often doesn't bear scrutiny.
Caroline lived in a small apartment in this area where she and her friends were well into the Hillbrow culture - drugs, alcohol and sex..... Its great life if you don't weaken !!
Her story....... she and some friends were into drugging together in someones apartment in Hillbrow. At about three in the morning she decided to have some fun, so she deliberately spiked a middle-aged man's drink. He was already far gone on drugs so he passed out almost immediately on the floor of that apartment and died.
Caroline knew that she had overdosed him, panicked and left the apartment with his body on the floor, locked it and fled into the early hours of the morning and the anonymity of the Hillbrow millions, thought better of it and ran to the Children's Home.
"Mr Lodge, I murdered a man," she said.
"Caroline ... we must go there now" ... my response.
"You won't get in, the caretaker won't let you in", she argued, pale and very frightened.
We went anyway into the dullness of high-rise Hillbrow. I woke up the caretaker.
"There's no way I can let you in to someones flat without their authority" , or words to that effect, "or a police search warrant. What he actually said was " Fuck off man you're wasting your time"
"Whats your name?" I asked.
" Phinandas"
"I'm the Director of the Children's Home in Jo'berg blah, blah blah - you come with me and stay with me all the time. We really need . we HAVE to see into that apartment - someone could be dangerously ill in there and need emergency treatment..... Please... etc etc.
I didn't have money on me otherwise I would have offered it to him.. We all know these stories.
Phinandas opened the door. We very cautiously went down the short passage into the lounge. It was necessary to switch on the light despite the time of day...../ NOTHING !!. not even a tell-tale mark on the carpet.
Caroline couldn't believe it. She wasn't relieved (as I was). She became even more agitated.
"Mr Lodge", she said. " He must have recovered enough to go to Cookie's flat. She's his friend, and died there"
So off we go to Cookie's flat. Same story there, same patter same looking caretaker, same result - no body there - nothing - no corpus delecti
Three flats later, I got to the point...
"Caroline, we are running around Hillbrow looking for a dead man on a carpet"
"Dead men don't walk. They don't disappear into thin air."
"Mr Lodge" she said " He's lying dead in one of these flats, I know, 'cos I killed him. He must be dead somewhere. I'm a murderess.
We left Caroline in Hillbrow and came home
"
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