Ed Teague Offers Forgiveness

Ed Teague, father of 18-year-old Jennifer Teague who went missing from Barrhaven, ON and was found murdered back in September of 2005, told Earl McRae of the Ottawa Sun that if he were able to say anything to Kevin Davis, who was recently arrested for the crime, he would say that he has forgiven him. Tough words to relate to from a beautiful, Christian man who has lived with unimaginable pain and uncertainty since last fall.

Teague would also ask Davis , who has confessed to murdering Jennifer and given police details that only the killer could know-- why he did it. Why? It's a question that torments us all, particularly people who knew Jennifer (which doesn't include me), and her family.

Ed said that he found the behavior of some of the bloggers to be incomprehensible when they were speculating that he had killed his own child. Other Internet people seemed to be attention seekers, claiming to have been Jennifer's best friend. Sad and pathetic. We need to take responsibility for our words in virtual space and only say the same thing here that we would say in a room full of 10,000 people.

What I would say now to Ed Teague if I could speak to him is, I'm sorry. I don't understand violence, especially something that seems so arbitrary and random because we don't have the answers as to why Kevin Davis fatally injured your daughter and what his motives were.

I also don't understand the cruelty and unfairness of this life where an 18-year-old can be snuffed out before she had a chance to begin her journey. Why Jennifer? Why now?Ed, I'm glad that you have the religious faith that I lack and I hope that it sustains you and your ex-wife in your darkest moments.

Sigrid Mac

The Neglected Garden

Please check out my newest link called The Neglected Garden. It's about a wonderful book by Alberte Villeneuve about how she survived an abusive marriage. The book was originally written in French under the title Le jardin neglige.

Alberte speaks to many women's groups to help other women come to terms with violence in their lives. WTG!

Sigrid Mac

Kevin Davis Had Always Been a Person of Interest In the Jennifer Teague Murder

Today, journalist Joanne Laucius from the Ottawa Citizen, pointed out similarities in arrests made in the Jennifer Teague case and the Ardeth Wood case. In both instances, the men who were eventually arrested had been on the police list of suspects or "persons of interest" since the beginning of the investigation.

Kevin Davis was interviewed only two days after Jennifer went missing but he claimed to know nothing about her disappearance and said that he had been home that evening.

Laucius wrote: "In both cases, endless hours of investigative time and hundreds of thousands of dollars were spent, only to have the final piece of the investigative puzzle fall into place by what a high school literature teacher might call the deus ex machina -- an unexpected or improbable device that resolves the plot, but leaves observers feeling unsatisfied by the way the loose ends have been tied up."

Fortunately for the police, the community and the Teague family, Davis got high on magic mushrooms earlier this month and was found wandering naked on Fallowfield Road. He was taken to the Queensway Carleton Hospital, according to Police Chief Vince Bevan, after telling several people that he had killed Jennifer Teague. When he recovered from his drug episode, he denied the veracity of the claim. However, he repeated it several days ago, for whatever reason -- speculation is that he was feeling too guilty to carry the secret any longer; however, he's gone for almost a year without spilling the beans. One wonders what prompted him to do so now.

We can only hope that this is a true confession that will provide answers for the family and the town of Barrhaven, which remains traumatized by Jennifer's murder.

Sigrid Mac

Kevin Davis arrested for murder of Jennifer Teague

24- year-old Kevin Davis of Ottawa was arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of Jennifer Teague. 18-year-old Teague disappeared en route to her house in the late hours of the night during September of 2005. Apparently, Davis has confessed to killing Jennifer several times in the last month or so, starting out one night when he was high on psilocybin and treated for drug-related issues at the Queensway Carleton hospital.

Yesterday, he approached neighbors and asked for help; he even told them to call the police and spoke to a police officer himself about his involvement in the murder, according to the Ottawa Citizen.

Davis lived close to the area in Barrhaven where Teague was abducted.

Sigrid Mac

Al Gore Is Getting Hot!

Last night, I stood in line to see An Inconvenient Truth. My friends and I arrived 40 minutes early, which was a good thing, because every seat in the theater with a capacity of 660 sold out.

Global warming doesn't sound like a fascinating topic but this 98 minute documentary held my attention from start to finish. Previously, Gore was strongly criticized on the campaign trail as being too stiff and humorless. He failed to convey enthusiasm and his warmth didn't shine through when he ran for office, or at least that's what voters said. Frankly, I'm far less interested in a politician's personality and physical appearance -- although I do concede that Gore is a fine looking specimen! -- than I am with his or her POLICIES.

At heart, Al Gore is a scientist and science gets him excited. He was in top form in AIT describing the disastrous effects of toxic emissions, the abundance of carbon dioxide that we spew into the atmosphere, its effect on the ecological system, animal species, and climatic changes such as an increase in hurricanes, tornadoes, typhoons and tsunamis. (Think Katrina.)

Gore talked about his older sister who died from lung cancer and his young son who was involved in a serious car accident. Discussing both incidents served to humanize the former Vice President, as did his use of humor and cartoons throughout the film.

Aside from watching projections of Greenland melting, one of the things that scared me most about this movie was the fact that Americans have been given not one but TWO chances to elect Al Gore as president and they failed dismally both times. Instead, they put in two men with strong ties to Saudi Arabia and big oil.

We can all do our little bit for global warming -- use compact fluorescent light bulbs, reduce our air-conditioning or heating systems, drive less but ultimately, the only solution to this problem is political. The United States produces more than 30he world's toxins and they have yet to sign the Kyoto agreement. People -- take your dissatisfaction to the polls (although I have my own paranoid suspicions that the polling stations are no longer reliable! And that's something that needs to be addressed way before 2008).

Find out what you can do at www.climatecrisis.net

Jennifer Teague -- New Photos on Police Web Site

Recently, the Ottawa police posted 24 new photographs of potential witnesses in the Jennifer Teague case. 18-year-old Jennifer Teague disappeared from her home in Barrhaven, Ontario last September. Her body was found about 10 days later and police are still trying to track down her killer.

They have posted new photographs on their web site of people who were in a convenience store on the night that Jennifer disappeared. The police have received 38 calls in response to these new pictures. Let's hope that some new witnesses come forward to shed light on this tragic situation. Her family deserves answers and closure.

If you have ANY info about potential witnesses, please call the Ottawa Police Jennifer Teague tip-line at (613) 236-1222 extension 5477 or contact police by e-mail at infojennifer@ottawapolice.ca.

Sigrid Mac

** Update: By June 1st, 8 of these people have been removed from the list because police have already interviewed them.

Younger Men Pursuing Older Women Online

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Carleton University's newspaper, the Charlatan, reviews D'Amour Road

Lisa Xing, a reporter for Carleton University's newspaper, the Charlatan, wrote this wonderful review of D'Amour Road.

"Sigrid Macdonald makes an astonishing entrance with her sophomore publication, D'amour Road. I've recently found it quite difficult to get through all of my existential philosophy reads and explanations into relativity, so it was refreshing, to say the least, when I picked up the book and couldn't put it down.

Macdonald does an amazing job of setting the background for the action, especially in portraying Tara, a 40 year-old woman going through a mid-life crisis. With no sexual desire for her husband, she channels her frustration to the virile young man working at the local Loeb, Alain.

She feels disconnected from her teenage son and has some serious reservations on her "older woman/motherly" image. Her life is thrown into turmoil when her best friend, Lisa, disappears suddenly.

Tara's internal monologue and first person narration is entirely believable and realistic. Her bleak worries on her age and desire for Alain is hilarious, infused with sarcastic and almost cynical stream of consciousness that helps the reader identify with her. This makes her the perfect 21st century crisis-wreaked heroine.

The story brings us back to the age-old concept of conflict - man vs. nature, man vs. man and man vs. himself. Well, in this case, woman.

With D'amour Road, Macdonald covers all these bases extensively as Tara falls apart following Lisa's disappearance, fighting waning feelings of self-worth, contempt for others and fear of losing someone she loves.

Throughout the ordeal and daily searches for Lisa, Tara fights to stay together, but her situation at home with Mark, her husband of 15 years doesn't help. Tara describes him in an unattractive, contemptuous way.

In turn, she gets increasingly obsessive with Alain that she makes a point to apply makeup and choose attractive outfits when grocery-shopping.Alain joins the search for Lisa. When this happens, I didn't know whether to think that something between them would happen or not.

Although Tara is emotionally unstable throughout the novel, her narration is oddly reliable and gives a solid foundation for the rest of the plot. I was surprised to see what a compelling character she was and after finishing, I actually felt disappointed to know that she was a fictional character.

After reading this book, centered on Lisa's mysterious disappearance and backed up by some sub-plots, I immediately though of the recent Jennifer Teague case. The Barrhaven teenager was leaving work on Jan. 8 when she disappeared. Another similar case also comes to mind - Ardeth Wood, an Ottawa woman who was murdered two years ago. There seem to be eerie similarities in the cases, and the Wood case is even mentioned in the novel.

Macdonald addresses these issues sensitively but also candidly, raising public awareness while creating fiction that is accessible and entertaining."

New tips

Ottawa police have received 85 new tips about the Jennifer Teague case since their press conference on Thursday where they released a composite sketch of a potential suspect. Police are now saying that Jennifer's murder was "sexually motivated." If you have any information about Jennifer Teague -- something that you remember or something that you fear may be unimportant -- or think that you recognize the man in the drawing, please call 236-1222, ext. 5477 or e-mail infojennifer@ottawapolice.ca. The investigators need all of our help.

Sigrid Mac

Teague reward may be as high as $100,000

At the press conference this afternoon, police introduced a sketch from a witness who they said just came forward a few weeks ago. The sketch portrays a white man, somewhere between age 18 to 30 with a "thin or medium build." He was "wearing a dark ball cap and dark clothing when he was seen along the Moodie Dr. area," the Ottawa Sun reported.

The newspaper also noted that the person who murdered Jennifer Teague probably acted strangely immediately after her disappearance and the large-scale publicity blitz. Hopefully, the sketch combined with the reward incentive will get neighbors, acquaintances, and employees thinking about anyone who may resemble the photo and might have acted peculiarly right after Jennifer disappeared.

Wendy's Canada have informed the public that they will be putting up a generous $50,000 reward. Police Chief Vince Bevan said he will ask the police services board to double the amount to $100,000.

Sigrid Mac

Teague press conference scheduled for Thursday

Police are planning a press conference today with Jennifer Teague's parents and reps from Wendy's in Barrhaven, ON where she worked. Jennifer had finished her late night shift on September the 9th, 2005 and was walking home sometime around 1:30 am when she disappeared. An off-duty Ottawa police office found her body 10 days later on an NCC trail off Moodie Drive.

Apparently, the police now have a composite sketch, which was assembled by talking to a witness who had not previously told his story along with feedback from Jennifer's friends. There was some talk about a "person of interest." But her friends have been quoted as saying that the sketch is vague.

Police found quite a bit of evidence at the scene of the crime, which has been tested at the forensics lab in Toronto. But they're not sure they have all of the items Jennifer Teague had with her that night -- including her Wendy's uniform.

Today's Ottawa Citizen stated: "Police believe she knew the person, or persons, who picked her up as she made her way home along Jockvale Road, although they cannot be certain she went willingly.

"Mr. Teague also thinks his daughter knew her killer.

'I believe someone who knew Jennifer is definitely involved in this,' Mr. Teague said days after his daughter went missing. 'She would never approach a car with strangers.'"

The Ottawa Sun said that they think that Wendy's Canada will offer a reward -- "believed to be $50,000" -- to entice someone to come forth with pertinent information.

Hope we're getting one step closer to solving this tragic mystery. If you have *any* news about the case, please call the Ottawa police at (613) 236-1222.

Thanks. Sigrid Mac

Excuse Me While I Kiss the Sky

A grateful Jill Carroll returned to Boston today after leaving Germany on Saturday. She was finally reunited with her parents and her twin sister after spending 82 days in captivity in the hands of Iraqi terrorists.

Carroll strongly denied comments that she had made while being held prisoner and asserted that she had been "repeatedly threatened," according to Glen Johnson of the Associated Press.

Jill Carroll was pleased to see a copy of the Christian Science Monitor on her airplane; the newspaper will be covering her story in greater detail later on but would like to give Jill some time right now to regroup and appreciate her freedom and her family.

Sigrid Mac

Welcome Home to Jill Carroll!

When Elizabeth Smart was discovered after her lengthy disappearance in Utah, it was a miracle. The public was ecstatic. Elizabeth had beat the odds.

That's exactly the way I felt this morning when I discovered that Jill Carroll, the 28-year-old freelance writer on assignment for The Christian Science Monitor, had been freed by her captors. Just last night or the night before, I had seen her twin sister on CNN, pleading in a calm tone for her sisters' release. I thought, how terrible and how pointless. She will never return.

But I was wrong! Carroll, who was seized in Baghdad on January the seventh in a violent ambush that killed her translator, was dropped off near the Iraqi Islamic Party Office, according to Yahoo News. She went inside and the people contacted American officials.

"I was treated well, but I don't know why I was kidnapped," Carroll said in a short interview on Iraqi TV. Few details about the kidnapping have been released but we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief that she's back.

Sigrid Mac

P.S. It's important to keep in mind that the most likely kidnap victims in
Iraq are Iraqis "with an average of 10 to 20 taken hostage every day for nearly three years, a U.S. official in Baghdad said Thursday." (source - Associated Press.)

Lydia Cornell

Please visit my latest link to the official web site of Lydia Cornell. Lydia is an award-winning comedian, writer and actress. She starred as Sara, Ted Knight's daughter and the granddaughter of Audrey Meadows, in Too Close For Comfort , a top rated ABC series that has been in worldwide syndication for years. She performs her own material in theaters and did a one-woman show at Century City Playhouse with a feminist bent. She has also written Venus Conspiracy for theatrical release in 2004. Other projects include Clash of the Wills, Falling Up and Recovering Blonde.

Moreover, Lydia is a dedicated political activist. She runs a fascinating and controversial blog where she is not afraid to state unpopular opinions about the war in Iraq and American foreign policy. Check her out in my link section right below Laci Peterson.

Sigrid Mac

Speech at Carleton University

On November 16, 2005 I was part of a panel speaking at Carleton University on Violence Against Women. My speech was about missing women and I focused in on the missing and murdered sex trade workers in Vancouver and Edmonton.

I've made several attempts to upload the speech here on the blog but whenever I do, it knocks out my entire link section. So, if you'd like to read the article, Bekkie of Seen Me Lately has kindly posted it on her web site about sex trade workers.

http://www.seenmelately.ca/sextradeworkers.html

As usual, I've stated some controversial views. Those who know me and read this blog regularly know that I welcome disagreement and debate. If you have any thoughts after you read it, please come back and make comments here on the blog or in my guestbook.

Thanks :-)
Sigrid

Reward offered for information on Jennifer Teague

Earl McRae of the Ottawa Sun reported that an anonymous donor has stepped forward to offer a "substantial" amount of money -- possibly as much as $50,000 -- as a reward for anyone who has information on the death and disappearance of 18-year-old Jennifer Teague of Barrhaven, which is part of Metropolitan Ottawa.

McRae also noted that many readers were curious as to why the police had not released any details about the cause of death. He posited some explanations: sometimes people who are unstable or just wish to cause trouble may falsely confess to a crime. If police withhold specific information, it makes it much easier to rule out those false confessions. Moreover, all of the forensics are not in. It's possible that the police still are uncertain of the exact cause of death.

Apparently, 10 investigators have been working diligently on the Teague case and will continue to do so until they find her killer. To quote the end of McRae's column today:

"If you have information, no matter how minor it seems, that might help find the killer of Jennifer Teague, the police want and need to hear from you -- confidentiality guaranteed. E-mail: infojennifer@ottawapolice.ca -- phone (613) 236-1222, ext. 5477."

Sigrid Mac

The Rules by Ellen Fein & Sherrie Schneider - Book Review

Reading The Rules was like sitting in the dental chair - it was painful! I forced myself to read the book because last year I read He's Just Not That into You. I expected to hate that book, too, but I didn't. It was just so laugh-out-loud funny that I couldn't help but like it. Also, the message was clear, albeit simplistic; if a man isn't calling you, he's just not interested.

The Rules is definitely retro. I've heard it described as a book that advocates women going back to the fifties. True enough, but not the 1950s -- the 1850s! I could easily imagine Jane Austen writing this book and young women waiting for their gentleman callers in their mother's parlor.

For those who are not familiar with the material, The Rules are a set of guidelines for women to follow that are designed to prevent them from enduring heartbreak and rejection in love. They consist of the following suggestions:

-- Don't speak to a man first in a social setting. Don't ask him to dance, don't stare at him and definitely, don't call him on the phone! A Rules girl needs to play hard to get.

-- After a man calls you up, don't accept a date unless he's given you ample notice. And don't return his phone call if he happens to get your voicemail. You don't want to seem too eager.

-- Clearly, having sex is not an option. You must wait several months, meanwhile seeing the man no more than two to three times a week. And you will be certified as a suicide relationship bomber if you initiate sex! Don't pay for the date, don't meet him halfway and -- get this -- don't talk on the phone for more than 10 minutes every time he calls you. Pretend to have something else to do so that you seem busy.

-- If you want a man to marry you, don't live with him. Hold out for that ring.

Now, before you dismiss all of this as preposterous, as I was tempted to do, keep in mind that the purpose of the book is to prevent women from suffering. The authors argue that men and women are biologically different and as a result, men need to pursue women. If men don't initiate, they will lose interest. If women don't play hard to get, they will never instill a sense of chronic longing in their man. Moreover, The Rules encourages women to be busy and independent, so that they won't view their man as the center of their existence.

As a longtime feminist who has broken all of the rules all of my life, I must concede that some of them may have merit. Whether it's biological or sociocultural, men are different from women. There is still a double standard in society. If a guy goes after a woman for a year and she shows no interest in him, he is simply persistent. If a woman does the same thing, she's desperate. There's no term for a man who "chases" women because that's what a guy is supposed to do (I'm not talking about a womanizer or a stalker. I'm talking about an ordinary guy going after an ordinary girl/woman.) Why is the word "chase" always used in reference to women, kind of like the words "loose" or "easy?" (Heard of any men who were called sluts recently? I rest my case.)

Now, I think that the double standard is completely wrong and that's why I've always violated it. However, the end result has often been that I have pursued men who were not interested in me, or who have ended up being quite passive later on in the relationship.

In my book, D'Amour Road, my main character has an unrequited crush on a younger man. That scenario resulted directly from my interest in this topic of women pursuing men. Theoretically, it's a good thing. The sexes should be equal. In all of my interactions with men, I always try to treat them the same way that I treat females. But the sad fact is that they're not females, especially when it comes to sex and romance.

If The Rules sound antiquated, they are. But that doesn't mean that they may not be effective. I can't imagine following them all religiously, particularly the one about not returning a man's phone call, which seems incredibly rude. But I can see embracing a modified version of The Rules for self-protection and to simplify my life.

Let's face it. If a guy is interested in me or in you, he can pick up the phone. How hard is that? If we as women keep making the first move -- which should be our right -- how will we know if the man was interested beforehand? Is he just responding to our friendliness? Fein also cautions against revealing too much about yourself during the first month or two. Sounds Stepfordish but if you think about it, why do we need to tell anyone who is brand-new in our life all about the baggage that we carry around day in and day out? That's true of new female friends, new male friends or budding relationships.

Yes, The Rules are at least 150 years out of date and they are extremely irritating and disheartening to anyone with a feminist or postmodern perspective, but I found them to have *some* redeeming value. And I'm going to test them out, just for the hell of it.

Sigrid Mac

Tribute to Jennifer Teague

36-year-old Todd Sterling from Elliot Lake is a songwriter, who was deeply moved by the tragic disappearance and death of 18-year-old Jennifer Teague from Barrhaven, Ontario. So moved, in fact, that Sterling wrote a song about her called "Jennifer's Song."

Earl McRae of the Ottawa Sun described the process that Sterling went through when he took his song down to Nashville and sold it to professionals under the name "September's Child." Despite the name change, Todd Sterling maintained that the song was for Jennifer, and he gave a copy of it to her father, Ed Teague, who was deeply moved.

You can listen to Jennifer's Song at www.soundclick.com/toddsterling.

Right on, Todd. How beautiful of you.

Sigrid Mac

P. S. Still no arrests or suspects in the case.

Update on Jennifer Teague

The police sound more optimistic about locating Jennifer Teague's killer, according to her father, Ed, who was quoted in the Ottawa Sun newspaper. Earl McRae reported that there are three field investigators and 18 other people working on Jennifer's case. That's comforting.

I know that when Louise Ellis went missing in Ottawa in 1995, I was part of the search team that looked for her. She was "gone" for three months and to me, it seemed as though the police were doing nothing during that time. Ha! Was I mistaken. All along, they were diligently gathering information which eventually implicated her partner.

It's hard to say if there is a suspect in the Teague case right now because police are being quiet about it. "I have a feeling they (police) have more than they're prepared to disclose," Ed Teague was quoted as saying. Let's hope that that's not just a desire on his part to hear good news but rather an intuitive sense that he is receiving from the police.

OTOH, I can't help but feeling that the arrest of Chris Myers in the Ardeth Wood case had more to do with luck than skill.

Sigrid Mac

Redefining friendship

How do we define friendship? That used to be an easy question for me. Friends were people who I saw regularly, trusted and confided in. There were my close friends and my less intimate friends. Some were separated by geographic distance but not by devotion; I had many friends who lived in other provinces or states. We may not have talked for months or even years but when we did connect, an "instant karma" kind of rapport was present.

Then there were my acquaintances, usually people who I worked with or knew from various clubs or political organizations. Maybe I'd gone to high school or college ("university" to you Canadians!) with them and we didn't socialize on a regular basis, but I knew them fairly well. Or perhaps I did see those people frequently but we didn't have a lot in common, hence, I didn't call them "friends."

But the world has changed, largely as a result of high-tech innovations and the democratization of communication via the Internet. I've been reading a lot about globalization lately because someone I know turned me on to the book Free Culture by Lawrence Lessig. I read that and another by Lessig -- both highly recommended -- and am currently reading The Lexus and the Olive Tree by Thomas Friedman.

One point that all of these books makes is that the world is getting smaller and nation borders have become less important. As a result of chatting with so many folks via e-mail, discussion boards, my blogs, and instant messaging, I have slowly noticed a change in the way that I define friendship. There are some people on About.com thyroid that I've been talking to for five or six years. I consider them to be my friends. Likewise with people who I've met on my blogs, who post comments or talk to me every week. Admittedly, they're not my best friends but I would be hard-pressed to dismiss some of them as mere acquaintances.

I've encountered a number of wonderful women on a spiritually oriented web site called Boomer Women Speak where I participate in discussions on their writers' forum. I think nothing of signing my private messages to these people (or to my sister's New Age friends whom I have never met), "Love, Sigrid." And I routinely use the sign off "YF," which means "your friend." Sometimes, I use it as a statement and other times I use it as a question -- i.e. "Wanna be friends?"

This has all made me rethink my relationship with Louise Ellis, the woman who disappeared in Ottawa in 1995 and was murdered by her partner. The woman who inspired my book, D'Amour Road, and to whom it is dedicated. The woman who was a member of my David Milgaard Support Group and who I have called "my acquaintance" in almost all of my references to her.

Were Louise and I really acquaintances or were we friends? If our relationship had taken place on the Internet instead of the phone, would we have been in touch more often? Is frequency a determining factor in defining friendship or is it the nature of our feelings towards the person? Because I love Louise Ellis.

When she was alive, I liked her very much but since her life was cut short, I have been unable to stop thinking about her, so my feelings have grown. I've developed a preoccupation with missing women. I lie awake at night wondering what kind of a person Louise was. Did she have a sense of humor? How did she pass her free time? What did she value most? And what kind of a person would she have been today if she lived until age 56? I wish that I had known her better or made some social overtures in her direction when I had the chance because now it's too late.

I miss her. I care about her. And I have remorse about the fact that we never met in person because our relationship took place on the telephone; we talked regularly over a two-year period. I would have wanted to be her friend.

This morning, a woman who I know fairly well but have not yet classified as either a friend or an acquaintance, invited me to do something that I'm not particularly keen on doing. But I like this woman and it would be great to see more of her, so I accepted her invitation. I don't want to live with guilt about things that I didn't do and people that I didn't cultivate well enough when they were here and I had the opportunity. What's a little sacrifice compared to a lifetime of regret?

Sigrid Mac