Culture Thursday: Victor the Crab—Meet Frida Olsen
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| Art by Scopedog |
But a tragedy would soon change everything for Frida.
When she was five, Frida was outside in the family's backyard with her father. They were playing tag, and Frida's father was playfully chasing her around. Frida ran all the way to the other end of the yard. But when she turned around to see her father, she saw him lying face down on the ground. Frida went over to try and get her father up, but to no avail. He was motionless. Her mother saw her husband on the ground, and frantically ran out to check on him.
He was dead.
An autopsy later revealed he had a rare but overlooked heart condition where he had only one coronary artery, while the other was enlarged and doing all the work. It was only a matter of time before he died of heart failure. But the shock of her husband's death was too much for Frida's mother, who was three months pregnant at the time and suffered a miscarriage as a result of it. It was her personal 9/11, and Frida would grow up bearing the brunt of that.
Frida's mother found solace in a bottle of alcohol. She would drink herself silly to dull the pain of her huge loss, and in doing so would neglect her only child's growth. Frida childhood would be one of emptiness and loneliness. Her mother's neglect of her showed in Frida's appearance, as she often showed up to school looking dirty and wearing clothes that looked like they were found in a Salvation Army dumpster. Because of that, Frida was picked on and tormented throughout school for her appearance. The other kids called her "Rags" because of what she wore.
Even worse for Frida was an overbite she had that made her teeth stand out a bit, as well as causing her to leave her mouth open in a pyramid like shape. The other kids teased her with that as well, calling her "Bucky" and "Little Miss Beaver Puss." Frida despised her teeth the way they were. She could always do something about her clothes, but she could never do anything about her teeth. Her mother wouldn't get her braces, because she was either too drunk or did not care.
When Frida was thirteen and in school, her teacher noticed her scratching her head a lot. When the teacher asked Frida if everything was ok, she noticed scabby red spots and dried blood on Frida's scalp through her fair blonde hair. It seemed Frida had head lice. Her teacher took note of that, plus her overall appearance, and decided to take action.
Soon, people from Child Protective Services showed up at Frida's home. When they entered, they saw the place was a sty that looked as if it hadn't been cleaned in years. And Frida's mother was her disheveled self. So the decision was made to remove Frida from her home and put her in a foster home for her own welfare. Her mother vehemently objected, but she was in no condition to protest.
Frida was placed with a couple that gave her the comfort and stability she needed but never got at home. The mother was a highschool teacher who enrolled Frida at the school she worked at, and there Frida was able to concentrate more on her school work. Her personal life improved as no one knew about her poor looking past, although she didn't have much in the way of friends as the teasing she received before was still fresh in her memory. During high school, Frida blossomed from a dirty looking skinny girl to a beautiful teenager that made boys heads turn. But none of them asked her out because of her foster mom teacher.
After high school, Frida was on her own and wanted to go to college to become a teacher, like her foster mother who inspired her. After getting into a nearby state college, she was roomed with a charismatic, dark haired, dark eyed young lady named Catherine Walsh who became the big sister Frida never had. Catherine was taking the same courses as Frida, so she was a huge help with studying. Catherine also helped Frida come out of her shell more around campus. As a former captain of her high school cheerleading squad, Catherine taught Frida how to dance, which Frida picked up on very quickly as she was a very coordinated and natural athlete. Frida went wherever Catherine went, and they were a popular and inseparable pair.
But sometime into her third year, Frida had a falling out with Catherine. No one knew the reason why, although there were whispers that Frida and Catherine were more than just friends. So Frida was back to being alone and concentrated on her studies, while fending off attention from a lot of the male students who were a little bit intrigued by her. While she went out with some guys, Frida quickly grew weary of them as they showed themselves to be nothing more than selfish, sex hungry jerks.
Whenever Frida wasn't studying, she was working as a waitress at a popular club. Like in college, Frida got a lot of attention from the men who saw her as a conquest, but she ignored a lot of them. But one such guy caught her eye. Another blonde haired blue eye individual named Archie Sanders. Sanders came from a wealthy family that dominated the area and state for decades. Sanders was a very charming rogue type who dazzled Frida with his smile and his personality.
But as she was dating him, Frida started to notice some very off things about him. Sanders showed who he was by behaving like an obnoxious jerk to everyone, throwing his weight around, making lewd racist, sexist, homophobic remarks whenever, and acting physical whenever he tried to get his way. Frida was soon put off by Archie Sanders and, one night, wanted to break off with him. But Sanders pathetically pleaded with her to give him another chance, which Frida gave into. That night, they made love.
A couple of weeks later, Frida noticed she was missing her period. She went to see a gynecologist to find out what was wrong. There the doctor told Frida she's pregnant.
When Frida told Archie the news, he became furious, accusing Frida of trapping him. Frida angrily reminded him that she wanted to break up with him, but he was pleading with her to stay, which resulted in Frida's pregnancy. Archie got into a rage and struck Frida in the face. Frida was terrified and tried running out of Archie's place. Archie tried to stop her, but Frida kicked him in the groin, which caused him to fall to the ground allowing for Frida to make a clean break.
With her life now turned upside down with a child on the way, Frida was scared. But she was determined to carry on and would find a way to work around both her studies and the baby now growing in her womb. About nine months later, Frida gave birth to a six pound, two ounce baby girl whom she named Angela, because she considers her her little angel.
And with help from her foster parents, Frida was able to finish her studies and graduate at the top of her class. After her training, she was able to land a job as a high school teacher at Danforth High School.
But Frida's opening salary wasn't enough to cover for her and her daughter, who had just turned three years old at that time. So Frida had to take a part time job to make ends meet. She got one as a waitress at the Crow's Bar, where she would work on weekends. With her foster parents, now retired, happily looking after Angela while she was working, Frida was able to begin a new life for herself as a teacher. As she walked through the halls of Danforth on her first day on the job, with everyone looking at the hot, new teacher, Frida was confident and ready for anything thrown her way.
And then, she meets Max Edwards.
And now, the music video for this:
Up next: When Max met Frida