Who Am I to Fear

As a father and a person who worries about everything, there's always a knot in my stomach when the kids are out of sight. They're in the neighbors yard. It's safe and nice and everything is fine. I know that. But I still peer out the window.

Everything ok? Who's around? Didn't that car already drive by?

I'm afraid of abductors and molestors and the just plain cruel. Strangers that can come along and destroy a kid's happy psyche without me knowing about it.

But experience tells me this is silly. There are no monster's lurching around my neighborhood.

Yesterday, driving to work, the big display signs above the highway listed another Amber alert. All it said was "Amber Alert, Downtown area, dial 511." Just as if it said as usual, "Slow traffice, exit 1a 5-10 min. delay."

And I thought, Dad got her. Or boyfriend. Or pervert uncle.

They found the girl today. Dead. Here's the story and her picture. The father got her.

As I said back in February in this post, it's rarely a stranger who grabs the kid or drags them into a closet or smacks them around.

The boogie man isn't lurking on the corner ready to grab your kids. He's across the Thanksgiving Day table. He's welcomed in as dad or uncle or the old family friend or the trusted neighbor.

Stay You.
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