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The NEW Spirit of St. Louis
I am sure that those who follow my writings have noticed something different lately. For one known primarily as a humorist, my funny bone seems to have gone AWOL as
of late. It's not that nothing humorous has been taking place around me. On the contrary, I have a long list of articles to write.
For instance, the one about how having children manages to ingrain some childlike responses into your own vernacular: Picture my husband Rudy sitting around a
conference table, leading a discussion, when he and a co-worker happened to say the same thing at the same time. Childless adults would have said, "Excuse me" or
some such civilized response. However, Rudy's child altered psyche blurted out "PERSONAL JINX!" before he could catch his tongue, a tongue he then wanted to bite in
half.
My daughters have been amusing as well. Under the influence of the myriad commercials being constantly shown for the new Austin Powers movie, my youngest now
goes around repeating Beyonce Knowles biggest line in the movie. Honestly, you have not lived until you hear a five year old utter, "I'm Foxy Cleopatra. And I'm a whole
lotta woman!" A personal note to Mike Myers and the collective marketing genius behind this movie: Carson is NOT a "whole lotta woman", she is a "whole lotta
impressionable child" who should be allowed to watch Nickelodeon in peace. Shag elsewhere please.
Anyway, the humorous list is long, but the world has had other ideas about what I should be writing. Parents and non parents alike have been emotionally thrashed by the
spate of child abductions and murders taking place in the past few months, and I am no exception. Just as there is list of single monikers like Cher, Brittany, J.Lo, and
Shakira that bring to mind celebrity and fame, there is a growing list that need only first names, Danielle, Elizabeth, Samantha, Jahi and Erica, to bring to mind sorrow,
anger, panic and fear.
That list became longer this past Friday when the name of Cassandra Williamson of St. Louis, Missouri was added. Abducted from her kitchen, she was found abused and
dead less than eight hours later. And in what I consider to be ironic fate, I was to be traveling to St. Louis less than twenty four hours after she was found to drop off my ten
year old for a week long stay with my sister.
Even though the killer is in custody, the mind is not always rational, and so my ten hour drive was dominated by thoughts of where I was heading and fear for my daughter's
safety. Now while my husband and I have spoken a million words with her about awareness, security and the realities of this world, and my sister would give her own life
to protect her niece, I'm a mother and it is both my pain and my privilege to worry.
I have long said that when these things happen, people watch from afar and reassure themselves that it only happens in"other places". It is normal, it is human, it is a
coping mechanism we all use. Arriving in a city blindsided by atrocity and evil, I knew that while the post office would still deliver mail addressed to St. Louis, the residents
had mentally changed their town's name to "Other Places, Missouri."
My daughters and I stopped at a grocery store to pick up a few items for our stay. Entering, the store was strangely quiet. You could see the stress and shock etched
onto the faces of the people inside, and the feeling of fear and anger was palpable. Children either rode in carts or were firmly attached to them, not straying a step from
their parents. Perhaps it was the writer in me, perhaps it was just the Mom, but I finally approached another mother in the cereal aisle, introduced myself as being from out
of town, and asked how she was coping. She gave me a half hearted smile, hugged the toddler in her cart and said, "Not well, but I think we will all learn from this. Don't
take a single second for granted and don't believe that this evil will prevail. Cassandra may be gone, but we will not forget her and her lesson."
Leaving the store, I noted a bunch of balloons attached to a posterboard bearing her photo. Upon it were written those same words, "Cassandra, we will not forget you."
You know, Charles Lindbergh may have succeeded in going transatlantic, but I'm afraid he and his plane will have to move over. Cassandra Williamson is the new "Spirit of
St. Louis".
Copyright © Linda Sharp. Linda is an internationally recognized author & columnist whose work wraps around the globe to appear in print publications from Maine to Malaysia, as well as
across the web. Linda is also creator of the totally irreverent and hysterical website, "Sanity Central: A Time Out From Parenting!" Her latest book, Stretchmarks On My Sanity: The Growing Pains of Raising a Family, has earned her rave reviews and comparisons to
the late Erma Bombeck. She may be reached via email at lsharp03@aol.com. Reprinted with permission.
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