To read the tribute to SFC Marcus Muralles, please click here
Wednesday, June 08, 2005
Her Fifteen Minutes of Fame
We interupt our regularly scheduled vacation for this ramble.
By now, almost everyone in the United States has heard of Natalee Holloway. In case you've been living under a rock, she's the Alabama teen who went missing in Aruba over a week ago. Although there is no evidence (that has been made public), most people think she is dead. Her story got me thinking. About a lot of different things.
From what we've been told, Natalee is a not-so-typical teen. Straight A student. Scholarship recipient. Very attractive. Popular. Good-hearted. As a CBS article stated, "Miss Perfect." Everything ahead of her. And something went very tragically wrong. Why?
Well, it would be easy to put the blame on the bad guys (if there was truly foul play- some are wondering about an accidental death). And, in the end, that would be right. IF someone murdered her, then they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But that's not really what I'm talking about here.
She was young- just eighteen. Now, I know some eighteen year olds are incredibly mature and responsible, but let's face facts. Most aren't. And, even though those who claim to know her best say that it was out of character for her to leave with strangers, witnesses say that she did, and, from all appearances, of her own free will. Because she was young. And young people have this tendency to think they're bullet-proof.
I vaguely remember being eighteen. I was a very intelligent, incredibly STUPID kid who did really stupid things. Oh, I didn't think they were stupid at the time. Of course not. They were "grown up" things to do. "Mature," even. Or so I thought. But, in hindsight, I cringe and thank God on a regular basis that He had what had to be an army of guardian angels watching my backside, almost always protecting me from myself and my blatant immaturity.
Back to Natalee. Mom and Dad probably wanted to reward all of her hard work at school, so she's in an island paradise, enjoying freedoms she's never had before. She no doubt had more than token attention during her vacation from guys (tourists and locals alike. I mean, she's a hottie, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing.) It's her last night before she has to head home to summer school and that summer job. A couple of guys (yeah, I'm guessing at all of this) invite her out to the beach to a party. What could go wrong, right?
From what we can tell, Natalee's mom and dad did a pretty fine job raising their little girl (see her praises above). They spent eighteen years teaching her right from wrong, fostering a possitive work ethic, and, more than likely, showing her the best of humanity while shielding her from as much of its evil as possible. That's a parent's job, right? And then they put her on a plane so she could celebrate her high school graduation with her friends, and they prayed that they did a good enough job and that she would be safe.
No, I don't want to blame Natalee for what appears to have happened to her. It takes very extreme circumstances before I'd even think about blaming a victim of a violent crime for that crime. And I don't want to blame her parents- although they did nothing wrong, they will live with a parent's guilt the rest of their lives. But... there are facts to look at. If she hadn't left the bar with those guys (even if they weren't the ones who hurt her, in the end), she would probably still be alive right now. And if her parents hadn't bought that plane ticket, she'd probably still be alive today.
Thinking about this (at 3:00 in the morning), I'm of two minds about a parent's job. As a mom, my first instinct is to wrap my babies in bubble wrap and protect them from every bump and bruise- that's what moms do, right? But, I also have to prepare my boys, my too-soon-to-be young men, for life outside the nest. I need to do my best to provide for them a firm intellectual, moral, ethical, and spiritual foundation, and help foster the skills that will enable them to make wise decisions. And, then, when the time comes, let them go and pray I got it right (and that God would double the size of that angel army and send them my boys' way). But does that mean that I'd buy them two tickets to Aruba when they're eighteen? Sorry, boys, but unless you want Mommy Dearest tagging along, y'all are out of luck.
Natalee had big plans. Every teen does. Graduate from college and get that great first job. Have a stellar career. Get married. Maybe have a couple of kids. Be a good friend and have a good life. Maybe have her fifteen minutes of fame, but maybe not.
It just makes me sad to think that Natalee got her fifteen minutes of fame- but she more than likely had to die to get it.
Like I said... it's 3am... we now return you to our regularly scheduled vacation.
By now, almost everyone in the United States has heard of Natalee Holloway. In case you've been living under a rock, she's the Alabama teen who went missing in Aruba over a week ago. Although there is no evidence (that has been made public), most people think she is dead. Her story got me thinking. About a lot of different things.
From what we've been told, Natalee is a not-so-typical teen. Straight A student. Scholarship recipient. Very attractive. Popular. Good-hearted. As a CBS article stated, "Miss Perfect." Everything ahead of her. And something went very tragically wrong. Why?
Well, it would be easy to put the blame on the bad guys (if there was truly foul play- some are wondering about an accidental death). And, in the end, that would be right. IF someone murdered her, then they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. But that's not really what I'm talking about here.
She was young- just eighteen. Now, I know some eighteen year olds are incredibly mature and responsible, but let's face facts. Most aren't. And, even though those who claim to know her best say that it was out of character for her to leave with strangers, witnesses say that she did, and, from all appearances, of her own free will. Because she was young. And young people have this tendency to think they're bullet-proof.
I vaguely remember being eighteen. I was a very intelligent, incredibly STUPID kid who did really stupid things. Oh, I didn't think they were stupid at the time. Of course not. They were "grown up" things to do. "Mature," even. Or so I thought. But, in hindsight, I cringe and thank God on a regular basis that He had what had to be an army of guardian angels watching my backside, almost always protecting me from myself and my blatant immaturity.
Back to Natalee. Mom and Dad probably wanted to reward all of her hard work at school, so she's in an island paradise, enjoying freedoms she's never had before. She no doubt had more than token attention during her vacation from guys (tourists and locals alike. I mean, she's a hottie, and I'm not saying that's a bad thing.) It's her last night before she has to head home to summer school and that summer job. A couple of guys (yeah, I'm guessing at all of this) invite her out to the beach to a party. What could go wrong, right?
From what we can tell, Natalee's mom and dad did a pretty fine job raising their little girl (see her praises above). They spent eighteen years teaching her right from wrong, fostering a possitive work ethic, and, more than likely, showing her the best of humanity while shielding her from as much of its evil as possible. That's a parent's job, right? And then they put her on a plane so she could celebrate her high school graduation with her friends, and they prayed that they did a good enough job and that she would be safe.
No, I don't want to blame Natalee for what appears to have happened to her. It takes very extreme circumstances before I'd even think about blaming a victim of a violent crime for that crime. And I don't want to blame her parents- although they did nothing wrong, they will live with a parent's guilt the rest of their lives. But... there are facts to look at. If she hadn't left the bar with those guys (even if they weren't the ones who hurt her, in the end), she would probably still be alive right now. And if her parents hadn't bought that plane ticket, she'd probably still be alive today.
Thinking about this (at 3:00 in the morning), I'm of two minds about a parent's job. As a mom, my first instinct is to wrap my babies in bubble wrap and protect them from every bump and bruise- that's what moms do, right? But, I also have to prepare my boys, my too-soon-to-be young men, for life outside the nest. I need to do my best to provide for them a firm intellectual, moral, ethical, and spiritual foundation, and help foster the skills that will enable them to make wise decisions. And, then, when the time comes, let them go and pray I got it right (and that God would double the size of that angel army and send them my boys' way). But does that mean that I'd buy them two tickets to Aruba when they're eighteen? Sorry, boys, but unless you want Mommy Dearest tagging along, y'all are out of luck.
Natalee had big plans. Every teen does. Graduate from college and get that great first job. Have a stellar career. Get married. Maybe have a couple of kids. Be a good friend and have a good life. Maybe have her fifteen minutes of fame, but maybe not.
It just makes me sad to think that Natalee got her fifteen minutes of fame- but she more than likely had to die to get it.
Like I said... it's 3am... we now return you to our regularly scheduled vacation.
