Today is my oldest son's 15th Birthday. I'm so impressed by the young man he has become. I could go on an on about his accomplishments and his character. That's not a picture of my son, by the way.
Along with certificates and victories, this school year has been characterized by several tragic events. His friend Katy was murdered by her brother-in-law. Yesterday, another friend took her own life by hanging herself at the local park. Who found her? Why?
I asked the children about her last night. Erin was kind. She had a boyfriend. She was a great student. And she colored her hair almost every day ("ahhh, an artist," I thought)
Evil seems to be swirling closer and closer. I'm haunted by a recent news report about a man, David Wampler, who drugged and raped teenagers in his home. He supplied them every kind of drug from cocaine to oxycontin to nitrous oxide.
David was my student for two semesters. He was the kind of person who made the hair on my arms stand up when he walked by. I dreaded facing him in the hallway or in my office. He often visited me to ask for favors or to talk about his "wild" trips to Ibiza and Mallorca.
I'm not saying I knew he was a criminal. Really, I don't know what conclusion to draw or what lesson to take away except the piercing reality that I need to be all the more vigilant.
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