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Lance Harwell honored my cousin Terry Hatton on September 11, 2010. He flew an American flag over Afghanistan in an MC-12W. Lance sent me the flag along with a certificate that reads: “This American flag flew over the skies of Afghanistan in an MC-12W, Aircraft #647, in support of Operation Enduring Freedom on 11 Sep 2010 in memory of Capt. Terence Hatton, Rescue 1 FDNY.”
War and Remembrance
During the wake for my cousin Terry Hatton, his father described Terry’s death as a casualty of war. Terry was captain of FDNY Rescue 1. He was one of the many brave firefighters to run into the burning World Trade Center after it had been attacked by terrorists.
Lance Harwell performed with Einstein Simplified for several years before joining the Air Force. He is stationed at Bagram Airfield and serves on an MC-12W in Project Liberty. A week ago he sent me an email offering to fly an American flag during a mission over Afghanistan on September 11 in honor of my cousin. I thank Lance and all those who dedicate their lives to protecting our safety and freedom.
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Pentagon in 60 Minutes
Two forms of identification were required for my tour of The Pentagon. I used my driver’s license and my Dollywood Season Pass. The tour was arranged for the members of the FBI Knoxville Citizens’ Academy Alumni Association who had made the trip to Washington, D.C. There will be no pictures to accompany this blog post. As soon as I stepped out of the Metro station, I saw the “No Photography” sign. We passed through the metal detectors and waited for our tour guide to give us a security briefing. Once the tour started, there would be no eating, drinking or bathroom breaks because we could not be left unaccompanied.
Pentagon tour guides walk backwards the entire time. The tour lasts about an hour, which is less time than it would take to see everything. The tour guides memorize a script for all the possible sights and then steer their group to see as much as they can in the time limit. They might change course if another group is in the way. Our guide took us through a hallway decorated with a series of displays honoring the ANZUS Treaty. After that, we walked through a hallway decorated with exhibits of non-military actions such as famine relief, the Korean orphan airlift and assistance provided to victims after natural disasters of every type around the world.
The most significant part of our Pentagon tour was a visit to the September 11th memorial chapel, on the inside of the building at the site of the attack. The names of the Flight 77 and Pentagon victims were engraved in marble. Sheets of parchment and pencils were available for family members who wished to make a rubbing of their loved one’s name. The hallways leading to the chapel were lined with framed quilts, most made by schoolchildren. There were dozens of quilts on view and even more quilts that are in storage. The display quilts occasionally get rotated with those in storage.
In the center of the Pentagon is a courtyard that is the military’s largest no hat, no salute zone. It is big enough to contain the U.S. Capitol. We were told that during the Cold War, the Soviets watched the courtyard from their spy satellites. They saw many people going in and out of a wooden structure in the center and were convinced that it hid the entry to an underground bunker. As the story goes, they pointed their missiles at the small building, making it the world’s most dangerous hot dog stand.
Gone So Long
A face on the screen at the FBI Laboratory brought back a flood of sad memories. At the beginning of a briefing on evidence response teams and evidence analysis, they showed several victims of crimes including Melissa Brannen. She was 5 years old when she disappeared from a Christmas party in Lorton, Virginia. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children created an image of what Melissa would have looked like at age 21.
Melissa’s mother, Tammy Brannen, used to come on the air with us at WAVA and plead for her child’s safe return. She told us how she and Melissa would listen to our station together in the car. Tammy hoped that her daughter might still be alive and listening while captive.
The case received local and national publicity, including an article in People Magazine. A man who worked at the apartment complex was convicted of abducting Melissa, who has never been found. According to The Charley Project’s website, he could be released in 2010.
Tragedy Minus Time
The souvenir that my son brought home from yesterday’s session of the Forensic Chemistry Camp reminded me that all businesses need to promote themselves, no matter what they sell. I could spend hours clicking on all the links on the Lynn Peavey Company’s website. As the pen says, they are “dead on for all your crime scene supplies.”
People who work with tragedy on a daily basis often use dark humor to help them deal with the situation. At a recent “TweetUp,” I spoke with a woman who worked as an EMT. She remembered joking about a case in which a driver seemed to disappear from his vehicle. His body was eventually found in the branches of the tree he hit. If you work in a similar field, feel free to share your stories in the comment section without getting too gross.
Unnecessary Deaths
Social media is changing everything about the way we live. A local tragedy caused that message to hit home once again. Christene Rivera was murdered on Saturday. She was a listener who had “friended” me on Facebook in January. She used the name Michelle Mabe Rivera online and would sometimes comment on my posts and invite me to her events at her business. I am almost positive that we met at the March for Babies this past April. Not sure what else to do, I posted a note asking other listeners to pray for the repose of her soul.
In radio’s past, most of our listeners remained anonymous to us. The only names we would know were the active contest players who seemed to win every 45 days. Because of Facebook and Twitter, it is easier than ever for us to get to know our audience. Michelle’s murder reminded me of another death that happened before the prevalence of Facebook and Twitter. Exactly four years earlier, Christina Eubanks’ body was found in a shallow creek. I recognized her face on the news as a frequent attendee at Einstein Simplified shows.
Two other tragic events are being documented online. Katie Allison Granju’s son Henry died last week. She has written about the drug addiction and beating that led to Henry’s brain injury and death. I met Katie once at a “blogfest” organized by Rich Hailey, my friend and “blogfather.” Just before Henry died, Rich’s son Luke was badly injured in an automobile accident. He has written several powerful pieces about the overlap between the boys’ hospitalizations and about his feelings as a parent.
Deliver Us from Evil
A blog post I wrote last weekend needs a follow-up post this weekend. An article about the rate of sexual abuse among all groups of men, not just Catholic priests, inspired me to speak up. Although the percentage of abusers is about the same in every denomination, it seems to me that Catholics get a disproportionate share of the blame and the publicity. A Facebook friend sent me the link to a two-year-old blog post that also pointed out the disparity. It quotes a Jewish businessman who said the media had an anti-Catholic bias then.
Let me make it clear that no abuse should be tolerated or abetted and that all abusers must be removed from their ministry or position of authority. That includes priests, rabbis, preachers, scout leaders, teachers, etc. I am saddened that the crimes of the few overshadow the good deeds of the many. In many cases the abuser tries to get close to the family of his intended victim. He spends time building a false sense of trust with the victim. I spoke with some staff members at Catholic Charities who told me that they provide assistance almost daily to children who have been abused by their uncles, step-fathers, biological fathers or other non-celibate male relatives.
On Wednesday, a man announced to the press that he had been sexually abused by a priest in Kingsport during the 1970s. At that time, East Tennessee was still part of the Diocese of Nashville. Knoxville Bishop Richard Stika met with the now-retired priest, who admitted his crime. The bishop permanently removed the man from the ministry. A letter from the bishop asking any other victims to come forward will be read at all Masses in the Diocese on Sunday. My wife and I feel that Bishop Stika’s response has been textbook. Frank Weathers wrote a blog post on the site Why I Am Catholic that agrees. Back here on my site, a blog reader named Michelle left the following comment on my post from last Saturday:
I was raised Catholic and have continued in the Catholic faith my entire life. This morning my mother called to tell me about the front page story with Father Casey and how he admitted to sexually abusing someone. I was baptized at St. John Neumann in 1978 and Father Casey was the priest there from the time I was 9 till I was 19. I was very active in the church and with the youth and very close to Father Casey. This is personally devastating to me, that I man I looked up to and admired has admitted to committing such horrible acts. It’s even worse that every time I turn around there is some negative comment or joke being made about my religion. I guess the funny thing is, I listen to your show most mornings and came straight to your blog when I heard the news, hoping that someone who cares about the Catholic faith as I do would have something to say about this. In reading this post, it made me feel a little better that people are trying to stick up for our faith while denouncing those who have done bad things in the name of it. So, thank you, thank you for trying to educate those who have only heard or only believe the bad things they hear.
Through this blog and through my job on the radio, I am openly Catholic. Some of my friends jokingly call me an “out-of-the-closet Catholic” in the Bible Belt where so many people are Baptist. I received the following email on Thursday from a listener named Alicia:
I just wanted to thank you for your response to the news story about the priest who is being investigated for abuse in our Diocese. It was refreshing to hear a well thought out and factual discussion about pedophilia and the Church.
I have had many discussions with friends about this issue and have been frustrated to no end at the accusations that our doctrine and traditions are “causing” priests to act out. I have been working hard to explain to all my friends about the changes the Church has been making to protect children, and to prevent or at least properly handle future crimes. People asking me “How can you stay?” and needless to say, it’s been a difficult few years defending my faith.
Thanks for not being afraid to talk about your faith and our Church on-air.
The mood at Tom & Barry’s on Thursday night was slightly subdued. A mostly Catholic crowd had shown up on Tax Day because the restaurant donated proceeds and tips to Catholic Charities that night. I spoke with fellow parishioners and with some listeners who needed to talk about the day’s events. My friend Fr. Ragan Schriver was extremely unhappy about the ex-priest’s vile deeds against his victim. I didn’t know what would happen should an abuser admit to his crimes within the seal of the confessional. I learned later that the priest hearing the confession will compel the abuser to contact civil authorities. Fr. Ragan told me that abusers often think they are above it all and do not even confess their crimes. Friday’s email contained something happier. I don’t know why listener Kellie chose that day to write but it certainly brightened my mood:
We have never met, but I owe you a great big thank you. My husband, daughter and I moved to Knoxville last June and we are members of All Saints. My step-children are members of [a nearby] Baptist congregation. At home they are taught that Baptists are the only correct religion and that Catholics are wrong. This is something that we struggle with on the weekends that we have them because their mother insists that we drop them at their church on Sunday, and pick them up after. They are discouraged from attending church with us.
My husband and I were at Christmas Eve mass when you were narrating. I told this to my 8-year-old step daughter when I saw her on Christmas and she was fascinated. Ever since then, it has been her mission to see you at church. She now comes with us to church on Sunday. Well, last weekend we were sitting in the front row of church and there you were. You would have thought that she saw Santa! It was a riot. After church, while getting donuts, both of the girls stood there so they could hear your voice just to be sure. Her new mission is to find out who your wife is!
I will do whatever I can to open their mind to the Catholic religion, and for the last 4 months, it has been the excitement of seeing you!
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