THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 26, 1995 TAG: 9502260035
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SOURCE: PAUL SOUTH
LENGTH: Medium: 53 lines
It was a tough week for the human heart on the Outer Banks. A sick and brutal drama of jealousy, hate and vengeance played out before our eyes, and the lives of three innocent children were snuffed.
We are left with sadness for their grieving family, and a bagful of unanswered ``Whys?''
In the wake of this tragedy, it would be easy enough to give in to hopelessness and despair. And it deserves repeating one more time that if a society is to be judged based on how we treat our children and our elderly, we are in a sorry mess.
But a few people we've come across in recent weeks, through snapshots of their lives, provide us with reason for hope.
A world that gave us again and again the image of police officers clubbing Rodney King also has shown us Chief Jim Gradeless and the Kill Devil Hills Police Department. Gradeless, a 20-year law enforcement veteran and a former Green Beret, fought to hold back tears as he recounted last Sunday's tragedy.
And remember the firefighters, who with blackened hands risked their lives to put out the blaze, only to learn that three children had died in the Delaware van. Know, too, that the firefighters hurt.
In a world that screams in our ears about clergy who stumble while running the race their calling demands, there comes the whisper of Father Terry Collins. Collins serves three counties for the Diocese of Raleigh, including two Spanish-speaking congregations of migrant workers. He also serves as an active chaplain for the Nags Head Police Department. Think of Father Terry, and it is hard not to be reminded of the words of the scriptures: ``Whatever you do for the least of these . . . ''
The world has shown us more than we want to see about marriages gone bad, parents who neglect (and sometimes kill) their children, and offspring who blame their parents for their own failings.
But in the little town of Hertford, Jimmy and Helen Hunter talk in glowing terms of their children, and of the memories of their parents. Ask the man known nationally as ``Catfish'' Hunter, now 48, what brings him his greatest joy, and he will tell you: ``Watching my children do well.'' From a pair of high school sweethearts, you can learn quickly that true joy isn't found in money, or status, or World Series rings or Hall of Fame plaques. Happiness is home and family in Hertford.
The poet Oscar Wilde had an appropriate description of life in this seemingly graceless age.
``All of us are in the gutter,'' he said, ``but some of us are looking at the stars.''
Therein lies the hope. by CNB