August 2002

One of the scariest things that we can imagine is someone taking our child. In the news, there has been a rash of kidnappings. Many people have been asking me if the numbers are increasing. The surprising answer is no, the numbers have actually decreased. We are just hearing about it more due to the media.

I am a firm believer that out of every tragedy, good will come, even if we have to search for it awhile to find it. Out of the horrible kidnapping and murder of a little girl in Texas, we got the Amber alerts. We now have a way to mobilize a whole community to find a kidnapped child. The really exciting thing is that it works! Even more exciting is that we felt connected as a community. Even though we are all locked behind our doors and may not have contact with anyone beyond our chat room buddies, for a few hours we were all connected. We were all looking for the car, the girl, the abductor. We were all involved. We all made a difference because girls are coming home safe and alive, because we were involved.

Never, ever feel “what can I, just one person, do to make a difference in this world?” If we all make a small difference, it adds up to making the world a better place. Look, it is already working. Welcome home, girls!