Monster In Our Midst

Oklahoma is not what a lot of people imagine. We do not see tumbleweeds blowing across the prairies in our normal daily activities. We have cities, we have phones, yes, we even have high speed internet!

But some things in Oklahoma are what people expect. We do have small, close knit communities. We tend to trust our neighbors, even forgetting to lock our doors now and then. So what are we to do when we
find out that even some of our neighbors are not good ol' country folks, who respect their elders and help look after the neighboorhood flock of children? At what point do we become more aware? At what point do we become like those big city people, afraid to roll down our car window, not wanting to leave the house without a bulletproof vest? Are we becoming like the rest of the world, the world who laughs at our small town ways? Should we become cold and aloof, never allowing our children to speak to the greeters at Walmart, because you just never know?

Times are definitely changing in our nation, even in small towns across Oklahoma. Twenty years ago, we ran through the fields, playing hard, only coming in to wash the grime from our hands when Mother announced that supper was on the table. We got off the school bus and came home alone. We did not have video games, and television only allowed us three stations, on the good days when the weather was clear. We played with our siblings and our neighbors. We walked five miles to the nearest store to stock up on candy. If anyone offered a ride, it was someone who we knew, who knew our parents, whose children we had spent countless hours with, coming up with ways to relieve the boredom of small town life, climbing to the top of the Mulberry tree, which stood crooked next to the gate leading to the barn. How I hated the boredom as a child... how I long for that boredom for my children now.

So who is this strange person in our midst? It was Jamie Rose Bolin's downstairs neighbor. An average looking guy that she had seen many times before in passing. A guy that seemed friendly, even allowing her to hold his pet mouse. This was a young man that I would have spoken to, had I lived in his complex, as I speak to everyone. How many times did Jamie's father say hello to Kevin Underwood?

I have spent so much the past few weeks pondering all of these things. I sit in my front yard and look at the houses surrounding my own. I think to myself, "Are these people really capable of such acts?" I look at the couple next door, whose children play with my own... "No, it's not possible." Did Jamie's parents think the same thing?

The funeral was attended by thousands of small town people. Children and parents alike have been affected in a way that we just can not put into words. We will heal. Many will forget. Time will tell if Oklahoman's will remain the friendly, trusting people that we are known for. I believe we will. Even with the predators of the world finding their way to our communities, we are not willing to force our children out of their innocence at ten years of age. Unfortunately these monsters do exist, even here in Oklahoma, but here in Oklahoma, we will not let them win. Thank God for small town values!