Morning News: Friend or Foe?

I cherish my early morning hours,before everyone in my home is awake and geared for action. I savor every sip of my tea while I turn my television to Good Morning America and share my quiet time with Diane and Robin. The twist in all of this is that I have grown to hate the news. I detest it,as a matter of fact,because it is filled with stories of sadness and violence. I ask myself every day why I make it a part of my daily routine and I know the answer. It's for the few stories of miracles that we hear about. Just this morning they reported about a little boy in California,under two years old,who had fallen into a pool and drowned. He had no pulse and wasn't breathing for TWO hours. All attempts of CPR were unsuccessful. And then suddenly,he just woke up and he's fine. No brain damage,no physical problems. They're calling him Miracle Michael. Now that is uplifting.

I also watch to find out the latest on the Democratic Primary results. I am a huge supporter of Hiliary Clinton and it's with bated breath that I await the latest results. Lately,this hasn't proven to be the most uplifting start to my day however. But yesterday,the team of GMA reported on a story that touched me so deeply,I felt it needed to be discussed,if for no other reason than to bring it to the attention of many because it's a vital issue,a problem that is going unnoticed every day,and we all need to become more aware. You never know when a bit of personal knowledge may help in making a difference later in someone's life.

The story that I am talking about involved the recent murder of a 17 year old girl,on her front porch at point blank range,by her ex-boyfriend who had been hiding in her bushes waiting for her to come out. She was a beautiful girl,with long,dark hair and striking features,but more importantly,she had goals for herself. She was planning on joining the United States Air Force after graduation and had aspirations of becoming a journalist after that. But you see,as horrific as her murder is,the worse part are the events leading up to it.

Her mother stated that initially,Mr. Wonderful appeared to be the all-american guy,a straight A student who showed respect to her daughter and their family. But as their relationship progressed,he became controlling and even became violent,hitting her on more than one occassion. During this time,and during the time following the break-up,the police were called an asounding nine times,but nothing was ever done. The girl was afraid to press charges,so the mother wanted to press them on her behalf since she was a minor and was told that she could not. A mother,trying to protect her own child,and received no help from their police department. Help that may have saved her daughter's life had the police let the mom exercise her parental rights.

Now here's the kicker. Two days before the murder took place,this girl saw her ex looking at her through her bedroom window while she was trying to go to sleep that night. He was not only trespassing,but stalking her. She went downstairs,told her mother,and the cops were promptly called. They came,but never arrested him. Two days later,he stalked her again from those very same bushes in her yard,only this time,he killed her.

The news will always be filled with stories of sadness like this,simply because the world is filled with deranged lunatics that the police don't pay attention to until a horrid crime is committed. I chose to share this story with you all,because it proves how serious an issue domestic violence really is and that it can happen to teens as easily as it can adults. I have three children,and I am well aware that I cannot keep them hidden away from the outside world,keeping them protected forever. But watch for signs of abnormality in anyone that is close to your heart may be associated with. Do anything and everything that you can from the beginning to stop it before it ends in tragedy,just as this young girl's life did.

As for myself,I will continue to watch the news. I will watch it for the "Miracle Michael's" out there. I'm a sucker for all things heartwarming and it gives me the faith I need to believe that miracles really do happen. I guess I could believe in worse things,right?