On Saturday, March 2, 2013, on a beautiful winter afternoon in Galesburg, IL, a 7 year old boy, playing in the snow, was attacked by a vicious pit bull, was mauled, partially eaten, and killed. At some point during this attack the police were called; they tried to disengage the dog from the boy, Ryan Maxwell, and had to shoot the beast. Ryan was taken to the hospital, dying shortly thereafter. He was buried on Thursday. There was a visitation on Wednesday, which I attended with my youngest brother, Ben, who is a friend of Ryan’s grandfather, Tom Mead, to whom this boy was the joy of his life! I have been obsessed this past week with the horror of this event, as has many others in our community. My last post was on “To feel is to heal”, and the past week has been an opportunity for many of us to feel: grief, sadness, remorse, anger, compassion, and many other emotions. You see, on that day, I was visiting my mother and two brothers who live with her, in a trailer court, about two blocks from where this horrendous event had just taken place, though I didn’t hear about it until a few hours later. My second grade grandson, who is 8 years old, had accompanied me on this visit and he played outside for about 2 hours, in his snow clothes, building an igloo fort. This tragedy could just as easily have happened to the joy of my life, or another unsuspecting child in the neighborhood. Between visiting and helping my mother take a shower, I looked outside every now and then at my grandson to check on him, though I knew nothing about this dog at that time. It’s rare for my grandson to be outside alone for any real length of time, even though most of us grew up doing just that: hanging out for hours, basically unafraid that we’d be snatched up by anything or anyone.
I did not know Ryan, but have read in the Galesburg Register Mail newspaper what a joy he was to all who knew him. His second grade classmates from Nielson made cards for Ryan, which were displayed on a long table at the funeral home, and many of them attended the visitation. I almost dreaded going to the service, but my brother and I left the service feeling really glad that we did attend, and felt like a heaviness was lifted from us. The funeral services we hold for our loved ones really do provide us an opportunity for closure, which doesn’t end all our suffering or longing for our beloved, but it somehow helps when we gather together and rally around each other with tears and hugs to express our feelings of sadness and celebration for the life of our loved one who has just passed from physicality into the spirit world. And therein lies our hope, to be reunited at some point with those special personalities which we grew to love in this earth life. We must remember that each day with our loved ones is a blessing, and try not to take each other for granted. Some folks we naturally “click with” and others take more effort to understand and appreciate, but we should welcome the opportunity to do so. And now for more feelings on this event. My brother Bill, has nearly had a nervous breakdown; he is overcome with guilt, and feeling grief-stricken, because he was attacked by this same dog once, and nearly attacked another time as he walked home from his second shift job at a nearby factory . On both encounters with this ferocious beast he stood his ground, telling the dog sternly to “go home”, and knowing that he could not turn his back on this dog. He told us that his jacket was shredded on one occasion, but he was not bitten. He is overcome with remorse that he did not report these incidents to the police earlier, for if he did, possibly the dog would have been destroyed, and this litte boy would not have died. So get this: my brother Ben reluctantly told his friend, the deceased boy’s grandfather, at the visitation, about our brother Bill having been attacked previously by this dog, and how our brother was suffering (and had taken to his bed). Tom Mead told us that he would come see my brother Bill. I thought he meant maybe after burying his grandson he might come see my brothers. But Tom and his wife (I’m sorry that I forgot her first name) came to my mother’s trailer from the visitation to comfort and console my brother Bill, who missed four days of work because he is so guilt-ridden. I took my brother Bill to work yesterday; he was moving really slow, barely able to function; and he told me that he had thought he didn’t have any support group, but he felt it was a miracle that the Meads came to see him and rally round him, and held him, and comforted him! Can you imagine the love and compassion that one must have for friends that the Meads in their own sleepless grief would take the time and effort to go console a person that could possibly have saved their precious little one from such a gruesome death, had he acted by informing authorities about this fierce canine who was running free. And I do not purport to know the owners of this dog, but I assume that a dog who is treated lovingly and who is well-fed does not turn into the vicious animal that took this young boy’s life from him. And I do know that some people purposefully make their canines mean, to protect them, their property, their drugs, or whatever. I’m writing to the Mayor regarding the current city “dangerous dog ordinance”, as I believe as many others do, that the rules need to be stricter and better enforced to protect our children from wild animals and the persons who keep such animals. In the case of the dog in question: it was not even registered, which is the least of the responsibilities of a dog owner. We must all learn from all we stand witness to in life, and do what we can individually and collectively to make our society a better, safer place to live and raise our children. Ryan Aiden Maxwell was laid to rest on Thursday, March 7th. There were 3 big picture boards full of snapshots of Ryan; and all who loved him gathered to celebrate his short life. He will not be forgotten, even by some of us who never got a chance to know him! Ryan loved knock-knock jokes and the television documentary series: Finding Bigfoot (on Animal Planet). The production managers of that show were contacted and they plan to dedicate an upcoming episode to Ryan Maxell. Ryan’s grandfather, Tom Mead, even bought a camper before losing Ryan, so that they could go camping and looking for Bigfoot. That plan will never come to fruition. Ryan’s mother, Sarah Mead, has a one year old son to raise, and she said that if she didn’t have him (Jay-jay) that she thinks she would have “committed suicide by now”. She said, “I feel like my soul is gone. I feel like my life has been taken away from me”. Our prayers are with the loved ones of Ryan Maxwell, and all who came to care for them. Lord, help us heal this grief.
Mar 25 2013
“Planting Peace?”
With Spring at hand, many of us turn to thoughts of what we shall plant. What we decide to grow (what we give our energies to) is up to each of us, and we reap what we sow. Sowing seeds of kindness, patience, and respect in the soil (consciousness) of tolerance and understanding, fertilized with (our endeavors) comforting words and warmth shown to others, and watered with our tears of compassion and forgiveness: cultivating with good deeds, charity and humility, we should expect to reap big returns of peace and harmony. We all must till our own ground, respecting each other’s plots, but we can broadcast seeds of love freely, knowing they will land where needed. We do not uproot our plantings to check the progress of their growth; instead we wait in good faith, nourishing the seedlings, and warming them with the sunshine of our love. We watch, making ready for the coming harvest. “The poor suffering heart needs its rightful nutriment, such as peace, patience in tribulation, and a priceless sense of the dear Father’s loving kindness”, says, Mary Baker Eddy (MBE), in her book: <U>Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures</U> , pg 365/line 32.
I say, Let us provide that “rightful nutriment” for each other in our efforts to grow a better world garden.
Matthew 12:33 (Holy Bible: St James version) “for the tree is known by his fruit”. Luke 8:15 (same source as above) “…on the good ground are they, which in a honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience”.
MBE in S & H, pg 270-271: “The life of Christ Jesus was not miraculous, but it was indigenous to his spirituality — the good soil wherein the seed of Truth springs up and bears much fruit”.
S & H, pg 517, line 30: “Divine Love blesses its own ideas, and causes them to multiply, –to manifest His power”. S & H, pg 518, line 19: “Love giveth to the least spiritual idea might, immortality, and goodness, which shine through all as the blossom shines through the bud”. Let us sow and reap peace!
By spiritspeak • Spirit 0 • Tags: Peace, Spirit