SEYMOUR AVE.

April 9, 2019

     It was a beautiful spring day last week and I was eager to go to the grocery store but instead I took a drive to just look around my town.  And my journey took me to Seymour Ave. where Ariel Castro held Amanda Berry, Michelle Knight and Gina DeJesus were held captive.  I kept asking myself why would I do this.  I think a big part was just that curiosity one has when they see an accident on the freeway and they just have to slow down and look, but there was something else.  I could not believe that this happened so close to where I live and that nobody knew for over a decade.  There were people outside that day and the house has since been demolished, but all I could think of was how out of touch we can be with each other. I wondered if people were walking outside all those years when those girls were being raped repeatedly and beaten.  In my old apartment, I have had neighbors who lived below me knock on my door to see if I was ok because they heard me fall.   I realized that I don't have a clue how much others are suffering.  I don't want to commiserate and hear sob stories, but I just wonder when I see an acquaintance on Facebook, or a fellow actor on TV looking so happy, what they are really going through.   So many people have been so "there" for me when I have had a problem or a crisis.  But none of us knew what was happening to these beautiful young women. When I came home, I told a friend what I had done with great embarrassment questioning my sanity. I went on line and saw Michelle Knight on Dr. Phil telling him that she was now married and was giving inspirational talks around the country. She looked so happy.  She had no support from her family when she got out, yet she survived and I think that was the big lesson for me. That she survived and thrived.  And maybe  that's why on that beautiful sunny day I took a drive.