Teressa Lee Honeycutt
Copyright 2002, all rights reserved
While writing the book, The Abduction of Rebecca, a book of fiction that was inspired by a true event, I searched for an answer to the question that has plagued our society for generations. Why? Why are there those that walk among us who are seemingly normal, but possess deep down within their souls the yearning to destroy what is most precious—the innocence, the trust, and the well being of our children?
I began to focus on my own childhood, and in the process came to realize that everything I am today is the result of the harvest of the seeds that were implanted within me upon my conception. The seeds were the result of the harvest of two mentally healthy adults, who individually possess within them, an emotional well being that allowed them to give freely of themselves, and provide the love, support, protection, and environment that is crucial to the development of children throughout their childhood years.
These adults—my parents—while providing a clean, healthy environment throughout the season of my growth—my childhood—not only nurtured the seeds implanted deep down within my soul with kindness, goodness, empathy, compassion, and most of all love, but also, instilled within me a sense of high moral values.
As a result the season of my growth—my childhood—reaped the harvest of the adult who is mentally healthy and possesses the same emotional well being needed to nurture the seeds of my seeds—my child—with the same kindness, goodness, empathy, compassion, and love that I sustained in the growing season of my life—my childhood.
Of course no one or nothing is perfect, especially me, and there were times in my childhood that I tested the strength of my parents’ patience. Needless to say, it was at these times that I came to understand the meaning of the ten-letter word, discipline. I quickly discovered that this was a word I could live without, and had I had my way, at that time in my life I would have banished it from the English dictionary; but after having a child of my own I’m here to say, that as an adult I would have been the first one to put it back in.
The remarkable thing about discipline is that it can be administered with the merciful hand of goodness, as opposed to the careless hand of evil. My mother, who was the disciplinarian in my family, was always very careful never to discipline her children in anger. If she were angry about something we had done she would simply say, "We will talk about it in a little while," and believe me the anticipation of waiting for a little while to arrive was much worse than the discipline itself.
It was understood that as children within the loving environment of our home, and today even as adults, there is nothing we can’t speak with our parents about. The lines of communication are always open no matter what the subject.
As a child at an early age, I was taught that not everyone in the world is kind and loving.
It was explained to me, even though many people are what they seem, some are not.
I was cautioned about the lure of the stranger, and also told that no one, no matter who they were, should ever touch me in a way that made me feel uncomfortable. Under no circumstances was I ever to get in the car with anyone, without first getting the permission of my parents. Although I had no understanding of the meaning behind what I was told, I abided by the rules because I knew it must be something of great importance, not only because of the tone of voice used in explaining this to me, but also because of the look in the eyes of my parents as it was being explained. The expression in their eyes relayed a look that I had never before seen. Usually the eyes of my parents were kind and loving, but on these occasions when we spoke about this subject their eyes expressed a look that I later came to understand was the look of sadness and concern.
Of course as I grew older I understood the message my parents were sending, but did not fully realize the impact of what they were saying. I had only been exposed to the good our world possesses, and evil at that time of my life, did not exist in my world. In my world only the seeds of that nurtured in goodness grew, and the seeds of evil did not penetrate; for me they were non-existent.
In the time of my youth, my childhood, there was little mention on the evening news or in the newspapers of the frequency in which child abuse in all its forms is committed. It has only been in the last twenty to twenty-five years that we as a society have been exposed, mostly due to the efforts of the media, to the fact that this crime is a crime that occurs frequently and is one that is becoming more common with each tick of the clock.
At the age of fourteen, on a beautiful spring morning in April of 1969, I rose to greet the day. The day began just like every other day of my life had begun; it was just another ordinary morning. I met my father in the den as he was leaving for work, had breakfast with my sister, and waited for my mother to arrive home. She worked the graveyard shift as a supervisor for Pacific Telephone, and was always home at 7:30 A.M., just as she was that morning to drive me to school.
As mom dropped me off I remember kissing her goodbye and waving as she drove away. I was always very thankful to have such a wonderful person in my life. She, as well as my father, was the strength of the foundation that supported me then as a child, and even now as an adult. Though I didn’t realize it at the moment, this would be the day that tested the strength of that foundation, not only on that day, but each day of the rest of my life. On this day the seeds of that nurtured in goodness would be harvested and called upon to protect me against the seed of evil that was about to penetrate my world.
Upon walking across the campus to my homeroom I heard shouting and the sound of screams in the distance. I immediately followed the sounds and came upon a scene that involved a crowd of teenagers. In the crowd were many I had known most of my life and standing in the middle of the crowd was Toni, a girl my age whom I didn’t know well, but had seen around school and talked to her when I saw her. Toni was being spit upon, slapped and kicked by another classmate who was a very good friend of mine, Virginia.
Shocked, I made my way to Virginia and pulled her away from Toni. I screamed, "Virginia what are you doing? Stop it!" Virginia screamed for me to stay out of it, and as I continued to push her away from Toni who was obviously hurt, I explained that I would not stay out of it. I asked her to explain to me what was wrong. As she reached around me and slapped Toni again, she said, "She is a pervert. Ask her she’ll tell you.
Go ahead, she’ll tell you how she pulled her clothes off and sexually assaulted a set of twins that were only four years old!"
Stunned I turned to Toni and asked, "Toni you didn’t do that, did you?" Toni never denied it. Instead she smiled and with a cold unfeeling look in her eyes that expressed no remorse, no sadness, and no love, only a haunting darkness, she said, "Yeah, I did!"
Instantly I was filled with the same rage I knew Virginia must have felt. My first instinct was to do the same thing Virginia had done, but instead I took her hand and with the crowd following close behind I led her to the vice principal’s office.
I explained everything that had happened to the vice principal and asked that she call Toni’s mother. In my innocence I believed that once her mother found out she would make it all right. After all, that’s what mothers do. They make everything all right.
The vice principal did call in Toni’s mother, and I was surprised to see the mirrored image of Toni’s eyes in hers when she began to explain that indeed Toni was telling the truth, but she felt that what happened in their private lives was no one’s business. After all, she explained, "Toni didn’t kill anyone it is just her way of showing affection."
With this comment the vice principal became visibly enraged and informed Toni’s mother that a crime had been committed and she felt it was certainly the business of others, especially the authorities. She then looked at me and said I was free to go to class or I could go home. I explained that my mom worked nights and slept during the day while I was at school and elected to go to class.
I never saw Toni again and have often wondered what happened to her. I can only hope that she not only received the help she so desperately needed, but also, that the authorities were contacted and she was put through whatever judicial process was available for a child of her age, and received the punishment she so rightfully deserved.
As for her mother, it wasn’t hard to figure out after only meeting her briefly on that spring day of years past, that the environment she provided Toni throughout the season of her growth—her childhood—nurtured the seeds implanted deep down within her soul with an evil that reaped the bountiful harvest of overwhelming devastation.
Though I never met them, each time I turn on the evening news and view a story of a child’s tragedy, I am reminded of the twins who have remained in my thoughts throughout my life. I pray that the strength of their foundation, what supported them, their parents were able with the help of professionals to guide them through and sustain a clean, healthy environment throughout the remaining season of their growth—their childhood—and only the seeds implanted deep down within their souls nurtured with kindness, goodness, empathy, compassion, and most of all love were the bountiful harvest of their adult years.
Though it is true the seed of evil penetrated my world at an early age, and still today in my dreams I see the haunting eyes of darkness, and the smile of terror, the strength of my foundation and the seeds of that nurtured in goodness and harvested on that spring day of years past, still protect me from the devastating effects of the seeds of evil that threaten to penetrate my world on a daily basis.
As a society we must understand that today’s child is tomorrow’s future. If we have any hope at all for a bright and happy future, we must stop the cycle of child abuse in all of its forms. How do we begin to stop the cycle of abuse? We begin with the very next child by remembering that throughout life we are blessed with many gifts, but none is greater than the gift of a child. With the miracle of childbirth, we are given a being who is innocent, pure, free from all external influences, and devoid of any prejudice or hate. The child is the seed of perfection and is dependent upon us, the parents, from the moment of conception. It is our responsibility to not only provide a clean, healthy environment for our child, but to nurture the seed of perfection with kindness, goodness, empathy, compassion and love throughout their season of growth—their childhood. Hopefully, the result of such an effort will produce a mentally healthy secure adult, who in turn, will have no problem nurturing their seed of perfection in the same way. It is said with love all things are possible, and I truly believe this is true. Nurture your seed of perfection with only kindness, goodness, empathy, compassion and love, and who knows, perhaps someday the world will be as perfect as a newborn child.
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