Amber Alert Had Impact on Writer

To The Editor:
The other day we had an Amber Alert. The Emergency Broadcast System kept going off on television urging us all to turn to the local information channel. A two-year-old boy had been kidnapped about an hour before the alert. That little boy has been on my mind so much since then, that I didn’t sleep well and was awake in time to watch the sunrise.
As I walked, I kept thinking about that little boy. I was sitting on the beach, feeling the sun on my face, and the wind in my hair. What did he wake up to? My mind goes to the darkest places when I think about it, and try as I might not to envision the worst, I am betrayed by horror stories I’ve heard, articles I’ve read and news bytes I’ve seen.
I look out my window…I live in a quiet, residential neighborhood. It’s times like these that I realize that it’s “too” quiet. No youngsters laughing and playing. No high pitched squeals of kids having outdoor adventures, learning new and exciting things about their world first hand. I cannot help but think that the lack of children playing outside correlates to the seemingly increased incidents like this one. How did this happen?
Sometimes, it seems to me like we’ve allowed too many people to believe it’s “okay” to abuse a child, and that really gets under my skin. I get angry, and when I realize the futility of that anger, I get introspective. I pray for the boy. I pray for the mother. I have never had children of my own, but I’ve helped raise a few and I can only imagine what the mother of this child must be going through. I can only imagine what this little boy must be feeling, and most unfortunately, I can only imagine a world where there is no need for Amber Alerts.
SANDE STUART
North Wildwood