It's the last stop of the first day of the tour. We've left North Carolina and are in Virginia. It's already dark when we pull into Lynch Memorial Park, a tranquil spot of candle lights and soft rain. Virginia coordinator Shawn White and the family of Heather Hodges are hosting this rally and it's immediately apparent what an amazing job they have done. Multiple tents were set up with various hanging banners and tables with poster boards of the missing. One area of lawn contained missing persons posters with balloons on posts. I begin walking around, taking pictures, meeting people, and soaking in the beauty of where I am. I love the evening stops, I find I become more reflective and the darkness definitely adds to the event for me. However, I also find them difficult in that I don't see as well, which means I'm constantly misplacing items and checking on things multiple times to make sure I've done them correctly. Also, in meeting people, I have a harder time remembering who is who, what they're names are, and if I've met them before (even on the same night). This can become both distracting and embarrassing.
Heather Hodges was 22 when she disappeared in 2012 and many of the people I met this evening are related to her. I met the mother of Cristopher Douthat who was 24 when he went missing in 2013 and the mother of recovered Cara Holley. After Shawn welcomed everyone, Monica told Leah's story. She then took the opportunity to talk about the press and the double edged sword of the media. It's important in this state to understand how the media works and I admire how easily Monica can tailor her speech to each stop. The road tour is really about getting press for the missing who don't easily get it, both the newer cases and the old cold cases. Cheryl Pagans then spoke for Heather's family. She spoke about how candles fit into our lives and how candles are like people, which was a very interesting comparison. One I've never heard before, and one I hope to use in the future. She explained how they made boats out of paper, each one with a different missing person on it, how each boat contained a tea light and how we should all launch one down the adjacent brook. Off we all went to the water, taking turns in the dark. Following the lights as they sailed down on the water. The pictures I took did not do the imagery any justice. There was even a bridge that you could walk to and see the boats with their flickering lights pass under.
I later found out this rally had really been going on all day beginning before noon and that the press had come and gone earlier in order to make that evening news. To me this showed an added dedication. They took the opportunity that CUE is providing with the tour stop and ran with it, expanding it beyond the original concept and turning it into something of heir own.
Day one down. Seven more to go. We are still a bit unorganized and I'm hoping that gets better. Heather's family secured rooms for us tonight and we are so grateful for that. Knowing where we are staying and that we will get a good night's sleep relieves a lot of our nightly stress. I'm really looking forward to our full day in Virginia tomorrow, a lot of the people I met tonight will be following us to the other locations and that will give me more time to cement new friendships.
Elisa
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