Tuesday, February 14, 2012

"To love someone deeply gives you strength .Being loved by someone deeply gives you courage"-Lao Tzu

Ahhhh...... Valentines Day, a day set aside to share our love and devotion to those we care about.
You will probably find it strange who I have picked for this weeks blog considering it Valentin's Day.
But I hope it conveys the truth I wish to share with my fellow dreamers.
  July 27,1981 Adam the six year old son of John and Reve' Walsh was abducted. Sixteen days after the abduction, his severed head was found in a drainage canal more than 120 miles away from home. His other remains were never recovered.
I hear you saying, and thinking, "Angela why would you talk about this especially the week of Valentines Day!"
 I chose not a person but a couple who's dreams were one of inspiration and deep commitment not only to each other but the dream that would be stirred up in them by the loss of their  first and at the time only son.


During the time when most couples fall apart, this amazing couple took their devastation and loss and turned it into a memorial that would give hope and chance to other victims who had no place to go.
During the time of the six year old"s abduction there was no such thing as the amber alert or Adams code. In fact the police department involved in the Walsh case had no idea where to start.


John Walsh, who you will know as the face, voice, and creator of America's Most Wanted, was living a comfortable life as a hotel partner in Hollywood,Florida.
  His wife Reve, and there six year old son, were shopping for a lamp at a sears department store at the Hollywood mall, across from the Hollywood police department. Reve' had dropped Adam off in the Sears toy department while she looked for a lamp . When she returned about 7 min later, Adam was missing. The police records in Adams case released in 1996 show that a 17 year old security guard asked four boys to leave the department store . Adam is believed to have been one of them.
Following the crime, the Walsh family founded the Adam Walsh Child Resource Center, a non profit organization dedicated to legislative reform. The Walsh family organized a political campaign to help missing and exploited children. Despite bureaucratic and legislative problems, John and Reve's efforts eventually led to the creation of the Missing children Act of 1982 and the Missing children's Act of 1984.


Today the Walsh's continue to testify before congress and 
state legislature on crime,missing children and victim's rights 
issues.The hit TV show "Americas Most Wanted", would over the course of twenty years contributed to the  catch of over 1000 criminal with the help of public awareness. 
Because this couple had a dream of a safer place for children and a system that would protect victims,  we have things in place such as "Code Adam" a movement first made by Walmart stores in the southern United States. A "Code Adam" is announced when a child is missing in a store or if a child is found by a store employee or patron. If the child is lost or missing all doors are locked and a store employee is posted at every exit while a description of the child is generally broadcast over the intercom system. code Adam as a term has become synonymous with a missing child, and is a predecessor to an"Amber Alert" which serves as a system of broadcast-driven community notification. 


Also  the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act was signed by president George W. Bush on July 27,2006. Which primarily focuses on a national sex offender registry that also toughens penalty's for not registering as a sex offender following the release into society.  You can even now, find apps or websites that show you a description of the sex offender, and where they are located in your area.
 This weeks quote is not from John but I would say that John and his wife live a life that says  "Dare to make a change, be the difference!


In all there accomplishments  of which I am so thankful for there is one thing, you may never hear mentioned in their story. But to me it one of the most extraordinary things they have accomplished In fulling their dreams.


In a time where over 68% of couple separate from such overwhelming  grief and hopelessness this couple stayed together. 
And this my friends is where I will hope that you will focus and remember  as you walk into your success, because over half of the dreamers who's dreams have turned into reality somewhere along the way left behind the most import thing in life,  and that is their loved ones, or that husband or wife that was there with them through the good and bad of waiting and working towards the fulfillment of a dream. But truly if this Walsh couple could find a way we can too, perhaps by simply being aware of it"s lurking presence. We can like the Walsh family eliminate the threat of separation.


You may have  thought it strange to write this on Valentines
 Day week, but even the origins of Valentine's Day its self is built upon not that of hearts and roses but a person, that ultimately gave his life, so that love might be preserved . 
   You see,
The alleged Saint Valentin where Valentin's Day originated from, belived so strongly in the power of love that he continued to perform marriages for young lovers in secret during the time when Claudius II decided that single men made better soldiers than those with wives and families so he outlawed marriage for young men.
Valentine realizing the injustice of the decree, defied Claudius and  was marterd for its cause.   Leaving behind what would be the first Valentin"s day card to his beloved. signing it, 
from your Valentine.


I hope that this Valentin's day finds you well on your way, hand in hand, with the ones you love and cherish for
 "To love someone deeply gives you strength , being loved deeply by someone give you courage."
  So tell that special someone  how much you love them and have a great Valentine's Day knowing,
 "You can and you will be all that you dream to be."