Aaron Being Aaron

This post was started a few days ago and was titled "The Many Faces of Aaron". While looking at one photo of Aaron and two of his young neices, the story took a different direction. Last night I returned to my previous thoughts with a new reflection. Cathy, Patrick and I watched the TV movie "Augusta, Gone" and we were taken back to the days of 2003 when we lost Aaron for the first time.

A promise I made to Cathy will keep me from sharing details of those days today. We have some photos but I refuse to look at them; they are photos of a young man in trouble. The boy in those photos resembles Aaron in some facial and body features but that's where it ended. The character had changed beyond belief. Three years later explaining so you understand what we and Aaron lived is still beyond my ability. Here is a link from an interview with Martha Tod Dudman, author of Augusta, Gone. Her story is similar, as are all of the stories of families who survive a child in danger experience. If you can relate, seek professional help. Oh, the police are not the professionals to seek out. http://www.eyeonbooks.com/ibp.php?ISBN=0743204093

In Martha's true story, Augusta ends up at a boarding school in Oregon called Circle Mountain. The real name of the school is Mount Bachelor Academy. Aaron was a student there for 13 months. Learn more about the school at http://www.mtba.com. For photos of the students in their campus environment see http://www.welcomemba.com/looking2004/fall.cfm. You can see some photos of Aaron in the photo albums if you search. What may strike you as unexpected is the way the kids look; they're normal teenagers. What you don't see is what they were before they arrived. I don't care to see those photos.

MBA and the SUWS wilderness program gave our son and brother a second chance at the life he loved. They helped us learn to be better parents and brothers. For that we say thank you everyday.

Peace
Tom