When you are a victim of crime, the meaning of “coming home” can take many forms.
There are many contexts that apply, several of which have a positive connotation. Let’s examine a few situations:
“Coming Home” the Movie 1978- Starring Jane Fonda, Jon Voight, and Bruce Dern. A post Vietnam War film tells the story of veterans with their families’ struggles to acclimate to a public that does not embrace their sacrifices and does not know their traumas. But more than that, it tells the tale of one family separated, dealing with loss and love, new, unexpected love of a war veteran confined to a wheel chair with paraplegia and dedicated love of a husband. She is a woman torn by two loves. This film was also a groundbreaker in that it “opened the door of possibility” of portraying the sexuality of persons with disabilities. The title “Coming Home” deals with the different experiences of two veterans coming home, how they deal with civilian life…or not. The music is wonderful… the story a tapestry of volatile emotions, the ending tragic!
YouTube – Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D4KhXoWhjFI
YouTube-Full Movie https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6PA82mEe38
Many crime victims who fight the good fight for others so intensely, particularly the “lone rangers”, who have suffered so many losses, including losing family, as defined in the dictionary, may have nowhere to roost despite their outstanding accomplishments and huge following of friends, colleagues and fans.
This seems inconceivable, but it does occur. There is indeed a high price to pay for so much sacrifice on behalf of others, at the expense of your own well-being. It seems contradictory on the face of it. Very intelligent talented people, with enemies and an adoring public at the same time, the true measure that you are worth your salt.
As I write this, Susan Murphy Milano is the prime example in my thoughts. Although she lived on the edge of life for years, she truly felt most at home in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, surrounded by some very dedicated friends and colleagues and the place in which she recorded her weekly radio shows. They were her surrogate family of the heart, helping her through thick and thin, particularly in those final months of life, when cancer ravaged her body. I feel very honored to have been a part of that circle when Susan’s heart came home to roost. It seems like I wrote a million posts about her to ease my pain.
Here is but one example I wrote about Susan’s final coming home to her heavenly resting place. https://donnagore.com/2012/11/11/the-end-of-life-journey/
Excerpt of Susan’s Coming Home from the website Conquering Cancer. http://www.conqueringcancer.me/2012/10/susan-is-soaring-with-angels.html
When your life is dedicated to finding missing persons, families long for nothing more than their loved one to come home. No matter the circumstances, families seek answers, action, and resolution. There are so many variables that determine the coming home of their loved one, and, ultimately, if the person is found as a rescue or a recovery, a world of difference in the hearts of a mother, father, sibling, cousin, best friend, etc.
It is that process of coming home that Monica Caison, Founder of the CUE Center for Missing Persons based in Wilmington, NC, that is the lifeblood of this fine organization. For over twenty years, Monica and her national network of volunteers have forged rivers, swamps, dense forest, moved mountains, excavated, dove into frigid waters and more, all with the goal that each missing person can come home.
As Monica so eloquently states, “Every missing person is someone’s child.”
For an overview and highlights of a previous annual conference, see the following blog post:
Donna R. Gore 