rounding the bend...

today i woke up in ashland, north carolina. it's hard to believe that we've traveled coast to coast at this point, and are making our way out west again. it was quite a bumpy night in the bus. i'm assuming we drove through lots of mountainous, winding roads to get here. as i was lying in my bunk, trying to count backwards from one hundred to get some sleep, my mind kept racing over the past few days. of course, the freshest day in my mind was yesterday, when jannel, tammy and i met up with the maryland task force for the missing to go to washington, d.c.
i have to say, of all the days we've been out here, yesterday was when i really got an education about specific things we can do to help the missing and their families. darlene drove us from the peaceful bed & breakfast in maryland to the bustling, crowded streets of d.c. on the way, we had quite a conversation about the information and tools available today, as well as the struggles to get funding and action. she told us about the DNA kits that are available for law enforcement agencies, to identify human remains, and how the Center for Human Identification in Fort Worth, TX can take those samples and match them with the DNA samples from families of the missing. seems like a simple thing, right? not so much. most families aren't aware that the kits are available and most law enforcement agencies are unaware that they can and should run DNA tests on all the human remains they have in their backlog, BEFORE they decide to cremate or bury the remains and list them as "john or jane doe". it reminded me of the images of the trailers for the victims of hurricane katrina, that still sit in a field in arkansas. the DNA kits are free to the families, but they have to be administered by law enforcement, and law enforcement is sometimes unaware, or unconcerned that they even exist. so first of all, i learned that we need to somehow educate the families that they have a right to the kits, and hold law enforcement's feet to the fire to run the tests on the human remains that they have in their possession, so they can be matched to the DNA of the families. at the present time, there are 40-60,000 unidentified human remains, waiting to be tested. this is not to say that if a person is missing, he or she is deceased. we have found that out by hearing that 10 of the people who have been profiled during the squeaky wheel tour have been found! we celebrate with those families today. but more needs to be done to bring closure and resolution to the families of the missing who are waiting to be identified through these measures.
another disturbing thing i learned yesterday is that the funding for the National Center for Missing Adults runs out on Nov 5. that's in four days. there is money that has been promised and ear-marked to continue this vital resource, but unfortunately, it is being held up in some committee, and the representatives we spoke with yesterday didn't give the families much hope that it will be released to the center. if you have a minute, call your representative and ask them to look into this matter, and do what they can to get this bill passed. it is vital.
if we all begin to squeak louder, they can't ignore us. even if you're like me, and you don't have a missing person in your family, it's not difficult to have compassion for the families that do. just one degree of separation, and it could be any one of us.
and so we squeak on...on the final home stretch of the tour. it's been one of the most rewarding things i've ever been a part of. there is so much love and compassion out here, to lift up those with so much hurt and frustration. we're all in this together. and together we CAN make a difference in the world. we ARE making a difference. press on! :)
gary