blogger mom

I live in the small village of Gambier, OH. The gas station looks like it belongs in Mayberry...old school pumps, pay inside. Today when I got there and realized I forgot my wallet the man working there told me not to worry about it and to fill up. He said to pay him when I had the chance. The village is extremely quaint...the market, the deli, the post office, the Inn and the bookstore are in cute white buildings on each side of the middle path. It's lovely really. We wanted to retire here, now we are raising our children on 8 acres just outside of "town." We are a few miles from small town USA, Mount Vernon, OH.

Today, on my way to the gas station mentioned above, I watched for a moment as the police took small boats out on the pond down the road. This pond is across the street from the Kokosing Gap trail and the Kokosing River where I run four times a week. The quiet streets around my home were busy today with police trucks that were marked as water craft vehicles. The search teams were out looking for three bodies. Last week a man broke into a home, kidnapped a 13 year old girl and presumably killed the rest of her family. No link has been made between him and the family. At this point, it seems as though he simply picked them out randomly. The girl was found bound and gagged in his basement, but alive. After a week, the police are assuming the other three are dead and they are searching the river and ponds in the area daily. Their abandoned truck was found in the village. Mayberry. Our doors are locked, our windows are locked. I'm running in town now, under the street lights, surrounded by people who are busy preparing to open the bookstore and the market for the day. I don't intend to live in fear, but it will make you think twice before you lay your head on your pillow each night. Praying for the family of these victims of violence tonight.