How Real is "Real"?

A strange thing happened the other day that got us thinking about what defines certain concepts in our society.

On our Facebook page; Justice For Heavenlee!!!, a comment was left which seemed to assert that we are not 'real family' just because Dane (our son-in-law) didn't marry Eugenia (Heavenlee's mother) before (or after) Heavenlee was born.

What an odd thought from a very odd point of view.

That got us to thinking what it means to be a 'real family' and as such, we thought we would offer our own assertions regarding 'real' and 'family'.

To begin, we thought about all those children who were orphaned, either by choice or by circumstances and then adopted. We wondered if they are considered 'family'?

And what about multi-marriage households where children from several different parents all live together under the same roof. Are they considered 'family'?

What about non-traditional households where same-sex couples raise a child? Is that considered 'family'?

Or what about households where two people live together unmarried and have for decades, producing children along the way? Are they considered 'family'?

Finally, how about when children leave the nest to make a life of their own? Are they then no longer considered 'family'?

And what about this idea of 'real'?

Is it possible to have a 'fake' family???

From our point of view, we have considered Heavenlee to be a part of our family since her birth. We remember well seeing her in the old trailor park days after she was born and knowing that her biological father, Dane (our son-in-law) was to marry our daughter.

From that moment on, we embraced Heavenlee as a member of our own family... and still feel that way to this very day.

We do not use the term 'step-child' or step-granddaughter' as we consider those terms to be both offensive and discriminatory.

Love knows no boundaries or lame sub-titles and so, we know our beloved granddaughter as just that, our beloved granddaughter.

It all comes down to the matter of Love.

For us, the capacity for Love and Family is not limited to biologial connections or whether or not a piece of paper binds one person to another.

We subscribe to that old Beatles song that stated; "All you need is Love!"

Love is all you need and we are dismayed at the lack of Love being shown by others who put forth an agenda which we cannot fathom.

As such, we will move forward and express our Love for our beloved granddaughter, Heavenlee at every opportunity. We know that Love will be returned to us ten-fold and we pray for those narrow-minded people who know only Hate and anger.

Someday, the dream of the Beatles will come to Life and Love will surround us all.

'Till then, we continue the fight for legislation which will insure our measure of Justice for Heavenlee!!!

God bless each and everyone who may be reading this.

James & Amanda Wallace

Autumnal Patience is a Virtue!

It's been several months now since the Full Moon Howl that broke the world record and brought more awareness to our cause: Justice for Heavenlee!!!

Since then, we have had to remind ourselves that patience is a virtue. This was something our parents taught us but, as kids, we had no concept of. What kid knows of patience???

Anyway, since July, there has been little to report on as our legislators; Senator Tim Skinner and representative Clyde Kersey have been out of session and involved in local things.

It seems that Indiana has a part-time General Assembly, which means that they meet only about 6 months out of the year and summer was not a time of meeting.

We had little communications from either office and was beginning to get concerned but, following a conversation with both Senator Skinner and the office of Representative Clyde Kersey, we now feel more confident that things will begin to take shape as we work towards our goal of drafting new legislation insuring that drivers are held accountable for their inaction regarding child safety seats in automobiles.

Next month, we will meet with both legislators to begin outling our goals and desires. Hopefully, the reality of legislation and the ideals of grieving grandparents can come to terms and find common ground, thus insuring a measure of Justice for Heavenlee!!!

In a few days, we will offer an update, of sorts, regarding our beloved granddaughter, Heavenlee Angel Johns and her current state of living.

Till then...

God bless each and everyone of you reading this.

James & Amanda Wallace

Child Passenger Safety Week: Sept. 19-Sept. 25

This week marks the observance of Child Passenger Safety Week: Sept. 19-Sept. 25.

For more information and ways to support this wonderful cause for which we are in complete support of, please check out the following link:

Child Passenger Safety Week

We will be appearing in northern Indian to speak on behalf of our beloved granddaughter and our efforts to secure a measure of Justice for Heavenlee!!!

James & Amanda Wallace

A howl of a good time: Unofficial world record set in TH

A howl of a good time: Unofficial world record set in TH

We are blessed to have achieved our goal, so far.
Now on to the legislative process.
Par Ardua Ad Alta!

Howl Yea! for Child Safety in the Wabash Valley

A Guinness Book of World Records Attempt for the Most Number of People Simultaneously Howling at the Full Moon.

The Center for Public Service and Community Engagement at Indiana State University, in conjunction with C.H.A.N.C.E.S. for Youth of Terre Haute, Ryves Youth Center at Etling Hall and the Terre Haute Children’s Museum are co-sponsoring Howl Yea! For Child Safety in the Wabash Valley on July 26^th, 2010 from 8:30-10:00pm at the Indiana State University Fountain area of Dede Plaza located next to the Hulman Memorial Student Union in the center of campus.

This event is designed to promote the local non-profit organizations which serve the youth of the Wabash Valley and bring about further awareness of their programs and facilities, as well as highlighting issues related to child safety and awareness throughout the Wabash Valley.

The centerpiece of this event features a Guinness Book of World Records Sanctioned Attempt for the Most Number of People Simultaneously Howling at the Full Moon.

The current record stands at 250 people and the goal of the Howl Yea! For Child Safety in the Wabash Valley is to break this record and be officially recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records Organization.

The record-breaking event is free of charge and the public is highly encouraged to attend and be a part of an official world record.

Registration for the event begins promptly at 8:30pm and is a required part of the official program. Registration will occur on sight at the ISU Fountain area of Dede Plaza located next to the Hulman Memorial Student Union in the center of campus. In order to be considered as an official participant in the Guinness Book of World Records Sanctioned Attempt for the Most Number of People Simultaneously Howling at the Full Moon, all participants must be registered prior to the attempt.

The Guinness Book of World Records Sanctioned Attempt for the Most Number of People Simultaneously Howling at the Full Moon will begin at10:00pm and will last only a few minutes.

C.H.A.N.C.E.S. for Youth of Terre Haute, Ryves Youth Center at Etling Hall and the Terre Haute Children’s Museum, along with the Center for Public Service and Community Engagement at Indiana State University will have representatives available to discuss their programs and mission of service for the youth of the Wabash Valley.

For more information regarding the Howl Yea! For Child Safety in the Wabash Valley event, including the Guinness Book of World Records Sanctioned Attempt for the Most Number of People Simultaneously Howling at the Full Moon, please contact James C. Wallace II, Event Organizer at howlyea2010@yahoo.com or 812.841.0886.

Brick walls!!!

I've been spending the entire week, including last weekend working on this project for the Justice for Heavenlee!!! Cause and I keep running into brick walls of ignorance and stupidity.

I'm asking for something fairly simple and everyone I speak to, be it the city of Terre Haute or other organizations, they only care for their stupid rules and procedures.

When I point out to them that this event will support awareness of child safety issues, they only care to quote why they can't and never why they can.

When I mention that they must not care about children, suddenly they become very defensive but refuse to budge from their positions.

God help them if something like this should ever happen to one of their own. They might find out what empathy means.

Oh well, I'm exploring an option that may solve my issue and serve our purpose very well.

Updates to follow later this week.

God bless everyone...

James & Amanda

Truth, Honor and Justice!

You may have noticed that we have not posted any updates for a month now. This was done on purpose to prove a point... And sadly, our point was proven all too well.

A month ago, we received communications from the mother stating that if we stopped posting on this blog, she would allow us to visit Heavenlee.

It was a bold statement and we decided to test her word of honor by refraining from posting for a month. That seemed to us to be a reasonable amount of time to us and so we waited...

No word from the mother... Not even a simple acknowledgment of our cessation of blog posts. And of course, no offer to allow us to visit our beloved granddaughter, Heavenlee Angel Johns.

So much for her integrity. Now we move on and move forward.

Over the next few weeks, we will be announcing a bold, very innovative public awareness campaign in support of child safety issues. Be sure to watch and wait for the announcement. When it comes, you will be amazed and pleased at our resourcefulness and unique method for making the public aware of our concerns and our efforts to update the legislation in order to protect our most innocent of victims.

Till then... Carpe Luna!!!