“Somebody’s In Our House!” Continued Escalating Harassment in Ashe County.
I’ve long believed that people are intrinsically good. I’ve long believed that all people carry the undefiled image of God. Moving to Ashe County has certainly tested those beliefs.
Nights are tough. Days are spent taking care of our children. Nights are for working.
Every night, I have a similar ritual. After most (hopefully all…) of the children have gone to bed. I sit down at our kitchen table and dream. I work on articles. I work on books. I work on correspondence. I work on my vocation…following Jesus/changing the world. It is always a very spiritual time for me. I stay up most of the night and then I do it again the next day. I can’t stop. I find the work too important.
The front of our house is made up of sliding glass doors. In the dark, it is easy to see in…and hard to look out.
Last night, it took me some time to get to my normal spot. The kids weren’t cooperating… Such is the nature of parenting. My writing is of course the least of their concerns. After everything settled down, I went to my library and gathered some commentaries on the Gospel of Luke. In the midst of our current societal chaos, I’ve been dreaming about new birth. Such dreams have repeatedly taken me to Bethlehem. The birth of Christ has long made me think about the nature of radical interruptions of oppression and marginalization. So for a few hours, I prayed/typed…worked. Early the next morning, I was still at it. In fact, I might have been more productive then than I was earlier in the night. Life was quiet…until it was violently interrupted.
The hallway to enter our house is behind our kitchen.
In the midst of my pounding on the keys, I heard the knob on our front door turn. I knew immediately that there was something very wrong. Throwing my chair back, I raced to check on the rest of the family. “Somebody’s in Our House!” When I opened the door to the bedroom, one of my oldest sons ran out to see what was going on. The door behind the kitchen was wide open. My oldest son saw a young white man with cropped hair racing up the mountain behind our house. The entire side of the house smelled of sweaty cheap cologne. The dog was barking incessantly. After making sure that our family was ok, I took the dog outside to give chase. Of course, it was of no use. The guy was long gone. In fact, I later found fresh tire marks on a road up the mountain/behind our house.
Even though I am very skeptical of engaging law enforcement, I did call 911. The Sheriff’s deputies arrived about 30 minutes later (we live out to say the least). Though they were kind and professional, they told me what I knew already…there was little they could do. After taking a report and trying to affirm our family, they left. One of the deputies actually stayed near our house for most of the night.
I couldn’t sleep. How can you sleep after some bullshit like that? I just watched our whole family finally sleep and wondered what following Jesus might require next.
Late this afternoon, I met with the Ashe County Sheriff and his Chief Deputy about our situation (and a few other concerns I have about the department)…again…they were very kind and professional. Together, we came up with something of a plan. I hope it works before the situation escalates even more.
With that said, I want to make something very plain to the pieces of shit terrorizing our family that might read this. You have made it very clear that you want me (you hate my past work/you hate my present work/ and you hate my future work)…so come get me…and leave my family alone. I am not afraid of the consequences of pursuing justice.
Further action will be forthcoming. This situation has escalated to the point that it is necessary to take it to the streets. The entire community/county should not be able to ignore what is happening.
Amen.
+Per the firm instructions of my wife…we are installing a security system and cameras.
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