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By Patrick Hurley Aug. 7, 2006 I remember when my daughter was born. We had almost lost her several months earlier when my wife had gone into labor before its time. For three days, as I tried to sleep on a cot in a critical care room, I prayed and pleaded with God to save my little girl and give her a chance at life. He answered those prayers and on September 19, 1984, Corie Elizabeth Hurley was born at 7:03 p.m. She was healthy and happy and screaming her lungs out! The doctor took her off to the side and vacuumed her breathing and laid her on my wife's chest. I began crying quietly. I knew from that moment on my life would never be the same again. Because a Father's Love is there Forever. Corie was an only child. Her best playmate growing up was me. We did tea parties, rode on the swings, practiced gymnastics, enjoyed drama in the Barbie Dream House, went trick and treating, played wiffle ball, flew kites and went everywhere together...Dallas, Orlando, San Francisco, Chicago, Washington D.C., Disneyland, Cabbage Patch Land, Alcatraz, Busch Gardens, Navy Pier and every hotel that had both a swimming pool and an in-room snack bar! I always wanted a son but I got something better....a daughter. I noticed everything she did and fell in love with her more and more every day. She was my baby. My little girl who someday would become a woman. Each moment we had together was a special gift from God and whether I was reading her a bedtime story or lifting her up to dunk a basketball on her miniature hoop I was grateful for her presence in my life. Because a Father's Love is there Forever. Corie Beth will be 22 years-old next month. She is in college and she drives everywhere at all hours of the night. I have made it a point to know all her friends and I require her to check in with me after midnight. She doesn't have a curfew, she just has a dad who probably worries a little bit more than most fathers do. But, she is my daughter. I will never forget holding her in my arms for the first time in the elevator going up to her hospital care room. I was scared to death I would drop her. I was even more fearful that I would not be a good enough dad for her. I promised silently to myself as we ascended the floors that I would do everything in my power to make her happy, protect her and help her realize all her dreams someday. Because a Father's Love is there Forever. The Natalee Holloway case which once raged like a roaring inferno is now just a dying pile of burning embers. The suspects who last saw her that fateful night have long been released and are moving on with their lives. There is no real police movement anymore just a number of committed bloggers who speculate in anger and frustration as to what really transpired in the wee hours of the morning of May 31, 2005. A civil case has been lost and with it any hope of getting more testimony from the boy who refuses to say anything beyond his self-proclamations of any wrongdoing. But, somewhere in the heart of Mississippi is a father who thinks like me, feels like me and who once behaved like me with a little girl he adored on a moment to moment basis. His name is David Holloway. He held his little girl like I did. He probably wept with pride as she danced and pranced in the living room to show him how talented she was at the age of five. He read her children's stories and prayed with her as he tucked her safely in night after night. And, like me, when he went through a painful divorce, he was separated by the most important person in his life. As I write this, my daughter sleeps safely in her bed knowing that I will soon remind her of her summer school class while Dave Holloway will not be allowed that same privilege. He never loved his daughter less than I did, but because of one night when his baby was trusting those she should never have trusted, he lost her forever. I know he will never stop looking for her even though the news crews have all gone to other stories and the general public is no longer curious about the girl who went missing in Aruba. He will think of her every day as his memories of her will stretch from poignant moments to hours and hours on end. He will always feel an emptiness in his heart because he will constantly see her face at every age as a reminder of his devotion to her. He will struggle in his prayers to God at times because of the unfairness and the cruelty of it all. To him, this was never a news story or a ratings game. This was never a delicious mystery or a blogger's delight. This was a child he helped bring into this world who captured his heart and never let go. He will always be her dad no matter how much everyone else has forgotten her. He loved her the first time he saw her and held her and he will love her and be committed to her until his last dying breath. I know he will. Because I am a dad who has a daughter. And a Father's Love is there .... Forever. ------------ About the author:   Pat Hurley has won three Emmy awards for writing, hosting and producing television shows. He resides in Southern California. Email: coolhumor@sbcglobal.net Comment on this article here! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com. Please link to this article rather than copying and pasting it onto your site (which would be unauthorized and illegal). |
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