by Kay Heitsch
Have you ever tried to sound a warning, and the only people who seemed to pay attention were the people you are warning others about?
Years ago, I wrote a letter to the newspaper editor after being given a personal tour of a video store in town. The owner of this store was a friend of an elderly man named Ralph. I knew Ralph from the nursing home I visited every week. For some reason, Ralph wanted me to meet this video store owner, so I walked over one day to meet him.
As we walked into the store, I was introduced to the owner. Everything seemed to be okay. Families were checking out the videos, several teens were wandering around looking things over. This looked like a really nice, safe, family video store.
However, after touring the front of the store, the owner gave me a sly smile and asked us to follow him. Lo and behold, there was another room in the back that most people had no idea was there. In this room were several men looking through pornographic videos. What was unsettling to me was that this was a family store, and this was a hidden secret room.
I was very uncomfortable about the situation, so I wrote a letter to the editor letting the community know that this secret porn room was in the back of this family store.
To be honest, I thought I would receive some calls from churches or people who were upset about the deception going on. However, those who called me and left disturbing messages were people who wanted this room to be kept secret.
A few years later, we moved from this area when I received a very upsetting call. Two teenage girls at a video store in this town had been abducted, and one girl had been murdered by a porn-addicted man.
I sounded a warning, and I received a lot of grief for it! No matter, I will do it again if I see something I truly believe is wrong.
