The year Tommy's parent's exchanged wedding vows and mother nature provided us with 13 inches of snow. That day proved quite eventful and in time, so had our lives.

I've always wanted children.  I thought a thousand curtain climbers or rugrats would be nice.  However, I also thought holding hands is how they came too be.  

Tommy was born at Lawrence Memorial Hospital on the 10th and was soon blest with 4 siblings:

Patricia - February 1977

Timothy - February 1978

Paul - February 1979

Aaron - January 1980

As a new mother - I was very nervous.  Uncertainites as to how to care for him "properly" shadowed me.  I wore (made everybody else wear) a hospital mask during Tommy's first month at home.  

Many things proved challenging, like daiper changing. I learned (the hard way) that boys need to be covered during changing or they will sprinkle an entire room. 

Nothing in the world compares to the emotions experienced from craddling your very first child.  The first thing I did was check to see if all pertainant parts were accounted for and a great sigh of relief came when I realized everything about him was ok.  Actually everything about him was perfect.

  

Tommy welcomed his new sister into the world.  At first glance, he didn't seem too impressed - until she moved. Then he was in awe of her. He was always eager to help change her (getting the diapers and wet ones) and when the time came to burp - I would pat her on her back while Tommy patted her on the rear. 

He loved rocking her while she slept in her cradle.  One day I forgot to lock the cradle and Tommy accidently flipped her out of the cradle onto the carpeted floor.  To this day - I am not to certain who cried the loudest.  Trisha for landing on the floor or Tommy for thinking he had really hurt his sister.  

Tommy was moving into a new place.  He had to take a day off from school and work to wait on cable/phone man for installation.  The phone guy showed, but the cable guy didn't.

So, Tommy calls the company and expresses his dismay of how he will now lose 2 days of work/school.  The next day the cable guy finally arrived.  Tommy felt so bad about going off on the lady at the cable company that he had flowers delivered with a card saying he was sorry.

Tommy was murdered by a stalker.  At the time of Tommy's death he was attending K-State University.  His major was Business.  The stalker gained access to his 2nd story apartment by climbing over a balcony and entering through an unlocked sliding glass door.

Currently ~ there are six types of stalkers:

1.  Relationship - someone you were in a relationship with who develops an extreme obsession  during and after a relationship ends.   

2.  Aquaintance  - someone you may have been introduced to or or met casually who develops an obsession with you.  

3.  Revengeful - someone who becomes obsessed with seeking revenge for a wrong, real or imagined by the person (i.e. employer fires an employee).  This type of stalking often results in school shootings or someone going postal in public. 

4.  Stranger - someone you do not know who becomes obsessed with you.  The obession could be triggered by something as simple as performing a kind act. (i.e. opening a door).

5.  Cyber - someone you met online who becomes obsessed.

6.  Gang - Relatively new and on the rise, especially among teenagers.  Ususally involves several people who become obsessed with the victim because he/she may know something or he/she stands firmly for a specific cause.  Corporations usually employ such stalkers to follow and harass a victim who may have blown the whistle on questionable actions of a company.  The goal of the stalkers is to social/financially ruin the victim's reputation, drive him/her into insanity or suicide and if all else fails ~ murder. 

In all of the above innocent victims were murdered.  Many of the cases end up in murder/suicide.  

Tommy's case was listed as a #2 type stalking.