[Blindtlk] a profound tragedy

Fri Feb 22 07:03:51 CST 2008

In this day and age with all the information out there, with organizations such as the National Federation of the Blind, I find the following to be a heartbreaking tragedy. 

Sherri

Not Much Fun

LIKE MOST EVERYONE ELSE, ALMOST ANY TIME I HEAR OF A TRAGEDY, THE 
FIRST REACTION THAT ENTERS MY MIND OR CROSSES MY LIPS CONSISTS OF THE 
WORD-WHY?  VERY OFTEN, HOWEVER, THE QUESTION WHY JUST ISN'T ENOUGH.

THE TRAGEDY THAT HAS RECENTLY GRIPPED MY ATTENTION HAPPENED DURING 
THE THIRD WEEK IN JANUARY IN DREXEL HILL, PENNSYLVANIA ABOUT SIX 
MILES FROM CENTER CITY, PHILADELPHIA.  FIFTY-THREE YEAR-OLD BARBARA 
KILLIAN -- BLINDED FROM AN ACCIDENT WHEN SHE WAS A BABY -- AND HER 
LITTLE WHITE LAP DOG A-ROD DIED IN THE BASEMENT OF THEIR HOME BY THE 
HAND OF BARBARA'S EIGHTY-FOUR-YEAR-OLD FATHER ROBERT KILLIAN WHO THEN 
TURNED THE GUN ON HIMSELF.  MR. KILLIAN HAD JUST BEEN RELEASED FROM A 
LOCAL HOSPITAL HAVING BEEN TREATED FOR ADVANCED CARDIOVASCULAR 
DISEASE.  CONVINCED THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE LONG TO LIVE, MR. KILLIAN 
APPARENTLY BELIEVED HE HAD TO PROVIDE A PERMANENT SOLUTION FOR WHAT 
HE PERCEIVED WOULD BE BARBARA'S TROUBLES IN HIS EARTHLY 
ABSENCE.  THUS, BELIEVING, AS HE DID, THAT BARBARA WOULD BE BOTH 
ALONE AND HELPLESS IN THE WORLD, HE DECIDED THAT HER LIFE SHOULD END 
WITH HIS.  SO, SOMETIME BETWEEN TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, WHEN KILLIAN WAS 
RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL, AND SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 19 AT SIX 
PM, ROBERT KILLIAN SHOT BARBARA, THEIR LITTLE DOG, AND HIMSELF TO 
DEATH IN THE BASEMENT OF THEIR HOME ON CHESWOLD ROAD.

ACCORDING TO THE SUM OF ALL REPORTS OUT OF DREXEL HILL, 
PENNSYLVANIA:  BARBARA AND ROBERT KILLIAN HAD LIVED ALONE SINCE THE 
DEATH OF SHIRLEY, BARBARA'S MOTHER AND ROBERT'S WIFE, IN 2001; THE 
KILLIANS "MINDED THEIR OWN BUSINESS"; ROBERT KILLIAN WAS EXTREMELY 
PROTECTIVE OF BARBARA; AND, FINALLY, THERE WAS A LOT OF LOVE IN THE 
KILLIAN HOME AS EVIDENCED BY MR. KILLIAN'S CONSTANT DEVOTION TO BARBARA.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT: THE WHO, THE WHAT, THE WHERE, THE WHEN, AND, 
SUPERFICIALLY, THE WHY OF THE STORY. SURELY, HOWEVER, KNOWLEDGE OF 
THESE GUIDELINES WHICH EVERY NEWS REPORTER KNOWS BRINGS ONE NO 
SATISFACTION.  IF YOU'RE ANYTHING LIKE ME, PERHAPS YOU NEED TO PAUSE 
AND TAKE IT ALL IN BEFORE READING ON.

IN THE EMOTIONAL WAKE THAT OCCURS AS ONE LEARNS OF THIS TRAGEDY, 
THERE IS THE NATURAL TENDENCY TO BE OUTRAGED, NOT ONLY WITH KILLIAN'S 
MURDER OF HIS DAUGHTER, BUT EVEN MORE WITH WHAT WAS CLEARLY HIS 
DEMEANING ATTITUDE ABOUT BARBARA'S VERY EXISTENCE AS A PERSON WITH 
BLINDNESS.  THERE ARE REPORTS THAT NEIGHBORS CALLED AREA SOCIAL 
SERVICES FROM TIME TO TIME TO COMPLAIN THAT BARBARA WAS BEING "HELD 
CAPTIVE" BY HER PARENTS IN HER HOME, THE RESPONSE TO WHICH CAUSED THE 
KILLIANS TO RETREAT FURTHER INTO SECLUSION WITH THEIR 
DAUGHTER.  INEVITABLY, ONE WONDERS WHAT EXACTLY WENT ON IN THAT 
HOUSEHOLD UPON MR. KILLIAN'S JANUARY 15TH RETURN FROM THE 
HOSPITAL.  HOW LONG HAD ROBERT KILLIAN CONTEMPLATED THIS IRREVOCABLE 
DEED?  WHAT RELIGIOUS OR MORAL MATTERS DID MR. KILLIAN CONSIDER 
BEFORE TAKING BARBARA TO THE BASEMENT OF THEIR HOME TO MEET HER 
DEATH?  DID KILLIAN TELL BARBARA IN ADVANCE OF HIS INTENTION OR WAS 
THERE A REASONED OR EVEN GENTLE PRETEXT TO THE BASEMENT VISIT?  DID 
ROBERT KILLIAN SEE HIS ACT AS ONE OF LOVE OR ONE OF DESPAIR?

INFORMATION OUT OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA REGARDING BARBARA KILLIAN'S 
EXISTENCE IS SKETCHY BUT STILL REVEALING.  A 1973 GRADUATE OF 
OVERBROOK SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND,   ALEX RODRIGUEZ WHOM SHE HAD MET THROUGH AN ORGANIZATION FOR THE 
BLIND.  THUS, SHE NAMED HER LITTLE DOG A-ROD.

WHAT HAPPENED TO BARBARA KILLIAN HAS TO BE VERY PERSONAL ON SOME 
LEVEL TO EVERYONE WHO LIVES WITH A DISABILITY-ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO 
LIVE WITH BLINDNESS.  ALL OF US, WHETHER BORN ABLE-BODIED OR 
DISABLED, ARE VULNERABLE TO OUR PARENTS' INDIVIDUAL ENVIRONMENTS, 
VALUES, AND ATTITUDES.  EVEN MORE RELEVANT TO THE KILLIAN FAMILY 
TRAGEDY IS THE STRONG PARENTAL INSTINCT, THE OVERWHELMING NEED TO 
PROTECT OUR CHILDREN FROM THE WORLD'S MANY OUTRAGES.

WHILE WE'RE CERTAINLY JUSTIFIED IN OUR RIGHTEOUS ANGER TOWARD ROBERT 
KILLIAN, THAT ANGER ALONE IS AS DESTRUCTIVE TO YOU AND ME AS 
KILLIAN'S THIRTY-EIGHT CALIBER PISTOL WAS TO BARBARA.  IT WOULD BE 
MORE HELPFUL, I THINK, FOR US ALL TO RE-EXAMINE WHAT IT MEANS TO LOVE 
AND PROTECT ONE ANOTHER AS WELL AS ONE'S CHILDREN.

IT WOULD BE ARROGANT FOR ANY OF US TO QUESTION MR. KILLIAN'S LOVE FOR 
HIS DAUGHTER.  HOWEVER, ROBERT AND SHIRLEY KILLIAN'S LOVE FOR BARBARA 
WAS CLEARLY MISDIRECTED AS EVIDENCED BY THEIR DECISION TO REJECT A 
COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP, CHOOSING TO HAVE HER STAY AT HOME INSTEAD OF 
BROADENING HER HORIZONS.  THEIR LEGITIMATE MISSION WAS TO PROTECT HER 
LIFE AND TO EMPOWER OTHERS TO ENSURE HER SECURITY AFTER THEY WERE 
GONE.  IT'S QUITE APPARENT THAT MR. KILLIAN WAS MORE OVERWHELMED BY 
HIS FEARS THAN HE WAS SUSTAINED BY "THE BETTER ANGELS OF HIS NATURE."

NOTHING WE CAN SAY OR WRITE, NO WISH WE CAN WISH, NO PRAYER WE MAY 
PRAY CAN UNDO WHAT WAS DONE TO BARBARA KILLIAN BY HER FATHER.    LOVE 
IS A POWERFUL FORCE.  AS SUCH IT CAN NURTURE, SUSTAIN, ENCOURAGE, AND 
THEREFORE FOSTER GROWTH AND EVEN GREATER LOVE.  HOWEVER, IF LOVE IS 
ADMINISTERED WITH JEALOUSY OR FEAR, IT CAN DESTROY.  IT APPEARS THAT 
THE KILLIANS' POWERFUL LOVE FOR BARBARA WENT AWRY AND, HENCE, IT DESTROYED.

SADLY, ROBERT KILLIAN BELIEVED THAT THE WORLD WASN'T SUFFICIENTLY 
TRUSTWORTHY TO MATCH HIS LOVE FOR BARBARA, HENCE HE TOOK HER WITH HIM 
FOR HER OWN PROTECTION.

HAPPILY, MOST OF US KNOW THAT THE WORLD IS WORTHY BECAUSE YOU AND I 
ARE WORTHY OF THE KIND OF LOVE THAT SUSTAINS AND NURTURES.

SO, IN THE WORDS OF A HIT SONG FROM THE 1970S:  "LET YOUR LOVE FLOW."

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,

EDWIN COONEY

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE FURTHER COLUMNS FROM MR. COONEY, WRITE 
TO HIM AT 
EDWINCOONEY at SBCGLOBAL.NET
 AND ASK HIM TO PUT YOU ON HIS LIST.

Sherri 

sbrun at cfl.rr.com

TO DONATE YOUR USED CELL PHONE AND CHANGE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BLIND IN CENTRAL FLORIDA go to:

Whether we succeed or fail in what we do is not the essential thing. 

What is important is the heart with which we live our lives.
-------------- next part --------------
In this day and age with all the information out there, with organizations such as the National Federation of the Blind, I find the following to be a heartbreaking tragedy.

Sherri

Not Much Fun

LIKE MOST EVERYONE ELSE, ALMOST ANY TIME I HEAR OF A TRAGEDY, THE
FIRST REACTION THAT ENTERS MY MIND OR CROSSES MY LIPS CONSISTS OF THE
WORD-WHY?  VERY OFTEN, HOWEVER, THE QUESTION WHY JUST ISN'T ENOUGH.

THE TRAGEDY THAT HAS RECENTLY GRIPPED MY ATTENTION HAPPENED DURING
THE THIRD WEEK IN JANUARY IN DREXEL HILL, PENNSYLVANIA ABOUT SIX
MILES FROM CENTER CITY, PHILADELPHIA.  FIFTY-THREE YEAR-OLD BARBARA
KILLIAN -- BLINDED FROM AN ACCIDENT WHEN SHE WAS A BABY -- AND HER
LITTLE WHITE LAP DOG A-ROD DIED IN THE BASEMENT OF THEIR HOME BY THE
HAND OF BARBARA'S EIGHTY-FOUR-YEAR-OLD FATHER ROBERT KILLIAN WHO THEN
TURNED THE GUN ON HIMSELF.  MR. KILLIAN HAD JUST BEEN RELEASED FROM A
LOCAL HOSPITAL HAVING BEEN TREATED FOR ADVANCED CARDIOVASCULAR
DISEASE.  CONVINCED THAT HE DIDN'T HAVE LONG TO LIVE, MR. KILLIAN
APPARENTLY BELIEVED HE HAD TO PROVIDE A PERMANENT SOLUTION FOR WHAT
HE PERCEIVED WOULD BE BARBARA'S TROUBLES IN HIS EARTHLY
ABSENCE.  THUS, BELIEVING, AS HE DID, THAT BARBARA WOULD BE BOTH
ALONE AND HELPLESS IN THE WORLD, HE DECIDED THAT HER LIFE SHOULD END
WITH HIS.  SO, SOMETIME BETWEEN TUESDAY, JANUARY 15, WHEN KILLIAN WAS
RELEASED FROM THE HOSPITAL, AND SATURDAY EVENING, JANUARY 19 AT SIX
PM, ROBERT KILLIAN SHOT BARBARA, THEIR LITTLE DOG, AND HIMSELF TO
DEATH IN THE BASEMENT OF THEIR HOME ON CHESWOLD ROAD.

ACCORDING TO THE SUM OF ALL REPORTS OUT OF DREXEL HILL,
PENNSYLVANIA:  BARBARA AND ROBERT KILLIAN HAD LIVED ALONE SINCE THE
DEATH OF SHIRLEY, BARBARA'S MOTHER AND ROBERT'S WIFE, IN 2001; THE
KILLIANS "MINDED THEIR OWN BUSINESS"; ROBERT KILLIAN WAS EXTREMELY
PROTECTIVE OF BARBARA; AND, FINALLY, THERE WAS A LOT OF LOVE IN THE
KILLIAN HOME AS EVIDENCED BY MR. KILLIAN'S CONSTANT DEVOTION TO BARBARA.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT: THE WHO, THE WHAT, THE WHERE, THE WHEN, AND,
SUPERFICIALLY, THE WHY OF THE STORY. SURELY, HOWEVER, KNOWLEDGE OF
THESE GUIDELINES WHICH EVERY NEWS REPORTER KNOWS BRINGS ONE NO
SATISFACTION.  IF YOU'RE ANYTHING LIKE ME, PERHAPS YOU NEED TO PAUSE
AND TAKE IT ALL IN BEFORE READING ON.

IN THE EMOTIONAL WAKE THAT OCCURS AS ONE LEARNS OF THIS TRAGEDY,
THERE IS THE NATURAL TENDENCY TO BE OUTRAGED, NOT ONLY WITH KILLIAN'S
MURDER OF HIS DAUGHTER, BUT EVEN MORE WITH WHAT WAS CLEARLY HIS
DEMEANING ATTITUDE ABOUT BARBARA'S VERY EXISTENCE AS A PERSON WITH
BLINDNESS.  THERE ARE REPORTS THAT NEIGHBORS CALLED AREA SOCIAL
SERVICES FROM TIME TO TIME TO COMPLAIN THAT BARBARA WAS BEING "HELD
CAPTIVE" BY HER PARENTS IN HER HOME, THE RESPONSE TO WHICH CAUSED THE
KILLIANS TO RETREAT FURTHER INTO SECLUSION WITH THEIR
DAUGHTER.  INEVITABLY, ONE WONDERS WHAT EXACTLY WENT ON IN THAT
HOUSEHOLD UPON MR. KILLIAN'S JANUARY 15TH RETURN FROM THE
HOSPITAL.  HOW LONG HAD ROBERT KILLIAN CONTEMPLATED THIS IRREVOCABLE
DEED?  WHAT RELIGIOUS OR MORAL MATTERS DID MR. KILLIAN CONSIDER
BEFORE TAKING BARBARA TO THE BASEMENT OF THEIR HOME TO MEET HER
DEATH?  DID KILLIAN TELL BARBARA IN ADVANCE OF HIS INTENTION OR WAS
THERE A REASONED OR EVEN GENTLE PRETEXT TO THE BASEMENT VISIT?  DID
ROBERT KILLIAN SEE HIS ACT AS ONE OF LOVE OR ONE OF DESPAIR?

INFORMATION OUT OF GREATER PHILADELPHIA REGARDING BARBARA KILLIAN'S
EXISTENCE IS SKETCHY BUT STILL REVEALING.  A 1973 GRADUATE OF
OVERBROOK SCHOOL FOR THE BLIND, 
  ALEX RODRIGUEZ WHOM SHE HAD MET THROUGH AN ORGANIZATION FOR THE
BLIND.  THUS, SHE NAMED HER LITTLE DOG A-ROD.

WHAT HAPPENED TO BARBARA KILLIAN HAS TO BE VERY PERSONAL ON SOME
LEVEL TO EVERYONE WHO LIVES WITH A DISABILITY-ESPECIALLY THOSE WHO
LIVE WITH BLINDNESS.  ALL OF US, WHETHER BORN ABLE-BODIED OR
DISABLED, ARE VULNERABLE TO OUR PARENTS' INDIVIDUAL ENVIRONMENTS,
VALUES, AND ATTITUDES.  EVEN MORE RELEVANT TO THE KILLIAN FAMILY
TRAGEDY IS THE STRONG PARENTAL INSTINCT, THE OVERWHELMING NEED TO
PROTECT OUR CHILDREN FROM THE WORLD'S MANY OUTRAGES.

WHILE WE'RE CERTAINLY JUSTIFIED IN OUR RIGHTEOUS ANGER TOWARD ROBERT
KILLIAN, THAT ANGER ALONE IS AS DESTRUCTIVE TO YOU AND ME AS
KILLIAN'S THIRTY-EIGHT CALIBER PISTOL WAS TO BARBARA.  IT WOULD BE
MORE HELPFUL, I THINK, FOR US ALL TO RE-EXAMINE WHAT IT MEANS TO LOVE
AND PROTECT ONE ANOTHER AS WELL AS ONE'S CHILDREN.

IT WOULD BE ARROGANT FOR ANY OF US TO QUESTION MR. KILLIAN'S LOVE FOR
HIS DAUGHTER.  HOWEVER, ROBERT AND SHIRLEY KILLIAN'S LOVE FOR BARBARA
WAS CLEARLY MISDIRECTED AS EVIDENCED BY THEIR DECISION TO REJECT A
COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP, CHOOSING TO HAVE HER STAY AT HOME INSTEAD OF
BROADENING HER HORIZONS.  THEIR LEGITIMATE MISSION WAS TO PROTECT HER
LIFE AND TO EMPOWER OTHERS TO ENSURE HER SECURITY AFTER THEY WERE
GONE.  IT'S QUITE APPARENT THAT MR. KILLIAN WAS MORE OVERWHELMED BY
HIS FEARS THAN HE WAS SUSTAINED BY "THE BETTER ANGELS OF HIS NATURE."

NOTHING WE CAN SAY OR WRITE, NO WISH WE CAN WISH, NO PRAYER WE MAY
PRAY CAN UNDO WHAT WAS DONE TO BARBARA KILLIAN BY HER FATHER.    LOVE
IS A POWERFUL FORCE.  AS SUCH IT CAN NURTURE, SUSTAIN, ENCOURAGE, AND
THEREFORE FOSTER GROWTH AND EVEN GREATER LOVE.  HOWEVER, IF LOVE IS
ADMINISTERED WITH JEALOUSY OR FEAR, IT CAN DESTROY.  IT APPEARS THAT
THE KILLIANS' POWERFUL LOVE FOR BARBARA WENT AWRY AND, HENCE, IT DESTROYED.

SADLY, ROBERT KILLIAN BELIEVED THAT THE WORLD WASN'T SUFFICIENTLY
TRUSTWORTHY TO MATCH HIS LOVE FOR BARBARA, HENCE HE TOOK HER WITH HIM
FOR HER OWN PROTECTION.

HAPPILY, MOST OF US KNOW THAT THE WORLD IS WORTHY BECAUSE YOU AND I
ARE WORTHY OF THE KIND OF LOVE THAT SUSTAINS AND NURTURES.

SO, IN THE WORDS OF A HIT SONG FROM THE 1970S:  "LET YOUR LOVE FLOW."

RESPECTFULLY SUBMITTED,

EDWIN COONEY

IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO RECEIVE FURTHER COLUMNS FROM MR. COONEY, WRITE
TO HIM AT
mailto:EDWINCOONEY at SBCGLOBAL.NET EDWINCOONEY at SBCGLOBAL.NET
 AND ASK HIM TO PUT YOU ON HIS LIST.

Sherri
mailto:sbrun at cfl.rr.com sbrun at cfl.rr.com
TO DONATE YOUR USED CELL PHONE AND CHANGE WHAT IT MEANS TO BE BLIND IN CENTRAL FLORIDA go to:

http://www.wirelessfundraiser.com/WFR_Quickship.aspx?customerid=2010&LocationID=1223
http://www.wirelessfundraiser.com/images/vd-button.gif

Whether we succeed or fail in what we do is not the essential thing.
What is important is the heart with which we live our lives.
-------------- next part --------------
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