This week Robin and Zoey discuss the story behind the Origin of the AMBER Alert System.
But first, an exciting announcement! Instead of Something Southern this week, we have the first ever Something Spooky. Robin and Zoey talk about something they would like to cover in a podcast episode, but doesn’t necessarily fit into the Haunted Hospitality theme. Luckily, Robin comes up with a beautiful idea off the top of her head, totally random, not prepared in the slightest.
We all know what an AMBER Alert is: a broadcast of information when a child goes missing. But how did it come to be? What are the rules of it? Who was Amber, the girl who started it all?
While looking up the notes for this case, I came across a documentary called “After Amber”, and it was less than an hour so I figured I would give it a watch.
When doing notes and reading text on a screen, it is very easy to distance myself from things I report on. They’re just words. That’s it. I grew up reading all kinds of books, and death was in many of them. It’s easy to pretend that these events didn’t happen, and even worse, it’s hard to realize that you’re pretending.
But when I watched Donna, Amber’s mother, in this documentary, it suddenly became very real. Too real. And I fully realized exactly what our platform is here – we’re telling the stories of people who can’t tell it themselves. My heart was in my throat as I watched Amber’s family sitting on the couch, watching the news, waiting to hear if the body in the creek was Amber, Arlington’s Angel.
So forgive me as I take over the show with few moments of levity as I share the tragic story of the girl who died, but saved many other children like her. If you hear my voice waver, know that it is not an act. Even as I type this, my eyes sting and my chest feels heavy.
Hug your siblings and kids a little tighter today, and stay safe.
Sources:
Haunted Hospitality Podcast 