Post by Brian on Jun 6, 2009 20:40:03 GMT -5
12/31/06 at 11:14 PM
2790sonya
I am only 25 years old and remember reading the first book when it came out in 1990. I also have purchased the newest book and DVD and been to the Lawson Memorial bridge and grave site many times. I was just wondenng from purchasing the DVD how much of the monies go to domestic violence victims? It just says a percentage. The DVD in the end sorta relates a lot to Melissa Tittle's death and this is fine but was just wondering if who ever made the DVD was connected to her in any way and did the DVD to mainly help domestic violence victims and if so this is great. This is going to probably make some people mad. The DVD seemed sorta weird. I mean who is the guy in the red shirt with the beard telling the story of the ghosts he seen in the cabin when he was five years old? Is that the guy who made the video and his mom? It seemed as though they threw in these parts to make the video longer. Also i know their is a lot of controversy about the tragedy. In the last book Judy wrote about how their was not DNA back in 1929. Well duh but how about now. we have DNA now so why can't they just dig up Marie's body (sorry for disturbing the peace) but so many people want to know and people are writing books and making movies to make a buck and truly find out if Marie was pregnant and if the dad was Charlie. I have heard they can not do this unless a murder occurred, well one did so lets find out the FACTS and move on and let the entire family rest in peace and quit writing books and movies about it.
sonya nieberle
12/31/06 at 11:28 PM
ecalhoun
Thanks for the question, Sonya. We were able to leave aside 10% of the profits to benefit domestic violence organizations in NC, starting in Stokes County. There is no shelter currently, and a non-profit organization has been formed to open one. Sorry, I don't have their website at my finger tips, but I'll post that soon. For more discussion of this side of the film, and how it came to mean so much to the film, I'd recommend listening to the radio interview on WUNC Radio, which you can find on the Links page here:
www.bodproductions.com/newsinto.htm
Eric
Break of Oawn Productions
"Bringing Light to the Darkest Night"
01/01/07 at 10:50 AM
sissy
i don't think the people who produced this dvd are just out to make a buck, also it has been so many years since this happened i don't think you could tell if she was pregnant or not. it was nice of the producers to give a percent of there profit to domestic violence, they did not have too. Did any of the proceeds from either book go to domestic violence?
sissy
01/01/07 at 11:11AM
cephus
I don't think that in 77 years that 2 books and 1 dvd is a lot
01/01/07 at 11:34 AM
ladebug
Hello Sonya,
I found when you see the DVD more than once you are able to pick up on some nuance you missed the first time round. I am not from this area so I never heard of this story until last year and have been able to see the documentary a number of times and keep seeing things I missed first time round. This was not a movie but a documentary, trying to tell the story from the eyes of a 5 yr.old who is now a man. How this effected him and then with interviews of those still living, if you read posts in this board you will find the same feelings expressed in the documentary theme. The very fact you found this board answers your question..we are all trying to find clues and understand the broader question of domestic violence in any family. We welcome questions so we can all have a better understanding of how events such as Melissa Tuttle's death have a common thread of loss and pain to those left behind. If this were an issue of just trying to make a buck the domestic violence would have been left out. Yes, bills need to get paid but I believe those involved have much higher calling with telling this story.
Ladebug
01/01/07 at 11:39 AM
Maria
Hello Sonya,
I'm the guy's mom in the video who was talking about seeing the ghosts of the children. No we did not 'throw this in there" to make the video longer. We had so much more matenal that we gathered that we could have made this into a mini senes. Therefore we had no need to throw anything into it to make it last longer. I think the answer to your question as to why can't we just put this to rest and quit writing books and making movies about it, is contained in your own words that you have bought both books written about it, watched the documentary, and visited the grave, the memorial bridge, etc. many times and registered to be a member of a message forum about this story. Therefore, like the rest of us, you are very much interested in it and it is this very interest that keeps rt alive. Also, the reason for not exhuming Marie's body can be seen on the 2nd page of the thread "Arthur Lawson". Happy New Year
everyone.
Maria
01/01/07 at 05; 17 PM
epdj
3 years ago when Patrick Boyles and I started presenting a program on the Charlie lawson Family, I was asked then and I have been asked since then, why are you doing a program on the Lawson's. Well, I am like everyone else from this area. I grew up hearing the story about them. As a person who loves history and genealogy I just wanted to get people to start thinking about their own family, but I soon realized there was not much to find on the Charlie Lawson Family except what had been put in the newspapers at the time of the event. There were no stories about them in any Heritage books, which are books from an area that tell stories about the families who live in that area. But, the groups who do these kind of books put stories in them on families that people do research on and then send them the story. No one had sent a story to them on the Charlie Lawson Family. It is my belief that every person who has lived on this earth, their life tells a story about them. The Charlie Lawson Story changed the history of Stokes Co forever and nothing can ever change that. Stokes Co. is a wonderful place and is so full of history and good pioneer famlies. But that is life, so as a person who loves history and genealogy I know as we study about our families and things that have happened we can't change history. We can only hope to learn from it and try to make things better for others. I think that was what Matt, Eric and Maria wanted to do when they did the doctumentary. They can't change history, so they want to learn from it and do something good to help others. Esther Johnson
epdj
01/01/07 at 05:30 PM
ladebug
well put Esther, I think those of us who love genealogy find the more we look the more interesting it gets, we find so many little things like putting a puzzle together. Certainly the part about first hearing the story via the Ballad is a common one that many people share. We had a lot more people telling about the ballad, and the role it played in their lives. Heck, we've heard several other people hearing it as a lullaby! And we sure didn't tell the only ghost story around the Lawson's, which started right after the tragedy and continue to this day. And if you don't believe ghost stories, you could say the legacy of the Lawson Family is a haunting to the lives of many people in the area. This is part of the story too, the story of how the tragedy lives on in the community and still touches people's lives. It's a mistake to think that the story ended on that Christmas Day, or after the funeral, or after Arthur died, or after the house was torn down, or that it has even ended at all. Look around and you'll respect how alive the story is, and both positive and negative ways.
Break of Dawn Productions
"Bringing Light to the Darkest Night"
ecalhoun
01/01/07 at 05:50 PM
Maria
You are so right Esther and Ladebug...genealogy is a fascinating puzzle that never ends. I am a genealogist myself and have been for 17 years. And one of the things I love about it (besides being a lover of history) is that it never ends. There was always one more person to find so I kept digging. I loved the years I researched my ancestry. Like the murders of the Lawson family, there was always one more piece of the puzzle to find and when I found it I had to find the place in the puzzle where it belonged. And just like my years of genealogy research, when we did this documentary, I met so many good people and these good people are now new friends of mine that I love and cherish. Ah for the good old days...when I was neither good nor old.
Maria
01/01/07 at 06:35 PM
ladebug
I feel some stories coming along here Maria...
Ladebug
01/01/07 at 06:49 PM
Maria
Oh yeah Ladebug...I've always got a story-in-the-making. Some that need telling and some that still need living. And I'm always right in the middle of one or the other.
Maria
01/01/07 at 07:15 PM
Maria
What a profound truth you spoke Eric when you said this story was not over on Christmas Day. Nor after Arthur died or after the house was torn down. It still lives and continues on. I heard for instance the other week that on July 6th, 1962, Fannie Lawson's brother John Manring's daughter fled her abusive husband one day and went to her parents home to stay. Her husband went after her with a shotgun. Her father met her husband in the front yard with his gun in hand too. They shot each other simultaneously and both John Manring and his son-in-law fell to the ground dead. Another sad and terrible ending to domestic violence. Sometime in the lives of Charlie Lawson and John Manring and that woman's husband they learned that it was okay to beat their wives and to solve their disputes with a gun.
The story continues indeed.
MARIA
01/02/07 at 02:59 AM
2790sonya
Maria, sorry if I upset anyone and yes I am just as nosy as anyone else having grown up in Stokes. I am an avid true crime reader. They are right that no monies from the books were given to domestic violence charities and that there defiantly needs to be a shelter in stokes county. I am going to re-watch the DVD and pay more attention. Also I know some of the folks in the movie! Thanks to all of you who donate to such a worthy cause!
sonya nieberle
01/02/07 at 09:12 AM
ladebug
Hey Sonia,
We are happy you brought up those points in the forum. Remember we are here to discuss how this event changed a community and how we can help prevent domestic violence in our lives. Every family knows someone who is affected by this whether it is physical or the emotional abuse. Someone may not lay a hand on a child but WORDS can be devastating.
No question is ever dumb and gives us all an opportunity to THINK.
Best Wishes.
Ladebug
01/02/07 at 10:14 AM
Maria
That's okay Sonya. No real harm done. Everyone gets worked up over this story at some time or other. The impact of what happened that Christmas day so long ago was and still is phenomenal in it's intensity. One single act of Domestic Violence can and often does reverberate in the lives of people for decades after wards and beyond. Even for people not yet born at the time it occurred. That's part of why it is so horrible and why we who are involved in the making of this documentary are so desperate to do something, anything, to curtail it. I'm glad you felt free to join us again and that you are open to viewing the documentary again. Like me, you will probably be very surprised at what you missed the first time you saw it. Hope to see you again here.
Maria
01/03/07 at 12:54 AM
Quote
Originally Posted by Maria
<snip>
Like me. vou will probably be very surprised at what vou missed the first time you saw it. Hope to see you again here.
Maria
I agree with you there, Maria. I watched it for the third time last night and saw or heard a couple things that I'd missed before. There's so much information there, and I find myself missing part of the audio when I'm looking at the shots or graphics, or missing some some of the pictures because I'm concentrating on the audio. And when they show the family portrait, I don't think that I hear anything at all, because I'm just haunted by that image. As to someone here asking too many or dumb questions, I've always been told that the only stupid question, is the one that's never asked.
Much of the evil in the world is brought about by people believing they are acting for good and righteous reasons. -
Margaret Weis
jackhammer
01/17/07 at 11:19 AM
melissamother
I AM MELISSA'S MOTHER NAME SPELLED WRONG IN DVD (SHARON NORMAN) I DID NOT KNOW MATT MARIE OR ANYONE ELSE WHO WAS MAKING THIS FILM UNTIL OCT.5 2006, WE MET AT A CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR THE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE , I WAS ASKED IF I WOULD SPEAK OUT FOR MELISSA AND ALL THE VICTIMS LIKE HER,IT WAS SO BRAVE OF MATT TO BRING THIS 77 YRS AGO TO NOW INTO LIGHT .THERE ARE SO MANY CHARLIE'S AND GREG'S AND IN STOKES COUNTY .THERE IS NO PLACE FOR THE VICTIMS TO GO SO A SHELTER IS ONE OF THE GREATEST NEEDS FOR VICTIMS ,BUT MORE THAN THAT .THE NEED TO MAKE THE PUBLIC AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND THE SYSTEM TO KNOW CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE .SEE THE FILM AND I GREATLY URGE YOU TO ATTEND THE NEXT VIGIL ON OR ABOUT OCT.6 2007 SEE WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT .SEE FROM THE FAMILY'S LEFT BEHIND AND LEND A HAND .CAUSE UNITED WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE, AND IT CAN BE A FIXABLE PROBLEM .CHARLIE LAWSON FASCINATES US, AND MELISSA TITTLE IS JUST A FACE IN THE DVD TO MOST.BUT IF MORE PEOPLE HAD BEEN AWARE AND NOT AFRAID TO SPEAK UP THINGS MIGHT HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT/THE OLD SAYING FROM 77 YRS AGO TILL NOW A MAN IS THE KING OF HIS CASTLE,RULER OF HIS FAMILY AND YOU DIDNT MIND YOUR NEIGHBOR'S BUSINESS,LIVES ARE BEING TAKEN AND DESTROYED BY THAT OLD WAY OF THINKING EVEN LAW MAKER'S FEEL IT IS SOMEONE ELSE'S TO TAKE CARE OF. I COMMEND MATT FOR A JOB WELL DONE , DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS EVERYONE'S PROBLEM.HOW ARE LAWS CHANGED PEOPLE SPEAK OUT AND YES IT COMES FROM CHARLIE LAWSON AND MELISSA TITTLE TRAGEDIES .BUT FROM THEM WE ALSO LEARN AND GROW TO HELP THE NEXT VICTIM NOT BE A TRAGEDY.MY EMAIL IS POSTED CHECK THE PAPER I PROMISE YOU YOU WON'T LEAVE THE FILM NOR THE CANDLELIGHT VIGIL THE SAME AS WHEN YOU CAME TO EITHER ONE. I URGE ALL TO ATTEND OCT 6, 2007 AND FIND OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP FIX THIS GROWING PROBLEM. MELISSA'S MOM (SHARON NORMAN)
sharon norman
01/17/07 at 11:24 AM
Maria
Thank you so much Sharon for your post. I agree with everything you said. And thank you for letting us know when the next canlelight vigil will be. If I'm still here I'll be there. To me and I definitely speak for Matt when I say that Melissa is not just a face in our doceumentary. You and your daughter are much much more to us than that.
Maria
01/17/07 at 01:05 PM
ladebug
Hi Sharon,
We really need a voice here on the forum who is knowledgeable about this cause. As much as we all support the film we also want to bring this issue to the for front of peoples minds today. As you stated this is not just a story from 77 years ago. It still remains a story too common in everyday family's. We need to continue to make this a topic being discussed.
Ladebug
01/17/07 at 01:34 PM
jackhammer
Thank you for adding your voice here, Sharon. And thank you for sharing your very personal story with us. I know that the filmmakers are donating a percentage of the film's earnings to a cause for helping to prevent domestic violence and setting up a facility in Stokes County. Aside from that, if we have some extra money and would like to help with that cause, is there an address that we can use to contribute? There may allready be that information included on one of these posts here. If so, I'm sorry for the repeat. Perhaps we can put an address on the Domestic Violence thread. Thank you all for doing what you are doing to bring the skeleton of domestic violence out of the closets, and adding it to our everyday conversations. Just talking about it is a first step, albeit a huge first step.
Much of the evil in the world is brought about by people believing they are acting for good and righteous reasons. -
Margaret Weis
jackhammer
01/18/07 at 03:28 AM
ecalhoun
Sharon -
Your support really lets us know we are on the right path. Melissa's story is just as important to us as the Lawson Family. For me, the most we can do to honor her, and all the other victims of these terrible tragedies, is to create some good for communities today.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, but with everyone's help we'll make sure it isn't forgotten the rest of the year.
Eric (still embarrassed about the name snafu...)
2790sonya
I am only 25 years old and remember reading the first book when it came out in 1990. I also have purchased the newest book and DVD and been to the Lawson Memorial bridge and grave site many times. I was just wondenng from purchasing the DVD how much of the monies go to domestic violence victims? It just says a percentage. The DVD in the end sorta relates a lot to Melissa Tittle's death and this is fine but was just wondering if who ever made the DVD was connected to her in any way and did the DVD to mainly help domestic violence victims and if so this is great. This is going to probably make some people mad. The DVD seemed sorta weird. I mean who is the guy in the red shirt with the beard telling the story of the ghosts he seen in the cabin when he was five years old? Is that the guy who made the video and his mom? It seemed as though they threw in these parts to make the video longer. Also i know their is a lot of controversy about the tragedy. In the last book Judy wrote about how their was not DNA back in 1929. Well duh but how about now. we have DNA now so why can't they just dig up Marie's body (sorry for disturbing the peace) but so many people want to know and people are writing books and making movies to make a buck and truly find out if Marie was pregnant and if the dad was Charlie. I have heard they can not do this unless a murder occurred, well one did so lets find out the FACTS and move on and let the entire family rest in peace and quit writing books and movies about it.
sonya nieberle
12/31/06 at 11:28 PM
ecalhoun
Thanks for the question, Sonya. We were able to leave aside 10% of the profits to benefit domestic violence organizations in NC, starting in Stokes County. There is no shelter currently, and a non-profit organization has been formed to open one. Sorry, I don't have their website at my finger tips, but I'll post that soon. For more discussion of this side of the film, and how it came to mean so much to the film, I'd recommend listening to the radio interview on WUNC Radio, which you can find on the Links page here:
www.bodproductions.com/newsinto.htm
Eric
Break of Oawn Productions
"Bringing Light to the Darkest Night"
01/01/07 at 10:50 AM
sissy
i don't think the people who produced this dvd are just out to make a buck, also it has been so many years since this happened i don't think you could tell if she was pregnant or not. it was nice of the producers to give a percent of there profit to domestic violence, they did not have too. Did any of the proceeds from either book go to domestic violence?
sissy
01/01/07 at 11:11AM
cephus
I don't think that in 77 years that 2 books and 1 dvd is a lot
01/01/07 at 11:34 AM
ladebug
Hello Sonya,
I found when you see the DVD more than once you are able to pick up on some nuance you missed the first time round. I am not from this area so I never heard of this story until last year and have been able to see the documentary a number of times and keep seeing things I missed first time round. This was not a movie but a documentary, trying to tell the story from the eyes of a 5 yr.old who is now a man. How this effected him and then with interviews of those still living, if you read posts in this board you will find the same feelings expressed in the documentary theme. The very fact you found this board answers your question..we are all trying to find clues and understand the broader question of domestic violence in any family. We welcome questions so we can all have a better understanding of how events such as Melissa Tuttle's death have a common thread of loss and pain to those left behind. If this were an issue of just trying to make a buck the domestic violence would have been left out. Yes, bills need to get paid but I believe those involved have much higher calling with telling this story.
Ladebug
01/01/07 at 11:39 AM
Maria
Hello Sonya,
I'm the guy's mom in the video who was talking about seeing the ghosts of the children. No we did not 'throw this in there" to make the video longer. We had so much more matenal that we gathered that we could have made this into a mini senes. Therefore we had no need to throw anything into it to make it last longer. I think the answer to your question as to why can't we just put this to rest and quit writing books and making movies about it, is contained in your own words that you have bought both books written about it, watched the documentary, and visited the grave, the memorial bridge, etc. many times and registered to be a member of a message forum about this story. Therefore, like the rest of us, you are very much interested in it and it is this very interest that keeps rt alive. Also, the reason for not exhuming Marie's body can be seen on the 2nd page of the thread "Arthur Lawson". Happy New Year
everyone.
Maria
01/01/07 at 05; 17 PM
epdj
3 years ago when Patrick Boyles and I started presenting a program on the Charlie lawson Family, I was asked then and I have been asked since then, why are you doing a program on the Lawson's. Well, I am like everyone else from this area. I grew up hearing the story about them. As a person who loves history and genealogy I just wanted to get people to start thinking about their own family, but I soon realized there was not much to find on the Charlie Lawson Family except what had been put in the newspapers at the time of the event. There were no stories about them in any Heritage books, which are books from an area that tell stories about the families who live in that area. But, the groups who do these kind of books put stories in them on families that people do research on and then send them the story. No one had sent a story to them on the Charlie Lawson Family. It is my belief that every person who has lived on this earth, their life tells a story about them. The Charlie Lawson Story changed the history of Stokes Co forever and nothing can ever change that. Stokes Co. is a wonderful place and is so full of history and good pioneer famlies. But that is life, so as a person who loves history and genealogy I know as we study about our families and things that have happened we can't change history. We can only hope to learn from it and try to make things better for others. I think that was what Matt, Eric and Maria wanted to do when they did the doctumentary. They can't change history, so they want to learn from it and do something good to help others. Esther Johnson
epdj
01/01/07 at 05:30 PM
ladebug
well put Esther, I think those of us who love genealogy find the more we look the more interesting it gets, we find so many little things like putting a puzzle together. Certainly the part about first hearing the story via the Ballad is a common one that many people share. We had a lot more people telling about the ballad, and the role it played in their lives. Heck, we've heard several other people hearing it as a lullaby! And we sure didn't tell the only ghost story around the Lawson's, which started right after the tragedy and continue to this day. And if you don't believe ghost stories, you could say the legacy of the Lawson Family is a haunting to the lives of many people in the area. This is part of the story too, the story of how the tragedy lives on in the community and still touches people's lives. It's a mistake to think that the story ended on that Christmas Day, or after the funeral, or after Arthur died, or after the house was torn down, or that it has even ended at all. Look around and you'll respect how alive the story is, and both positive and negative ways.
Break of Dawn Productions
"Bringing Light to the Darkest Night"
ecalhoun
01/01/07 at 05:50 PM
Maria
You are so right Esther and Ladebug...genealogy is a fascinating puzzle that never ends. I am a genealogist myself and have been for 17 years. And one of the things I love about it (besides being a lover of history) is that it never ends. There was always one more person to find so I kept digging. I loved the years I researched my ancestry. Like the murders of the Lawson family, there was always one more piece of the puzzle to find and when I found it I had to find the place in the puzzle where it belonged. And just like my years of genealogy research, when we did this documentary, I met so many good people and these good people are now new friends of mine that I love and cherish. Ah for the good old days...when I was neither good nor old.
Maria
01/01/07 at 06:35 PM
ladebug
I feel some stories coming along here Maria...
Ladebug
01/01/07 at 06:49 PM
Maria
Oh yeah Ladebug...I've always got a story-in-the-making. Some that need telling and some that still need living. And I'm always right in the middle of one or the other.
Maria
01/01/07 at 07:15 PM
Maria
What a profound truth you spoke Eric when you said this story was not over on Christmas Day. Nor after Arthur died or after the house was torn down. It still lives and continues on. I heard for instance the other week that on July 6th, 1962, Fannie Lawson's brother John Manring's daughter fled her abusive husband one day and went to her parents home to stay. Her husband went after her with a shotgun. Her father met her husband in the front yard with his gun in hand too. They shot each other simultaneously and both John Manring and his son-in-law fell to the ground dead. Another sad and terrible ending to domestic violence. Sometime in the lives of Charlie Lawson and John Manring and that woman's husband they learned that it was okay to beat their wives and to solve their disputes with a gun.
The story continues indeed.
MARIA
01/02/07 at 02:59 AM
2790sonya
Maria, sorry if I upset anyone and yes I am just as nosy as anyone else having grown up in Stokes. I am an avid true crime reader. They are right that no monies from the books were given to domestic violence charities and that there defiantly needs to be a shelter in stokes county. I am going to re-watch the DVD and pay more attention. Also I know some of the folks in the movie! Thanks to all of you who donate to such a worthy cause!
sonya nieberle
01/02/07 at 09:12 AM
ladebug
Hey Sonia,
We are happy you brought up those points in the forum. Remember we are here to discuss how this event changed a community and how we can help prevent domestic violence in our lives. Every family knows someone who is affected by this whether it is physical or the emotional abuse. Someone may not lay a hand on a child but WORDS can be devastating.
No question is ever dumb and gives us all an opportunity to THINK.
Best Wishes.
Ladebug
01/02/07 at 10:14 AM
Maria
That's okay Sonya. No real harm done. Everyone gets worked up over this story at some time or other. The impact of what happened that Christmas day so long ago was and still is phenomenal in it's intensity. One single act of Domestic Violence can and often does reverberate in the lives of people for decades after wards and beyond. Even for people not yet born at the time it occurred. That's part of why it is so horrible and why we who are involved in the making of this documentary are so desperate to do something, anything, to curtail it. I'm glad you felt free to join us again and that you are open to viewing the documentary again. Like me, you will probably be very surprised at what you missed the first time you saw it. Hope to see you again here.
Maria
01/03/07 at 12:54 AM
Quote
Originally Posted by Maria
<snip>
Like me. vou will probably be very surprised at what vou missed the first time you saw it. Hope to see you again here.
Maria
I agree with you there, Maria. I watched it for the third time last night and saw or heard a couple things that I'd missed before. There's so much information there, and I find myself missing part of the audio when I'm looking at the shots or graphics, or missing some some of the pictures because I'm concentrating on the audio. And when they show the family portrait, I don't think that I hear anything at all, because I'm just haunted by that image. As to someone here asking too many or dumb questions, I've always been told that the only stupid question, is the one that's never asked.
Much of the evil in the world is brought about by people believing they are acting for good and righteous reasons. -
Margaret Weis
jackhammer
01/17/07 at 11:19 AM
melissamother
I AM MELISSA'S MOTHER NAME SPELLED WRONG IN DVD (SHARON NORMAN) I DID NOT KNOW MATT MARIE OR ANYONE ELSE WHO WAS MAKING THIS FILM UNTIL OCT.5 2006, WE MET AT A CANDLELIGHT VIGIL FOR THE VICTIMS OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE , I WAS ASKED IF I WOULD SPEAK OUT FOR MELISSA AND ALL THE VICTIMS LIKE HER,IT WAS SO BRAVE OF MATT TO BRING THIS 77 YRS AGO TO NOW INTO LIGHT .THERE ARE SO MANY CHARLIE'S AND GREG'S AND IN STOKES COUNTY .THERE IS NO PLACE FOR THE VICTIMS TO GO SO A SHELTER IS ONE OF THE GREATEST NEEDS FOR VICTIMS ,BUT MORE THAN THAT .THE NEED TO MAKE THE PUBLIC AWARE OF THE PROBLEM AND THE SYSTEM TO KNOW CHANGES NEED TO BE MADE .SEE THE FILM AND I GREATLY URGE YOU TO ATTEND THE NEXT VIGIL ON OR ABOUT OCT.6 2007 SEE WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT .SEE FROM THE FAMILY'S LEFT BEHIND AND LEND A HAND .CAUSE UNITED WE MAKE A DIFFERENCE, AND IT CAN BE A FIXABLE PROBLEM .CHARLIE LAWSON FASCINATES US, AND MELISSA TITTLE IS JUST A FACE IN THE DVD TO MOST.BUT IF MORE PEOPLE HAD BEEN AWARE AND NOT AFRAID TO SPEAK UP THINGS MIGHT HAVE BEEN DIFFERENT/THE OLD SAYING FROM 77 YRS AGO TILL NOW A MAN IS THE KING OF HIS CASTLE,RULER OF HIS FAMILY AND YOU DIDNT MIND YOUR NEIGHBOR'S BUSINESS,LIVES ARE BEING TAKEN AND DESTROYED BY THAT OLD WAY OF THINKING EVEN LAW MAKER'S FEEL IT IS SOMEONE ELSE'S TO TAKE CARE OF. I COMMEND MATT FOR A JOB WELL DONE , DOMESTIC VIOLENCE IS EVERYONE'S PROBLEM.HOW ARE LAWS CHANGED PEOPLE SPEAK OUT AND YES IT COMES FROM CHARLIE LAWSON AND MELISSA TITTLE TRAGEDIES .BUT FROM THEM WE ALSO LEARN AND GROW TO HELP THE NEXT VICTIM NOT BE A TRAGEDY.MY EMAIL IS POSTED CHECK THE PAPER I PROMISE YOU YOU WON'T LEAVE THE FILM NOR THE CANDLELIGHT VIGIL THE SAME AS WHEN YOU CAME TO EITHER ONE. I URGE ALL TO ATTEND OCT 6, 2007 AND FIND OUT WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP FIX THIS GROWING PROBLEM. MELISSA'S MOM (SHARON NORMAN)
sharon norman
01/17/07 at 11:24 AM
Maria
Thank you so much Sharon for your post. I agree with everything you said. And thank you for letting us know when the next canlelight vigil will be. If I'm still here I'll be there. To me and I definitely speak for Matt when I say that Melissa is not just a face in our doceumentary. You and your daughter are much much more to us than that.
Maria
01/17/07 at 01:05 PM
ladebug
Hi Sharon,
We really need a voice here on the forum who is knowledgeable about this cause. As much as we all support the film we also want to bring this issue to the for front of peoples minds today. As you stated this is not just a story from 77 years ago. It still remains a story too common in everyday family's. We need to continue to make this a topic being discussed.
Ladebug
01/17/07 at 01:34 PM
jackhammer
Thank you for adding your voice here, Sharon. And thank you for sharing your very personal story with us. I know that the filmmakers are donating a percentage of the film's earnings to a cause for helping to prevent domestic violence and setting up a facility in Stokes County. Aside from that, if we have some extra money and would like to help with that cause, is there an address that we can use to contribute? There may allready be that information included on one of these posts here. If so, I'm sorry for the repeat. Perhaps we can put an address on the Domestic Violence thread. Thank you all for doing what you are doing to bring the skeleton of domestic violence out of the closets, and adding it to our everyday conversations. Just talking about it is a first step, albeit a huge first step.
Much of the evil in the world is brought about by people believing they are acting for good and righteous reasons. -
Margaret Weis
jackhammer
01/18/07 at 03:28 AM
ecalhoun
Sharon -
Your support really lets us know we are on the right path. Melissa's story is just as important to us as the Lawson Family. For me, the most we can do to honor her, and all the other victims of these terrible tragedies, is to create some good for communities today.
October is Domestic Violence Awareness month, but with everyone's help we'll make sure it isn't forgotten the rest of the year.
Eric (still embarrassed about the name snafu...)