Audition: “Bank of New York” @ RMB Casting.  Eh, I’m not really sure how much I connected with what was going in this spot, but I don’t think I stank up the room either.  Fingers-crossed.

Just before heading to a little after 3am I received a private message on Facebook from a friend back home in Virginia Beach.  It began in an ominous way.  It read “Good morning old friend.  I’m sorry to reach out to you with this news…”

My first thought was that my father had been assaulted or killed at the family business. 

I opened up the rest of the message and, unfortunately, some had, in fact, been killed.  I immediately called my younger brother in Virginia who was brushing his teeth as he was getting ready for work.  He knew nothing of it.  At the same time I was on Google and Facebook in a frantic search for details.  To my horror I learned that the person deceased was my father 18 year-old male employee.

It doesn’t appear to have been a robbery; just another senseless killing.  The young man and my father were closing the store for the evening.  The young man was taking the trash out back and my father was in the front of the store when he heard what he thought were pans falling on the floor.  It turns out that what he was hearing were, in fact, gunshots.

  

Honestly, I’d had a feeling that this very thing would happen.  I desperately wanted to convince my family to consider moving to another and hopefully safer location.  This is the way I thought my fathers’ life would end.  I just couldn’t, for the life of me, figure out why he was so okay with risking his life in that manner.

So, to make a long story, I’m broken-hearted over this.  My heart goes out to the family and friends of the young man killed.  My heart also goes out to my father.  I’m sure he’s having a really tough time right now.

http://www.stephonfuller.com