My brother, Kurt, died on Sept. 1, and his memorial was held recently at an art gallery in Cumberland. Kurt lived in Frostburg for the last seven years.
I had never been to the area until I found myself sitting with him at the hospital. We grew up in New Jersey, and I could not understand why he chose a place so far from the ocean. Then one by one each of his friends came in the room to sit with him, and I realized Kurt had found his home.
My brother and I share a painful childhood history that has always made finding a home a difficult prospect. But Kurt lived in a world where people are generous of heart.
While I have found good people most places, I have never found so many in one region.
Part of me felt like an outsider, as these folks knew my brother much more deeply as an adult than I ever would and yet they taught me about him through their love.
There I sat as Kurt’s little sister, experiencing what he must have felt seven years ago when he moved to Frostburg. A sense of awe and fear. A world completely different from the one we knew as children.
There were probably many mornings when Kurt woke up thinking it was all a dream.
Each person who entered that hospital room embraced me. Each person we visited or who came to the memorial embraced me and my son, Sam.
Kurt lived in a world of artists and cyclists. People who challenge themselves and the world to be better with a gentle peace and not angry tones. So many unique voices who inspired me to want more in this life.
I have always been the fighter with the loud voice trying to get others to change. Acceptance has never been my strong suit.
Yet I now feel like I have a chance to live a more meaningful and peaceful life because of being touched by those who call the Frostburg area their home.
As we were driving back home to Philadelphia, Sam turned to me and asked when we would be moving to Frostburg.
Lee Detwiler
Jenkintown, Pa.
Editorials
Her brother found a home here, and now she understands why
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High priority
Maryland school officials on Tuesday put an exclamation point on the need to take student-athlete concussions more seriously.
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Cashing in
As anyone who lives in the area knows, economic gains have been hard to come by in recent years. The opening of the Rocky Gap Casino Resort is one of the biggest boosts the region has seen in some time.
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Why have the media been silent all this time?
When I read the Cumberland Times-News Editorial this morning, Friday, May 17, entitled, “Outrageous,” I laughed like a kid at a birthday party!
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What are chances this much money will be spent on road?
I was intrigued by cost data summarized in reporter Kathy Mellott’s recent article, “Completing southern link of U.S. Route 219 said to be best use of highway funds,” which appeared in the Cumberland Times-News on Tuesday May 14 (Page 1A).
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School board should be doing better job with less money
The Allegany County Teachers Association (ACTA) board of directors recently submitted a letter to the editor asking the Allegany County commissioners to fully fund the Board of Education’s budget request for the upcoming fiscal year (“Commissioners should fund school board request,” April 29 Times-News).
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Better ‘Click It’
If you notice more police on the highway this week, it’s for a couple of reasons.
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They do bite
This week is National Dog Bite Prevention Week. For anyone thinking that is not such a big deal, consider that 4.7 million Americans annually are bitten by dogs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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Stop buying licenses; let them find the money somewhere else
A few months ago, I received two cards from the National Rifle Association. These were dealing with a legislative alert.
They asked that I should contact Sen. George Edwards and Delegate Kevin Kelly concerning the anti-gun legislation. -
Strength of gun laws is not reflected in grisly statistics
According to the FBI’s uniform crime reports, California had the highest number of gun murders in 2011 with 1,220, which makes up 68 percent of all murders in the state that year and equates to 3.25 murders per 100,000 people.
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An old story
What for years has been an on-again, off-again battle over funding between the Allegany County Commissioners and the Allegany County Board of Education seems to be growing even uglier.
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