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Elizabeth Smart..... home at last. The Editors of The Silver Lining News If there was ever a Silver Lining to a story....it happened in Sandy Utah March 12th 2003. We from the Silver Lining News had family members search for Elizabeth Smart. Through the months, we had contact with a member of the Smart Family..expressing our concern and love for the family. We received back many kind emails of thanks for our concern. This is the kind of story the Silver Lining news LOVES to report....this is truely a Silver Lining News Story. Elizabeth was kidnapped out of her bedroom a year ago this last June 2002. Now it seems she was sighted (although no one knew it was her) throughout the last 9 months.... several times on the streets and in a party just one a half block from her own home. For the first 2 months after her capture, it seems she was living with her 2 alledged kidnappers (a man and a lady) in the mountains just one to three miles east of her home. Thousands of people searched the mountains for weeks and even months on end. It was reported that she could hear the searchers calling her name, but she was prevented from answering. Today, thanks to a couple that saw a drawing (and pictures) of her alleged kidnapper. as identified by the only wittness, her little sister sleeping in the same bedroom when she was kidnapped. These pictures appeared on Americas Most Wanted Television program. The couple had watched the program and thought they could identify him as he and 2 women were standing by a bus stop. The police were called, and it turned out one of the 3 people waiting for the bus was Elizabeth. There are many questions we all have. We are sure in good time the questions will be answered. But for now we are happy for the Smart Family that they are once again united. The Smart Family never gave up hope. Today they proclaimed it was a miracle. We do believe in maricles.....that is what The Silver Lining News is based on. We will keep you, our readers posted and updated on this story. As Ed Smart reported today.... if anyone wants to do something meaningfull for many children like Elizabeth that dissapear each year, call your congressman and senators to get the Amber Alert legislation passed right away! That is your way to help the Smarts. Who knows, someday it may help someone you are very close to. Again.... WELCOME HOME ELIZABETH April 30th 2003.... a great day for the family of Elizabeth Smart. Elizabeth, her mother and father watched as President Bush signed the Amber Alert Bill. The many months Elizabeth was missing, and after she returned home, the Smart family worked hard to help get this passed. Perhaps two silver linings came out of this story... 1) Elizabeth returned home, 2)Through this experience the Smart family helped get the Amber Alert Bill passed....perhaps helping many children in the future. Congradulations on both...to the Smart Family. A positive Look at Sept. 11th , , August 2002 THE FOLLOWING ARTICLE IS SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT! LETS BE GRATEFUL THINGS WERE NOT WORSE! The following article states that "just over 5,000 people were missing in the Twin Towers of The World Trade Center from the Sept. 11th 2001 terrorists attacks. We now know the missing number are almost half that amount....so keep that in mind while reading the below facts... Everyone has been hearing the death toll rise and reports of the destruction from the terrorist attacks on the U.S. These were deplorable acts that we will never forget. But now is a time to look at the other side of the numbers coming out of New York, Washington and Pennsylvania. The sad but somewhat uplifting side that the mainstream media has not reported yet - the SURVIVAL rates and some positive news about the attacks. THE BUILDINGS The World Trade Center The twin towers of the World Trade Center were places of employment for some 50,000 people. With the missing list of just over 5,000 people, that means 90% of the people targeted survived the attack. A 90% on a test is an "A".(Since this article was written, on May 30th 2002 it was confirmed 2823 people are dead) The Pentagon Some 23,000 people were the target of a third plane aimed at the Pentagon. The latest count shows that only 123 lost their lives. That is an amazing 99.5% survival rate, in addition, the plane seems to have come in too low, too early to affect a large portion of the building. On top of that, the section that was hit was the first of five sections to undergo renovations that would help protect the Pentagon from terrorist attacks. It had recently completed straightening and blast proofing, saving untold lives. This attack was sad, but a statistical failure. THE PLANES American Airlines Flight 77 The Boeing 757 that was flown into the outside of the Pentagon could have carried up to 289 people, yet only 64 were aboard. Luckily 78% of the seats were empty. American Airlines 11 This Boeing 767 Could have had up to 351 people aboard, but only carried 92. Thankfully 74% of the seats were unfilled. United Airlines Flight 175 Another Boeing 767 that could have sat 351 people only had 65 people on board. Fortunately it was 81% empty. United Airlines Flight 93 This Boeing 757 was one of the most uplifting stories yet. The smallest flight to be hijacked with only 45 people aboard out of a possible 289 had 84% of its capacity unused. Yet these people stood up to the attackers and thwarted a fourth attempted destruction of a national landmark, saving untold number of lives in the process. IN SUMMARY Out of potentially 74,280 Americans directly targeted by these inept cowards, 93% survived or avoided the attacks. That's a higher survival rate than heart attacks, breast cancer, kidney transplants and liver transplants all common, survivable illnesses. Pass this information on to those in fear and the media. Don't fear these terrorists. The odds are against them. -Author Unknown- FIVE LITTLE ANGLES By The Editors of The Silver Lining News On August 7th 1998, the Newspaper headlines read "Five little girls die in the trunk of an automobile in West Valley City, Utah." It seemed the whole state was numb. Families from throughout Utah and across the country held their own children a little closer as they tried to understand, and contemplate the magnitude of the loss. In two of the three families, the deceased children were all the children they had. Comfort and support was sent in countless ways from across the country and even from around the world to the families of the five little girls. These five little girls, Alisha Ann and Ashley Marie Richardson, Jaesha Lyn and Audrey Cleo Smith and McKell ShaeAnn Hedden (Pickels) would be remembered as "The Five Little Angels." How could there ever be a silver lining to an event so devastatingly tragic? How can the parents who remain continue with life after having such a large part of their life ripped away from them? If one is to continue in life, be productive, and survive, it seems one must find the silver linings. On March 6, 2000, nearly a year and a half after the devastating accident that claimed the lives of their two children and their three playmates. Paul and Dixie Smith shared their thoughts and feelings about what helped to them through this difficult time in their lives. Mr. Smith: "If you are going to have happiness and joy, you have to be thankful for others. The way the community showed it's support, Such as all the people who came to the funeral, sent gifts and cards, and sent comfort in countless ways, was just incredible, and is one thing I will never forget". Mrs. Smith: "Even now there is still continued support from the community. Like the owner of the egg farm across the street from where we live. They were so touched to know that our five little girls had played at the park, in which they had donated the land, that they planted five rose bushes and placed a plaque dedicated to the memory of "The Five Little Angels". "Also an artist by the name of Jean Keaton drew a pencil sketch of the girls with Christ. This drawing reflects their true personalities. They all look so happy, the way we know they are now. It is amazing that she could look at photographs of each child and capture the true essence of each one of the girls in this drawing". Mr. Smith: "When something like this happens, where do you turn for comfort? For me, having the knowledge that they are ok and being watched over by our Heavenly Father, who they said their prayers to every night, and knowing that we will see them again, provides us a lot of comfort". "And talk about being thankful, I remember right after it happened praying every night to Heavenly Father. I remember how thankful I was for the time we spent with them". "You can not find happiness without being grateful. As strange as that sounds in a situation like this, I still think that it is true. Our children's lives were not all that long. We did not want to be involved with negative things that would cloud the wonderful memories that we have of the good times". "What was most important to me I guess, was the values and everything I taught our oldest daughter Jaesha, and was starting to teach our youngest daughter Audrey. I wanted to make a difference with the values that were taught to our children. I guess there is no big pay-off like a lawsuit would bring. However, for me there is a personal pay-off. And I know when we meet again, the girls will look at us and say, 'you did it, and you did it with the values that you taught us. We're proud of you' ". "We believe that there are definitely times when a lawsuit is needed to advance a cause. However, we felt that we could advance our cause without one. In addition, we did not want to spend two years of our lives concentrating on the last 45 minutes of their lives. There are a lot more memories of them to hold on to than that". Mrs. Smith: "We now have a son, and we do not want him to grow up with negativity. He is going to have to come to the understanding of what happened to these girls. He will learn of his sisters, cousins And their best friend through the positive memories we have. We do not want anything to cloud his mind, such as a terrible lawsuit we had to go through or anything like that. Every thing we want to teach him about them, we want to be positive, and not have anything negative besides the accident it's self". These were the thoughts and feelings of the Smiths on March 6th 2000.After the accident that claimed the lives of their children, the parents of "The Five Little Angels" decided that, above all, they did not want to hear of another accident like the one that claimed the lives of their children. They decided that the best way to reach this goal was through the spirit of cooperation with the auto industry and the spirit of competition between the individual car companies. The parents decided that the fastest way to reach this goal was by approaching the car companies in a positive manner. Since the accident of August 7th 1998, (the third accident of it's kind that claimed the lives of 11 children total in the summer of 1998) the auto industry has responded in a big way. Within months after the accident, General Motors had a retrofit kit available for all GM platforms. These include Saturn, Pontiac, Chevrolet, Oldsmobile, Buick, GMC and Cadillac. The retrofit kit can be installed on most of these cars 1990 and newer. In March of 2000, the Expert Panel on Trunk Entrapment released an up-to-date report that outlined the current commitment of different auto manufactures from around the world to produce an inside the trunk release retrofit kit for their older cars. The results are encouraging, but surprising. Auto manufactures like Ford motor company, Mazda and Volvo have not yet made a commitment to this important safety issue. Dear readers, please follow the link below to read some of the Smiths own letters and writings. I AM THE FLAG Editors of The Silver Lining News In keeping with the positive things that have come out of Sept. llth 2001 is the pride the people of our country have shown for our country. An example is the number of web sites showing this. One of the best we have seen was done by Rocky and Shril of Florida. It is Titled: I am the Flag. Look to our link site to connect. FIVE LITTLE ANGLES More Information Page , My name is Paul C. Smith. I have no background in engineering, psychology, politics, or statistics. I cannot tell you how often trunk entrapments take place, or what the chances of it happening again are. I cannot tell you how often a crime takes place involving a trunk, or what goes on in a criminal's mind. I stand before you simply as a parent who has loved and lost children. That is what I want to focus on today-- the children. We had two (2) wonderful little girls born to us. Jaesha was born March 31, 1994, and Audrey was born March 21, 1996. As with all children, we could tell from an early age that our children had unique characteristics, and we knew they had the potential to flourish as they grew. Jaesha was a self-starter, and extremely independent. She made things happen rather than waiting for them to happen. She cared for her little sister and made sure that Audrey was not left out. Audrey was nurturing and caring. She would cuddle and make sure her baby (doll) was with her all the time. She carried her baby on her back in a little backpack. Audrey also liked to paint and color. She was a perfectionist and very patient. Both of their lives were unique. It was December 26, 1996, when I fully realized what it was to be a parent. I wrote down my thoughts and called them "The Gift." THE GIFT It is the evening of December 26, 1996. The day after Christmas and the day that I realized the greatest gift of all. We had been working steady for a month and a half. (7 days a week, 10+ hours a day) The quality time that I spent with my family was almost non-existent; and the home projects were building up. I told my employer that I would take off from Christmas Day until the following Monday so I could catch up on the home projects. (like putting new brakes on Dixie's (my wife) car, and rebuilding the horse feeder with Dad) It was while I was putting the brakes on Dixie's car that I realized the opportunity that I had been missing. It was getting dark and I was just starting to install the last set of brakes. And, as if things weren't busy enough; Dixie had to work and I was left to tend our two kids, Jaesha and Audrey. Audrey was in with Grandma Smith, but Jaesha had to be with Dad. She was just over 2 years old, full of questions, and into everything. I asked her to hold the light for me while I finished the last set of brakes. She excitedly ran over to help. I showed her how to hold the light and warned her about the hot parts that could burn her. She eagerly held the light for me. I noticed how she held the lamp steady with two hands and watched with great intent at everything I did. Seeing this took me back to a different time and a different car when I would hold the lamp for my Dad as he worked on his car. And that's when I realized the gift to relive experiences of my childhood through the experiences of my child. Now, I look forward to re-experiencing the simple things in life that had become routine and dull as an adult. I will do this with the intent and excitement that comes with a 2 year old at my side. These were my thoughts and feelings on December 26, 1996. We have taken many family vacations. The girls had been to Yellowstone, Disneyland, Catalina Island, Michigan, Jackson Hole, Lava Hot Springs, and to our local park many times. I am thankful for the adventures we had together and will cherish them forever. The experiences spent together with family are what life is all about. The Scottish Poet James Barrie's words seem appropriate: "God gave us memories that we might haveJune roses in the December of our lives." On August 7 1998, tragedy occurred in West Valley City, Utah. Our five beautiful little girls, McKell (5), Alisha (6), Ashley (3), Jaesha (4) and Audrey (2), so young, so vibrant, and so loving--hid away as children often do in their innocent games. After opening the trunk of a parent's car with the inside release lever on the driver's side, they crawled into the trunk, the lid shut and they were unable to escape. After 45 minutes of frantically searching the neighborhood, calling the police, and calling neighbors, someone suggested we look in the trunk. Unfortunately, that is where they were discovered. Due to the day's sweltering hot temperatures, all five of our darling children had perished from heat exhaustion. What I am going to describe to you next is something that I hate to think about, and NEVER want to relive again. Nevertheless, I relive it every time a story makes the news about a person of any age becoming trapped in a trunk. I feel it is necessary to bring this up to you as panel members so you will have a sense of what I relive, and what other people like me relive every time a story makes the news about ANOTHER person becoming trapped in a trunk. These memories, and the desire NOT to relive them, is the driving force that motivates me to do what ever it will take to ensure that this type of tragedy NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN. In the weeks that followed, we felt a strong need to be actively involved in doing our part to insure that something like this would not happen again. We contacted our local Saturn dealership. Saturn was willing to help us in our effort to do something to improve the safety of the trunk latch system that exists in cars today. Saturn contacted General Motors Corporation. We know that this type of tragedy has happened in many different makes and models of cars. But it was General Motors that made the decision to design a safer trunk latching system. General Motors decided in conjunction with the National SAFE KIDS Campaign to help raise public awareness about the dangers of children becoming trapped in automobiles. We also learned of the efforts of Janette Fennell and the TRUNC organization. Since 1996, their dedication and research on this important safety issue has enabled the American public to understand the severity of this problem. We were excited with the progress that was quickly made by GM on the new trunk latch system. Much like the potential we saw in our children, we could see the potential that this new trunk latch system would have to GREATLY reduce the chance of people becoming trapped in trunks. However, UNLIKE the children, we do not want to see this potential to fall short. We would like to see it live to the full measure of its potential. The sooner a trunk latch system is made mandatory in all new cars and available to people with older cars, (at little or no cost) the sooner people like myself will profit. We will not profit in a financial sense, but rather in an emotional sense. I encourage you as panel members to put trunk release regulation in place immediately. The cost would be too great to observe this problem any longer. In closing, I would ask that you please remember the children. Remember that they lived, and how they lived. Your decision to make trunks escapable will enable our "Five Little Angels" to live on as "Protecting Angels" for all children and adults in the future. Thank You, Paul C. Smith September 11th 2001 Editors of The Silver Lining News September 12th 2001 Unthinkable...words can't express what our neighbors, towns, states and whole nation feels. Find comfort in our neighbors, friends and loved ones, and be kinder to each of them. As a Nation we will triumph....but we won't forget! We can only say at this time we will await the Silver Lining Stories relating to this tragic time, we know there will be many to be told in the months and years ahead. God Bless all of you and God Bless America. View Archive
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