CONSIDER THIS: Just another Friday night at the News

By MICHAEL RODRIGUEZ
Managing Editor
editor@sbnewspaper.com

Michael Rodriguez

Michael Rodriguez

If you’re ever looking for a little action, come by the San Benito News office during the weekend or on a Friday night, when all sorts of strange activities occur ranging from the belligerent storming into the building threatening bodily harm to somewhat eerie and unexplained phenomena. Well, you can chalk up the end of this particular workweek for a young and feisty group of journalists to just another bizarre happening.

I don’t recall the exact hour, but it was Friday evening when I fielded perhaps one of the more interesting phone calls I’ve ever received. A gentleman who we’re well-acquainted with phoned in to seek our advice on a certain matter. Although we were right in the middle of a deadline for the weekend edition, I also didn’t want to appear dismissive of a reader’s concerns. So I obliged.

The gentleman in question, who we’ll call Sean, proceeded to inform me that he had taken his son from the biological mother and that an Amber Alert may soon be issued for the child.

According to Sean, his son had not been properly cared for because the mother failed to take the boy to the hospital after being significantly injured in an apparent fall.

“If caring for my son is against the law, then put me in jail,” an inconsolable Sean said, weeping while reasoning that he’s the child’s father and therefore afforded rights to protect his son at all costs.

I’m not a father yet, so I can only imagine that instincts must certainly play a role when parents make impulsive decisions that negatively impact themselves and their children. And that’s assuming that Sean was telling the truth.

Still, while I’m not a judge or on a jury to determine whether Sean or the mother are guilty of child negligence or abuse, I think we can all agree that taking your son from his mom, who also has custody rights, without first exhausting all legal options is probably a bad move.

After pleading with Sean to turn himself in, or to at least contact the authorities, I realized that there was little I could say or do for a man whose desperation led him to take such actions. Besides, it was quite clear that Sean wasn’t necessarily looking for advice but for someone to validate his actions, a story about how the boy’s mother is unfit to care for him, or maybe even a shoulder to cry on.

God knows.

Moments after ending the conversation with Sean, I called local police as well as the Cameron County Sheriff’s Department, where he said the mother filed kidnapping charges against him, in an effort to resolve the situation peacefully. I gave them Sean’s number and informed them of all he had divulged to me. After all, there’s just no telling what frame of mind Sean was in and how much the situation impaired his ability to rationalize. He had already taken drastic measures, so who knows what else he could have done.

Prior to this rather eventful yet disturbing telephone conversation with Sean, I had contemplated the idea of making myself unavailable to callers during the few hours before we go to press. It’s safe to say that I changed my mind after speaking with Sean. Though I can’t possibly know if I was any assistance to Sean, his son, the child’s mother or the authorities, I’m almost certain that I was supposed to take that call for a reason. I can only pray that Sean did the right thing in the end.

Here’s to hoping.

So anyway… that was my Friday night. How was yours?

Permanent link to this article: https://www.sbnewspaper.com/2013/11/16/consider-this-just-another-friday-night-at-the-news/

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