Bring Rocky Home - 2012-03-11 - 09:00pm

Please don't think that I am lazy or that I have forgotten about you because I am not writing.... on the contrary - I have never been more busy in my life.... a busy that I wish I did not have to do but at the same time - given the circumstances - would not choose to do anything else even if I could.... looking for you has become our number one priority – we are working on whatever we can to find you….. and while we are at it – we are praying for your safety.

I will start with last Monday morning.... I was at work in Norfolk, Virginia and I received a phone call from a police detective.... my heart almost stopped.... he said that the police in Louisiana found you and that you were ok but you said that you did not want to talk with anyone at home and that you were not going to call.....

There was no time to be sad - I prayed and thanked God that you were ok.... under normal circumstances I might have been sad but the fact that you were ok was so WONDERFUL that nothing could damper that feeling... Shortly after that your dad called me and we were on the phone for a good five minutes without saying a word to each other but at the same time saying everything.... I went back to the hotel and the first person that I called was your mom.... I think that was probably the first night that she slept also....

All we knew was that you were on a bike last weekend - 40 miles before New Orleans and you were heading east to a beach..... That could be anywhere……

Before I even continue – THANK YOU so much for all the prayers all over the world….. please don’t stop praying that God will keep Rocky safe and that he will know how much he is loved, wanted and needed at home…..

Susan and your dad drove to New Orleans on Monday afternoon - your dad was still very sick at that stage but there was nothing that was going to stop him from any chance of finding you.... they knew where you were seen over the weekend and they drove around until 4am Tuesday morning with no luck... they slept for three hours and then started again at 8am until late in the afternoon before the decided to drive home – a five hour drive….

I changed my flight and flew home on Tuesday night to be home when your dad got home.... disappointed and alone... I don't think that you have any idea how much he actually cares about you - actually both of us care about you..... Not even to talk about so many other people that are worried sick about you….
I worked from home on Wednesday and Thursday and as soon as I stopped working on Thursday afternoon we got in the car and headed back to New Orleans..... In the meanwhile Debbie flew in from California and Susan was back and ready to go again….. We started driving with the intention of driving as far as Gulfport Mississippi…… that was pretty far but we figured that we could do it……

We – once again – drove around for hours in the area where you were last seen – we so badly just wanted to know that you had food to eat – that you had a safe place to sleep….. We even brought you some clothes, etc. just in case you did not want to come home…. Your dad packed your bag so I have no idea what is in there and he did that for you so I will not interfere  :-)

We stayed in a hotel Thursday night in New Orleans and started driving early towards Gulfport Mississippi….. We wanted to go to the nearest beach and stay as close as we could to the beach to see if there was any sign of you…. That in itself was going to be like fining a needle in a haystack but to find you – totally worth it!!!

Now we were looking for a person on a bike that is heading to the beach….. Pretty crazy hey but your dad and I both knew that if we did not do this we would regret it for the rest of our lives…. The entire time I am praying: “If Rocky can only know how much we love and miss him this could all be so different.”….. but how will you know if we did not tell you…..?

Well Gulfport, Mississippi turned into Biloxi, Mississippi turned into Mobile, Alabama turned into Pensacola, Florida……. Yes, I said Florida….. Like I said – to the ends of the earth for you.... Now it is late in the afternoon and we are in Florida…..

While we have been driving, every time your dad sees one of us dozing off he gets so mad at us because we are there to look for you…..   and we all know that but we were all so tired by now…..   Every time we see a bicycle we are hopeful just to turn around disappointed again…. We may be disappointed but we will NEVER stop until we find you!!!

We started driving back from Florida on Friday evening….. Spent the night in a hotel in Mobile, Alabama and once again was on the road early Saturday morning……

We knew that this was our last chance – if we did not find you then, you will be missing once again to us…..
We saw the most beautiful flowers and your dad said that he wanted some – just as well….. We stopped to buy some and he then realized that we left his wallet on the back of the truck and that it is gone…… you can only imagine….. We backtracked and went all the way back to the gas station…. Did not find anything….. believe it or not, just then his phone rang – a guy that owned a local bar drove over his wallet – picket it up – and called the number on the business card…. Can you believe that…… he was less than a block away from where we were at that moment….. Your dad jumped out, got the wallet from him and hugged the guy…. Debbie, Susan and I all looked at each other – if he did that for his wallet we don’t even want to think what he is going to do when he finds you…..

Just outside of New Orleans later that afternoon there was a lady next to the highway walking her dog – it was an old dog and once he starts walking he just does not stop… he got away from her and there was no way that she could catch him – so – your dad turned the truck around, jumped out and caught the dog for her…. She was so grateful so a movie that I saw a long long time ago came to mind…. Play It Forward – the gist of the movie is that if someone does something good to you, don’t repay that person – instead, help another person that is in need……. In other words – Pay-it-Forward…..

We just kept on going and finally got home just before 1am on Sunday morning….. We never stopped looking for one minute…. We never stopped praying for one minutes…. We never stopped hoping for one minute….

We are all disappointed that we did not find you but we are still praying that God will keep you safe and work in your heart to contact us or to come back home….

Hope you sleep well and know that we will always love you and we really miss you!!

Dad and Ma