Tobe Frank: A father’s despair

To be frank it is at times like this that you just want to go home, hug your son, your daughter, your grandchildren and never let them go.

I was away from home traveling, when I heard the heartbreaking news of Luke Batty, a spritely young 11 year old whose life was  tragically and preventably cut short by his father…BY HIS FATHER!  I don’t think he is deserved of that title, sadly.  Because it is a terrible thing to say.

Luke was doing what every 11 years old boy should be doing… enjoying cricket training with his mates, no doubt with plenty of sh*ts and giggles.  He should have had no reason to fear for his life.  He should have had no reason to look over his shoulder.  He should not have had to look into his father’s eyes and plead with him to let him live.  It makes me so mad, so sad, so guilty and so filled with despair that no one could stop this or prevent it.

I will never, EVER understand how any person that can call themselves a father, a dad, daddy (or mother, mum, mummy for that matther) can be so messed up that they end the life of the child they helped to create.   Walk away, end your own life, but you do not have the right to touch that child.

I look back to the days when I would travel a lot for work.  I’d be away from the kids for two to three days a week.  I’d be in Sydney or Melbourne or some other place and I’d walk past a mother with the cutest little girl at a shopping centre, or pass a young boy that reminded me of my kids.   And here I was, a thousand miles from home, missing out on all  the fun back home.  Sometimes the urge to drop everything and fly, even run, back home was so profound, you’d mentally start trying to determine the right words to use to effectively tell your boss to stick it fair up his arse.

And now as I read the news and listen to the horrible story all I want to do is tell my traveling buddies to stick it up their arse…I’m going home to hug my kids and tell them I love them.  Sure they’re 40, 38 and 33, but they’ll never be a day where they aren’t the most precious things in my world (along with the missus of course).

So if you haven’t done it for a while, no matter the reason, pick up the phone now, get in the car now, do whatever you have to do now to make sure that you can give your kids a hug, tell them that you love them…Luke’s mum will never get that chance again and that’s just not right.

Qantas…I’ll need an earlier flight thanks.

P.S. Even more sadly, the father was suppose to be in jail…We are again reminded that we are running a legal system not a justice system…

Did the terrible tragedy of Luke Batty this week spark emotion for you? 

image: twitter.com/y7news