Independence day~ based on my 4th of July

A Fourth of July Story1

On July 4th, 2009, the Gloucester community witnessed a tragedy. A baby boy drowned in the York River at Gloucester Point Beach. It did not take very long for the news to spread across the county and across the bridge into Yorktown. The story was being retold over and over again, and every time the story would change, just a bit, until the story took on a life of its own. People have wanted answers and have been left confused on how an event like this could take place at all. It has been built into a conspiracy, perhaps to make it easier to cope, but there was no conspiracy to this at all, it happened within a blink of an eye, and could have happened to anyone of us. It is important to know how easy this can happen, not just at the water, but anywhere.2

I would like to share with you, the story as I saw it that morning on the beach. My purpose is not to hurt anyone, only to add closure for some. Many people have been hurt over the event they witnessed or heard that early morning. Medical professionals and first responders are debriefed, so that they can deal and cope with seeing a child die. The average person does not know how to deal with this kind of thing. I have chosen to write this as a way to help heal myself, and try to make sense out of the things that are trapped inside of my head. I cannot go on as if this was just another day in my life.3

My Family and I arrived early at the beach that morning. Everyone knows in order to get a good picnic area at he beach on the fourth it is important to arrive at 5 am. The park was scattered with early arrivers. Different people were setting up their picnic spots, some were getting their boats ready for the water, some were sitting in the parking lot and others were fishing on the pier. At 7 am after our picnic spot was prepared, we took our excited children down to the beach. Between the five of us, my siblings and I, we had 11 children with us. We set up our beach spot near the rocks, closest to the Vim’s building. The beach was completely empty all the way to the pier, and on the other side, there were people scattered about. 4

As my sister and I were sitting there at the beach we noticed two little guys enter the beach area near us. They were small, one little guy was wearing a red shirt, a chunky little fella, he looked to be about 5 years old, and with him was a smaller guy, wearing a black shirt, he looked to be about three years old. They found a little green shovel in the sand and were digging around, then they crepted down close to the water. They let the water hit their little feet and then ran back up to the sand. They would walk further away from us, repeating, going down to the water and back up to the sand, every time getting a little bit braver and going just a tiny bit deeper. I had assumed someone was watching them from the picnic area, but my sister and I were on edge with our hearts pounding out of our chest, because we knew that if something happened, they would not have had time to react, unfortunatly, neither would we. Finally, the little guys looked as if they were leaving the beach area as they ran up the boardwalk near the pier. We had felt relieved that they had moved away from the water. Within seconds, I looked back over, and the two little guys had made their way back down to the water near the pier. I stood up and screamed to my sister that they were in the water, we instantly took off running, and in a blink of an eye, the water quietly covered the smallest boys head. The older brother was walking out of the water, unaware that his baby brother had disappeared. As we were running, the little boy’s Mother, who quickly grabbed her oldest son out of the water, joined us. She also was unaware that the smallest boy was in the water. She had thought he was at the park, near her picnic site. Due to a language barrier, she was confused by our panic as my sister and I searched the water. She asked the brother in Spanish “where is your brother?” the little boy pointed quietly at the water, not understanding the danger. The Mother, my sister and myself searched the water in panic, but we could not find him. It seemed as if so much time had gone by, but in reality, it was only minutes. We could not run fast enough, scream loud enough, nor could we search fast enough. My husband dived around on the other side of the pier, with other people from the beach who joined into help, not sure what was going on, except knowing that someone was missing in the water. I left the water throwing up, my sister could not walk, and the Mother was walking around confused in disbelief. On the seventh minute, a man on a Jet Ski noticed the boy in the water on the opposite side of the pier where he had went under. He was pulled out and given CPR right away, but by then, it had been too late.5

People were confused how something like this could have happened, assuming they would have heard the panic, but there was no way to hear or even know, unless you had been looking directly at him at the moment he went beneath the water.6

The day continued for most people on the beach, most people feeling as if they were in a bad dream. People were blaming and questioning themselves, had they found him sooner, had they ran faster, had they grabbed the little boys hands and found the parents, everyone wishing they could change the outcome, “what if”. The ‘what if ‘does not matter now, we all would have done something different, had we known. 7

We may never know this little guys life story and maybe we are not meant to, but it is important for us all to remember him. What happened to him could have happened to anyone of us. We all have had a heart dropping moment, just for a second, where our children have crept away. Most of us have been lucky enough to find our children or to have them nearby. We all have had a moment where we have said “don’t do that again, you scared me to death!”. That was not the case for these parents; they will never get to say that to their little boy. We cannot be angry with anyone for this, and we cannot blame others more than they will blame themselves. These parents do not need our ridicule; they have their own. They will live with this the rest of their lives; instead, we should all take a lesson from this. Children need us, they need us to protect them from a crazy world, all over there are dangers lurking, not only near water but everywhere. Children do not understand, but we do.8

I must believe that day, was this little boys purpose. The biggest event in his life was his last. Although, he left this world silently, he left behind a loud message for us all. PLEASE PROTECT THE CHILDREN~ THEY NEED YOU!9

He was a visitor in our small town, a little boy excited to see the beach and watch the fireworks; he was fearless and innocent. Now, he is a part of our Gloucester community, and as a community, we can remember him, and learn from him. I ask anyone who has read this, who was a witness that day, or was touched by his story; please join on August 4th at 7:00 pm at Gloucester point beach, he went to the beach that morning for a celebration, let us celebrate for him and for all children in honor of his memory. Bring a flower to place in the water, and bubbles to blow in the air. We can come together, in hopes that he will make us all more aware. He has left too much of an impact on most of us, to leave this world without saying anything.10

His name was Brian Flores.11

Shell 12