AAC
DIRECTOR’S DESK
and our dogs on our back deck. Tey are in the shade looking into the trees. It is a perfect day made for fishing or golfing, two of Wells’ favorite hobbies. I think it’s a small sign from above. Wells is no longer tortured by addic- tion, and in that sunshine there is hope that we can defeat both the pandemic and the epidemic. Until next month, Peace.
Mark R. Hayes Executive Director Arkansas Municipal League
The “unblended” family: Wells, Alison, Bliss, Mark, Franz, and Colin.
rhetoric that accompanies most large cases. Litigation seldom completely solves societal problems. Tose problems are solved by the commitment and work of people on the front lines. It starts with parents, teachers, counselors, doctors, friends, clergy … this list goes on and on. Together we can solve this opioid epidemic. Together we can help those with addiction. COVID-19 will have an injectable vaccine soon. Te opioid vaccine isn’t in a tube with plunger and needle. We are the opioid vaccine. We need the dollars that a settle- ment may bring, for sure, but the reality is the citizens of this state have to fight this evil together. Tat and that alone will defeat this epidemic. We can win for Wells and every other person stricken with this plague and for every family and friend that is tortured by the loss of a loved one. I’ve written many, many things in my life, but this has been the hardest thing I’ve ever attempted. Strangely, there’s a small catharsis in seeing the words in black and white on my laptop screen. Not complete by any stretch of the imagina- tion, but a start. Frankly, I don’t think my family as a whole or individually will ever be the same, particularly Alison. Mothers do indeed have a stronger bond to children. I’ve seen the anguish up close and personal. She suffers because she carried him for nine months and nurtured him from infancy to manhood. She was a great mom to Wells and is a great mom to Franz, Bliss and Colin. I need to give credit where credit is due. Alison helped me by proofing this. Te reality, however, is that we co-authored this column. I’ve done nothing more than repeat the many conversations she and I have had during the past two weeks and likely will have for the remainder of our lives.
As I conclude on this bright sunny day, I can see Alison COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2020
Footnotes
As of May 5, 2020, the governor’s emergen- cy declaration was extended 45 days. Several categories of businesses have been allowed to
1
open or partially open including barbers and hair salons. 2
Leonard Nimoy portrayed Spock in the long-running TV and movie series Star Trek. Nimoy invented the Vulcan hand gesture by borrowing from a tradition in Orthodox Judaism. Te hand gesture first appeared in the first epi- sode of the second season of the original TV show in 1967.
QZ.com, Baltimore Sun and Wikipedia. 3
considered insults. 4
Te hand gesture of raising both the index and middle fingers is widely known as a sign of peace in the United States although in other countries certain variations are
Wells Curry Bratton came into my life in 2007 when I married Alison. He and his sister became instantly close with my sons and as our relationships deepened I simply referred to them as my children. My three boys and my daughter. Legally, Wells was my stepson, but his mother and I raised him with his father, giving him three parents. Recently one of Wells’ friends described our family as the most “unblended blended family” she had ever seen. She meant that as a compliment noting that we were a family without notations of step or biological. Just a loving, caring
family of six that is now down to five. 5
Hydrocodone and Oxycodone. Mark, Alison, family and Municipal League friends —
God Bless you and comfort you in these times. And may our forthcoming victory over the opioid industry honor the memory of Wells and so many others.
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