Hallowed Ground
Connie Regener
April 1, 2002
The courtyard of Samantha Runnion's residential complex looked like a set where two different movies were being filmed at the same time. News crews on deadline were frantically interviewing visitors in three languages. Photographers with long lenses were vying for the best vantage point. In the background, children were playing hopscotch and riding skateboards on the sidewalk. At the same time, others were leaving gifts, crying, and then hugging each other. One group was reciting the Lord's Prayer. Others knelt alone in meditation, crossed themselves, and lit candles. The kidnapping, sexual assault, and murder of Samantha Runnion had captured the attention of the nation in the summer of 2002. Thousands of people were making pilgrimages to the abduction site a few miles from my home. As a volunteer with the Orange County chapter of the Trauma Intervention Program (TIP), I had worked many times alongside police, fire, and emergency medical personnel to provide on-scene emotional first aid. But neither TIP nor I had a protocol for "makeshift shrine duty." And I couldn't recall a single seminary discussion on makeshift shrines. I moved in for a closer look. An assortment of recreation tables was laden with massive floral arrangements and paper-wrapped bouquets. This colorful crazy quilt formed a background for butterfly balloons, unicorns, American flags, rosaries, personal notes, religious statues, streamers with Asian characters, and whirligigs: patriotism mixed with sympathy mixed with whimsy mixed with religion. After sundown, the TV crews were gone and the mood was quieter; instrumental music played softly over speakers. A stream of children created mounds of new stuffed animals-and some favorite worn toys. Votive lights overflowed ...
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