"Facing Ghosts from the Past"

Revised Excerpt from DoeNetworkNEWS - 2004

(Excerpt from DoeNetworkNEWS)

Some of the members to the Doe Network find us as they seek missing pieces from their past. As Laura Allen sought her brother, Tony Allen, in cyberspace, she found a niche in the Doe Network.

Laura once served as the Doe Network Family/Loved One Liaison and she use her experience with having a missing loved one to help others and we would like to commend her for her selflessness in doing this. 

Laura has written a wonderful outline of her search for her brother. Very descriptive and I would like to include it in it's entirety.

"When I was an infant my brother was two years old. He was talking to me one day, telling me he loved me, and asked me if I loved him. Apparently, I made a face or smiled, which indicated to him that the answer was yes. He exclaimed, "Momma, Lawa love me!" (He couldn't pronounce his Rs.) He was thrilled to know his baby sister loved him. I grew up hearing this story and feeling good about the fact that it was important to that little boy to know this."

"We have an older sister and a younger sister. Tony and I were in the middle, with two years and four days between us. Because our birthdays were only four days apart, we often celebrated them together. We were very close-we were even baptized together. He was my big brother-always watching out for me, making me laugh, playing with me, helping me out with things, and doing nice things for me. I especially remember one time him walking up to the store and bringing me back a pack of Bubblicious Bubble Gum when I was sick."

"Between his ninth and tenth grade years at school, he got to where he did his own thing. He would take off for a few days, then come back home, then he'd leave again. But he always kept in touch. He liked people and was always making friends. Some of them we knew, and some we didn't. By the time I was 14 and he was 16, we had different friends and different activities. He was always on the move, and I liked being close to home, family, and my circle of friends."