"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32)
If I'm ever asked to play one of those parlor games where you have to disclose something about yourself nobody would ever guess or suspect, I usually write, "I was hooked on a soap opera". Indeed I was. It was "All My Children" on ABC back in the early 1970s. (That's the show on which Susan Lucci played Erica Kane.) One summer day in 1972 my mother asked me to watch that particular day's episode and let her know what happened. I did. And the next thing you know, any weekday I was free at 1 in the afternoon it was time for "All My Children". I went to Stonehill College. 1 p.m. was not a time in which a lot of classes were typically scheduled, so I caught AMC two or three times a week. And that went on till sometime in 1974 when (as we evangelicals sometimes admit) "I got convicted by the Holy Spirit". I knew watching AMC was a stupid waste of time. But it was sort of a guilty pleasure. However, shortly after "getting convicted" I gave the show up cold turkey! And I'm glad I did!
At least "All My Children" wasn't real. I mean, nobody was ever going to run into Dr. Tyler, or Paul Martin, or Nick Davis, or (perish the thought) Erica Kane at a supermarket or a fast food restaurant or while pumping gas at a self serve filling station! But the "soap opera" currently happening in Canton, Massachusetts, and which has been "on the air" (so to speak) for over three years is the "Karen Reed Case", and it's a reality. I remember when radio and television news reports in late January and early February of 2022 began speaking about the body of Boston Police Office John O'Keefe being found in the snow during a blizzard on a front lawn at 34 Fairview Road, Canton. And, several days later, reports were given stating he'd been fighting with his girlfriend Karen Read and that it was believed she'd hit him with her SUV and left him to die. I didn't know Officer O'Keefe, nor did I know Karen Read. It sounded like whatever happened on Fairview Road between O'Keefe and Read was both bizarre and horrific!
During the next couple of years, rumors and reports about John O'Keefe's death became more frequent and more amazing. A controversial blogger and a couple of popular talk radio hosts began frequently reporting that Karen Read did not hit John O'Keefe at all. Rather, it was rumored that he'd been murdered inside the 34 Fairview Road house and that Karen Read, a victim of an elaborate conspiracy and cover-up, was being framed. In Canton, a Boston suburb of about 24,000, two camps formed: There was the "Karen Read was Framed" camp, and there was the "We Support the Men and Women of the Canton Police Department" camp. If you think the divisions between people who love Donald Trump and people who hate Donald Trump are scary and extreme, that's nothing compared to the divisions over the Karen Read case in Canton, Massachusetts!
It's not unusual that over the years some people have switched sides once or even twice. I will admit, I was once on one side and now I'm on the other side! I'm not going to tell you which side I'm on. Last year Karen Read was tried for Second Degree Murder (among other charges). The trial resulted in a "hung jury". Several days ago, the "re-trying" of Karen Read began at Dedham Superior Court. I've been praying about this case for a long time, and it's my sincere prayer that if she is truly Guilty she'll be found Guilty, and if she is truly Not Guilty she'll be found Not Guilty.
Whatever the results of the trial, I suspect Karen Read will never set foot in Canton, Mass. again! But many of the other "players" (or maybe it's "personalities") are still around and about in the community. It is freaky to see one of them when you are just going about your business in Canton. I try to not stare at the person and to not act weird, but it's difficult! I frequently take a long walk around Canton. On my walk, I pass 1 Meadows Avenue, where John O'Keefe lived and where his parents now live. I pass the Waterfall Bar, and C.F. McCarthy's, where John and Karen and many of the "players" were on that fateful January 2022 night. I also pass Chris Albert's pizza shop. His brother was the owner of the Fairview Road residence. I don't pass 34 Fairview Road. It's a couple miles away. But I suppose one day if I get ambitious, I'll take a walk past there, too.
Who would have thought this case would make Canton famous and that "true crime junkies" from all over the world would be studying and discussing these "players" and locations? Yeah, it's like people and events from a soap opera have come to life! It's kind of eerie!
Almost ten years ago now, my son Jon and I were on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. Well, Jon was the contestant and I was his "Plus One". That show was produced in several different locations through the years. At that time, the show was done in Stamford, Connecticut. His episode aired several times. The first time was on Columbus Day 2015. Jon had "banked" $30,000 and was going for $50,000. As his "Plus One" I gave him a wrong answer! His "winnings" dropped to $5,000 and that was that! Being on the show was what being in Canton, MA feels like right now. It was so weird to be in studio and to be talking to Chris Harrison. In the "green room" I'd also talked to other contestants and a producer. I know the word is overused but it was surreal. And, I felt the same way when I told a story at a MOTH Mainstage Event in Boston which was broadcast on their national radio program on public radio a couple of times. When you're there and it's real it's what I call "a trip"!
I know this will sound crazy to some readers and that some will laugh at me or mock me. But at Millionaire as I was experiencing everything remember thinking, "When I get to Heaven, I think it's going to feel something like this. I read the Bible and I pray. And I know God has done some powerful and significant things in my life. But at some point I'll pass from this life into the next life - and I'll actually experience what Mercy Me sings about in their song I Can Only Imagine."
I've experienced it before. I'm experiencing it now. And for sure, I'm going to experience it in Heaven someday - that Truth is not only stranger than Fiction - Truth is Reality!
