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Additional Titles

TEARS FOR FRANKIE BLUE EYES

 

By CJ Graham
August 10, 2008
NewsWithViews.com

It will take courage to read this article and absorb its message. It is not a pleasant, mindless distraction to the everyday problems we all face. It is painful and frightening and necessary. While it would be far more comfortable to turn away and redirect your attention to other less disturbing issues, I hope you will not turn away.

If the family of this precious little boy is so courageous as to open their wounded hearts to complete strangers, to share their tragedy, so that we might prevent a future tragedy, then the least we can do, as Americans, is to take the time to read and acknowledge their efforts.

I hope this message will sit heavily upon your heart as it sits heavily upon mine. We must understand the true cost of the policies of our local and federal government and their dereliction of duty in securing our borders, and refusing to uphold and enforce the laws set in place to protect our communities and our citizens. We have an obligation to speak out and to fight for the safety of our most vulnerable citizens. Being unaware and uninvolved is no longer an option. The life of someone you adore may depend on your activism and the activism of strangers.

There are no special interest groups lobbying for this family, no ethnocentric organizations being funded by greedy corporations telling his story. No elected officials pandering for votes warning us of the possibility of a similar fate. There are no marches in the streets or rallies. Other than one news article, I have found nothing in the mainstream media though they have hours a day to fill with stories of celebrity gossip and ‘feel good’ human interest stories. There is just you and I and Frank’s brave family.

Of course, most of the media doesn’t really want to report Frank’s story. They don’t want us to know that statistics prove between twelve and twenty-five Americans are killed on American soil each and every day at the hands of criminal illegal aliens. They don’t want us to wake up. But we are waking up. We are waking up to the corporate greed that is infecting our government and our media and costing American lives each and every day the status quo continues.

This little boy and his family deserve better then to be classified a mere crime statistic, one of the faceless, nameless numbers that add to the ever growing tally that is our victim’s crime lists and our national shame.

That is why I have brought this family’s plight to your attention and why I hope you will read it and pass it along to everyone you know. This family would have never known this fate but for the greed and self serving gratification of those who have sworn an oath to protect him.

And, though it is heartbreaking, let us not look away. Let us face the truth together. And then let us act to prevent this tragedy from ever happening to one of our children again, on our watch.

Frank ‘Frankie Blue Eyes’ Brooks was 5 years old. How many mothers ever in their worst nightmares could imagine having to write a eulogy for their baby? Frankie Brooks faced that nightmare. Read her words and then go and hug your children and thank God that you have another day to make a difference.

Excerpts from Eulogy

“There are thousands of stories I could share with you about how awesome little Frank was. How genuine he was. He was a happy smart child, never one sad day in his life. He lived every day long and played hard. We could not have prayed for a better addition to our family. This child loved so many people and brought so much joy to those around him. He had his parents, grandparents and brother and sister wrapped around his finger. One day will not pass that I will not think of the joy he brought to the world”.

“He loved school so much. He loved his friends. He would talk about his buddies constantly. When I would pick him up he would hug each one of them. The love that surrounded him at SBEC was surreal. I have never seen a child love to go to school so much.

Each day when I would pick him up he always save me his cookies in his lunch box. So we would drive away and we would figure out the ‘fairest way’ to sort out his cookies. Frank has an infectious flirty smile, he could make anyone do anything he wanted to do.

(Frankie Brooks)

Frank was an adorable little guy, with a mischievous, good humored grin. His bright blue eyes, which he inherited from his grandpa and namesake Frank, inspired his K-3 Teacher, Mrs. Greer, to nickname him ‘Frankie Blue Eyes.”

He was loved by his Grandfather Frank, an army veteran who met his Greek wife Penelope while serving our nation in Germany. They have been married for forty-one years. They moved from Florida after retirement to live with their daughter Frankie to help out with the children while she worked as an accountant.

Frank’s mother moved the family from Memphis Tennessee, to the rural countryside of Tate County, Mississippi, where their front yard borders a rural country road. Frankie made the move to protect her children from the crime of the city. She thought her children would be safer there.

She did the best that she knew how to do to protect her children by relocating them from a dangerous area, but the danger came to them. In one horrible, tragic, unimaginable moment, her world became a nightmare. Her story needs to be told so that the other parents of this nation will begin to fully understand, we cannot run from this problem. There is nowhere safe to run. We must stand as parents and confront these issues. We must hold our government, both local and federal accountable and we must demand a return to safety and sanity in America. This cannot stand. This must not stand.

Who was the little boy we have all been cheated from ever having the honor of knowing? He was Frank ‘Frankie Blue Eyes’ Brooks, and he was five years old.

He was loved by his 13 year old brother Drew who would play Rock Band and wrestle with him to make sure he was tough enough to protect himself when he grew up. He was adored by his ten year old sister Penelope who would read to him and do craft projects with him.

He was loved by his Grandfather Frank after whom he was named and clearly resembled. He was nurtured by his Grandma Penelope who lavished him with attention and took him shopping for clothes. And he was treasured and adored by his daddy and mommy, Thomas and Frankie Brooks who would do anything to protect him.

Frank was a unique and beautiful little boy with all of the quirks necessary to make him the apple of his family’s eye. But in many ways, Frank was an average little American boy. He shared many of the same likes and dislikes of a typical five year old. You may see a lot of similarities between Frank and your own children. And, it may break your heart as it did mine.

Frank loved to watch PBS’s Sprout and refused to allow the family to watch any other channel. His favorite cartoon character was Spongebob. Like his mother who loves music, he loved Rock and Roll and the band Rush, Tom Sawyer being his most favorite song. His favorite toys were his army men.

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Frank did not like to sleep alone and slept next to his mommy all of his little life. I cannot imagine his mommy’s pain now, going to sleep without his little warm sweet body to cuddle.
Like so many American children, Frank dreamed of growing up to become a firefighter or an astronaut. We will never know what amazing feats he might have accomplished had his life not been so cruelly ended decades before his time.

Last Halloween, like children all over our great nation, Frank dressed as Pooh Bear, bag in hand, ready to collect all of the candy a little one can carry and consume. For Christmas, he was delighted to receive the transformers he had so wanted. Just like little boys all over this country on Christmas morning, 2007. Frank loved his Lego creations and would proudly show them off to family and friends.

His favorite meal was the McDonald’s Chicken Nugget Happy Meal with Chocolate Milk, easily one of the most often chosen favorites of five years olds nationwide.

Frank’s mommy describes him as witty and arrogant and always ready to make others laugh.

Frank loved to swim, jump on the trampoline, go to the park, and skate. He especially loved when the rain would turn the front yard to mud so that he could go “mudsliding.”

This is what he had been doing the morning he was killed, May 24th, 2008. He went to get his sister’s shoe which was stuck in the mud, in the front yard, beside a rural Mississippi road. He was standing in his yard when he was killed in the presence of his brother and sister. He died in his mother’s arms.

(News story written by Dana Rebik for ABC 24 Eyewitness News about the death of Frank Brooks)

[MEMPHIS, TN - Tate County officials say a man was drunk when he hit a small boy with his SUV and drove away.

Jaime Perez, 35, is charged with DUI, leaving the scene of an accident and driving without a license. Investigators also believe Perez is an illegal immigrant. He is accused of hitting 5 year-old
Frank Brooks on County Line Road in Tate County.

Eyewitnesses say after Frank was hit, the driver went racing down the street in his Ford Excursion.
Police say he lost control of the SUV and veered off the road.

"Someone had said there were beer bottles in his vehicle. He didn't say a word to anyone," said Frankie. Frankie said her son was not breathing and died in her arms on the side of the road.

While federal immigration officials try to decide if Perez will be deported, Frank's family is left to deal with the grief.

According to the Tate County Sheriff, Perez is being held without bond. Officials say Perez had a Tennessee identification card, but say he had Mexican documents with him as well, plus some questionable social security cards.”]

After reading this news article, I knew I had to tell Frank’s story. But I could have never written it without first getting the permission of the family; it would not have been decent to do so. So, I called, uninvited and with great reluctance. I didn’t know what to expect and I was concerned about causing the family further pain, but I found them to be open, lovely, kind people when they shared their grief with me. When I spoke to Frankie Brooks I asked her how her parents and other children were coping, she responded:

“My mother cries daily. My son is not sleeping at night anymore. My daughter is higher strung and is in constant need of affection. We feel like the walking dead. My friends are a large part of my life and a friend of mine said he feels like we are all raped. That is what it feels like to an outsider. This child made people that happy.”

And when I asked her how she was coping she replied,

“Truthfully, I basically have no will to live anymore; I am just going through the motions dealing with work and trying to be strong for my family. I only see an unhappy life for the rest of my life.

My mom is pretty dramatic and I always told her well at least we are all healthy and no one sick or died. I even told her that a few weeks before this happened. I have never cared much about material items, and now I feel that I am being punished by God, since I do not care about money and items like this he will take away the only thing in my life I did care about. My family. A loss of one child has made my entire world come down.”

There is so much more I want to say. So many thoughts I would like to express but where normally I would let fly and tell it like it is, I am held back by concern for the family. I do not want to cause them anymore pain then they have already endured. So I will restrain the emotional tide surging against my heart and let Frankie’s words speak for both of us.

Thank you, Grandpa Frank, Grandma Penelope, Frankie, Drew and little Penelope for your courage in speaking out, despite your broken hearts. Thank you for allowing us to understand your loss and to learn from it. Thank you for your willingness to brave your sorrows to reach out to the citizens of our nation.

In your pain and sorrow and courage you may help to make necessary changes to the status quo and the greedy pandering that is endangering all of the children in this nation, and possibly save the life of someone else’s child. God Bless and keep you and yours and God Bless little Frank.

I hope that we, as a nation, never become desensitized to the death and destruction being wrought on our citizens, at the hands of illegal aliens. I hope we never come to accept the negligence and incompetence of our government officials in failing to protect our families. I hope we never learn to accept the outrage, grief, and shame when a loss like this, a preventable death of one of our greatest treasures, our children, occurs. God forgive us should that ever happen.

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If you would like to send heartfelt condolences to this lovely family, you may email me and I will see that the family receives them. There has been no trust fund set up for the family and their funeral expenses were paid for by the family’s insurance. They ask for nothing of us for sharing their experiences but I will ask, on their behalf, if you are so inclined, that you say a prayer for peace and comfort for their family and for little Frank ‘Frankie Blue Eyes’ Brooks.

� 2008 CJ Graham - All Rights Reserved