Auntie Charo's Soapbox

KUAM's webpage reports that Johny Newby, 47, the father of Jeromy Newby, a 15-yr-old who died due to injuries sustained while at Southern High School by another teenager.

Newby is the father of the late Jeromy Newby, the Southern High sophomore who was brutally beaten at the Santa Rita campus last October. Jeromy's story shocked and saddened our tightly-knit island community, coming to a tragic and heartbreaking ending when, after being in a coma for more than ten weeks, Jeromy died on January 5 due to complications with his injuries.
KUAM reports that: "This is the second time Newby has been arrested this year. On February 14 police arrested the Talofofo man after he was removed from a public school campus after allegedly getting into a verbal argument with school officials. "This is the second time Newby has been arrested this year. On February 14 police arrested the Talofofo man after he was removed from a public school campus after allegedly getting into a verbal argument with school officials. "
He is now in jail after a search that revealed he was in the possession of ICE and was under the influence of alcohol and drugs...not to forget he was driving under the influence of same. He was booked and confined.

It's easy to gather the news, report it and even make a sensation over it, but what of the deeper issue, that the man mourns the loss of a son. Who can just get a life back after watching a son slowly die after being brutally beaten up? I don't condone the use of drugs or alcohol as a means of escaping reality....perhaps he was doing just that, but while doing that, he brings more pain to his family that continues to mourn their loss. Is what he's doing his own way of giving up on the world? A slow way to leave the world? I liken it to Anna Nicole. I think all those drugs didn't make her happy, especially after she buried her son. I think she took whatever it was to escape with the idea that it would speed up her end days. Could this be what Mr. Newby's doing?

I hope that there's someone in the jail system that can reach the man's psyche, recover his soul and save it before it's totally lost. The next time Mr. N. does the ICE/alcohol thingy, it may just be his last time. The man surely needs help. Hopefully, someone at DOC will befriend him long enough to allow him to grieve his son's loss and realize that his use of drugs is shortening his life, bringing more pain to his family who does not deserve it. Maybe someone at DOC will be able to teach this man how to pray, to know that he is Loved by God. One can only pray that this man finally finds peace, finds God.