Hidden AngelBy BlindEagleChapter 2blindeagle@codeysworld.comCopyright © 2008 by BlindEagle. All rights reserved. |
Josh was on the road again, on his way to the airport. He was flying to join Leif, his business partner and friend, for the opening of their 7th Youth Center for teens. These were teens made homeless because of physical, sexual or mental abuse, kids 12 to 18 years old. Many of them had been thrown out their homes, or decided to leave to feel safe. They would hear about the Centers, and if they really wanted the help then Joshua’s Place was available to assist them. They were screened by a team of social workers and therapists from Joshua’s Place, and approved by the courts and the Child Protection Services Department. All teens who were placed in the Centers went voluntarily.
The Centers were supported by the “Free to Be Me Foundation” established by Josh and his brother John. The Foundation was supported by private, corporate, and other Foundations from around the world who believed in the vision of Joshua’s Place. Josh, at only 23 years of age, had done more for abused and homeless youth than anyone else in the country.
The airport was about a 45 minute drive from Josh’s ranch. As he continued his drive, his mind wandered from time to time and place to place as the scenery passed by. Josh loved the feeling of being out in the open space, away from the congestion of the city, and near to the fresh air. The estate was on a two thousand acre spread of ranchland. He loved the beautiful old oak trees, and the river running free. The chance to go fishing anytime thrilled Josh, and to make sure of that he had various kinds of fish conducive to the area, deposited into his private lake. Josh loved basketball, swimming, hiking, and camping, and riding his four wheelers, horses, and dirt bikes on the trails of his ranch.
Josh had been known as the kid with an angel’s heart. He was always a nice boy, and was quick to help whenever he could. But sometimes even the innocent have bad experiences, which many times are beyond their control. God has a way of turning around the bad placed in our path by bad people, for our good.
Things had not come easy for Josh and his brother. Their teen years were met by a very painful experience, and if not for their Uncle Roy and his wife Sarah, the boys’ fate would have been the inevitable. Their parents had been killed in a car crash when Josh was only 12 and John was almost 14. Josh and John were taken in by Roy and Sarah who were awarded parental guardianship. Sarah home schooled the boys, and both graduated high school a year early. John became interested in video game design, while Josh’s interest was counseling abandoned and abused youth.
The boy’s parents had been great admirers of art and rare diamonds, and were wise investors and dealers. The two Finley sons inherited assets estimated at 1.2 billion dollars. To protect the boys wealth, Roy and Sarah had their accounts sealed until they both turned 18. At 18 the boys each received an allowance of 12 thousand dollars a month. Each of them used this money to start their own companies. All college expenses had been paid, including Masters and Ph.D. programs if they chose. At 25 their individual investment portfolios were turned over to their control.
They both went on to finish college, and buried themselves into their work. By the time John was 22 he had designed and built a highly successful video game design company. Worldwide production and sales was over 100 million games, all of which he personally designed. By the time John turned 25 his net worth from his business was estimated at 275 million dollars and was rapidly growing.
Josh was loved by almost everyone who came in contact with him. By the time he was 21 he had completed his Masters in social work with honors, and began the Free to be Me Foundation, assisting teens in need of a safe place. Support came from other organizations committed to the care, welfare, safety, and security of kids in need. Josh also invested in and built his own highly successful real estate business. His company secured the land needed to build Centers across the country. Josh never focused solely on his net worth, but it was estimated at over 200 million dollars. To be with him and talk with him you would never know of his wealth.
Josh knew that his financial status was solid, but he was more interested. in the lives of the kids he was working with and counseling. While in his freshmen year of college, Josh met Leif, a junior majoring in sociology. They became best friends, and since they both had similar plans for their careers they worked together designing and building youth Centers around the country.
When he arrived at the airport Josh was greeted by the airport valet who took his truck to park it, and a skycap who took his luggage to go onto his flight. Because he was a member of the Executive Club, he was escorted to the private waiting area near the boarding gate.
He heard someone in back of him. “I see you’re flying off again Mr. Finley.”
Josh turned with and smiled. “Hey, Samantha, how’s everything going?”
“Everything is going well. But where is that smart partner of yours? If I didn’t know any better, I would swear the two of you were brothers.”
“Just because Leif is older than I am doesn’t make him the smartest one of us. Besides, I’m the better looking one,” Josh replied with a grin.
Samantha rolled her eyes at Josh. “Well, come to think of it, Leif really is hot.”
Josh knew that he was losing this one. “To answer your question, Leif is in Florida overseeing the construction of our 7th Center, and I’m meeting him there to close out the contract and open the new facility.”
A flashback shot through his mind. “You know Sam, I was a wreck my first few years of college, and I don’t think I would be here today if Leif didn’t save me that one night.”
Sam looked at Josh. “I know, and every time you tell me how the two of you met brings both sad and happy tears to my eyes.”
“Samantha, you were my best friend growing up in grade school, and I knew that I had a great friend, and could trust you with my past, when you looked out for me that day when….”
“Ok, ok, you don’t have to remind me of that day,” Sam replied, “it is forever burnt onto my memory.”
They continued to chat until the flight announcement came over the speaker… ‘Now boarding flight number 1185 to Orlando, Florida.’
Josh hugged Samantha. “I’ll be away two weeks this trip. Can you keep a watch over the ranch?”
“Don’t I always? Besides, as particular as you are, you couldn’t find anyone other than your brother John who knows you as well as I do.”
He hugged Sam again, and told her, “You’re the best Sam, you’re the best.”
Waving goodbye, Josh boarded the jet. Once on board, he was seated in his preferred seat in first class. As he placed his laptop in the overhead compartment, he was greeted by the flight attendant.
“Hi, Mr. Finley, glad to see you again. Let me take your jacket.”
“Hey there, Cindy, good to see you again too.”
“Can I get you something to drink?”
“Yes, a bottled water, please.”
While the attendant went to bring his order, Josh settled into his seat. After the plane was airborne, he went over his schedule for this trip and the speech he was going to give at the opening of the new Center.
Leif was impatiently awaiting Josh’s arrival at the Orlando airport. After overseeing that all final touches were complete, and that the construction company had remove the rest of their equipment off the Center property, Leif was both relieved and excited that Josh would be arriving soon. There had been a lot of delays during the construction of this Center. It seemed like Murphy’s Law was in full effect, from contractors, permits, and zoning problems, Leif was about to pull all the hair out of his head.
As he was thinking of Josh’s arrival, his flight was announced, flight 430 had arrived at gate 98. As Leif waited by the passenger gate, he was tapped on the arm by a little kid, who had to be about 7 or 8. “Hey, mister, are you here to meet your grandma too?”
Surprised that the boy was so forward, he said, “Well, I’m not meeting my grandma here, but I am picking up my best friend.”
“My grandma is here to take me to Disney World,” the boy smiled. “I can’t wait to go.”
“What is your name little dude?”
“Blain,” the boy replied, grinning.
“Well Blain, I hope that you have a great time at the Magic Kingdom.”
Unknown to Leif, Josh had disembarked and stood a few yards away observing, while Leif talked with his new acquaintance.
“So, I see you found a new friend!”
Turning around, Leif grabbed Josh in a friendly hug, and said, “Man, I thought that you would never get here.”
“Yeah, well I thought the flight would never end, but it turns out that it was a little early.”
Looking down at the little black-haired blue-eyed observer, Josh asked, “And what is your name, little dude?”
With a surprised look the boy said “Hey, that’s what your friend called me too, little dude, but my name is Blain.”
Just then Blain’s parents came rushing over, concerned about who their son was talking to. “Blain, you had us scared, we looked everywhere for you, why did you wander away from the store?”
Josh seeing the concern on their faces said, “Excuse me Ma’am, he was no bother at all. He was so excited about meeting his grandma, and going to Disney World, that he couldn’t help himself.”
His parents apologized, for their son’s behavior.
“It’s ok.” Josh held out his hand to Blain’s parents. “My name is Josh Finley, and this is my business partner and best friend, Leif Carter.”
Looking at Josh with a shocked expression, Blain’s mom asked, “Are you the same Josh Finley who got the state of Florida to remove those SWAT officers, the ones responsible for the shooting death of Chris Hansen?”
Not sure how she knew about what he’d done, Josh was a little hesitant when he replied. “Yes, but I only did what anybody who believes in true justice would do.”
“Well, Mr. Finley, I want you to know that the 15 year old teen whose rights you fought for was my nephew.”
Standing there in amazement, a tear fell from the lady’s eye as she thanked Josh over and over again.
Blain started yelling. “Hey grandma… hey mom, grandma is coming.” Blain’s mom turned to see her mother approaching the gate. Wiping her eyes, she thanked Josh again, then she and a very excited Blain went to meet his grandma.
While Blain and his mom went to greet grandma, his dad expressed his thanks to Josh and Leif. “The family was elated when you and your team rallied for the expulsion of the officers involved. Not only that, but you were responsible for pressuring the state legislators who voted that all SWAT officers be retrained, focusing on the care, welfare, safety, and security of the adolescents they are dealing with in a crisis situation.”
Josh was remembering the outcome, which resulted from a short intense battle with the state of Florida. “I did what I did so what happened to Chris would never happen to another kid just because they aren’t knowledgeable enough to be able to understand and deal with their own issues.”
Blain and his grandma joined his dad and Josh and Leif at the gate. Blain had a grin that spread from ear to ear as he introduced his grandma to his new friends. “Hey big dudes, this is my grandma.” Josh and Leif both welcomed her to the sunshine state, and told her what a good grandson she had.
Looking at his parents, then back at Josh, Blain asked his grandma, “Can we bring my friends to Disney World with us grandma?”
Looking at her grandson with a puzzled expression, she asked “Well, who are your friends?”
Turning to Josh and Leif and pointing his fingers at them said, “Them, right here.”
Looking down at her grandson with a warm smile she said, “Honey, I’m sure that these young men have more important things to do.”
Before Blain had the chance to whine, Leif glanced at the boy’s parents with a smile and said, “It’s every kid’s dream to visit Disney World, and have a great time doing so. My dream to visit Disney World was never fulfilled, so if you don’t mind, I would love to join you and Blain and your family when you visit the Magic Kingdom.” Looking over at Josh, he continued, “As long as it’s ok with my boss.”
Josh laughed. “If you think that you’re going to visit Disney World without me, you’ll have another work assignment waiting for you. A really big one, too!”
Shouting playfully, Leif responded, “Oh no, not another assignment!”
Recognizing that they were both joking, Blain looked again at his grandma and putting on the puppy dog look said, “See grandma, they’ve never been there too, can they come with us?”
Blain’s parents glanced at grandma then at Leif and Josh. “We decided to wait until Blain was old enough to fully understand and enjoy Disney World,” his dad stated, “but if you’re sure, we would consider it an honor for the two of you to join us.”
Blain was beside himself as he shouted ‘yes’ over and over again.
Josh gave Blain and his parents an invitation to attend the opening of the new Center. Unknown to anyone, not even to Leif, Josh had just thought of an idea that would change the Hansen family forever.
“Ok, little dude,” said Leif, “you be good and who knows, we just might see you at the Magic Kingdom.”
Looking up at Leif and Josh then at his parents, Blain said, “I will, and I can’t wait for us to go on all the rides!”
As they turned to leave, Blain’s parents thanked Josh and Leif over and over again for all they had done.
After retrieving his luggage, Josh and Leif went to the parking lot to Leif’s Hummer. While walking they talked about their plans for the next few days. As they drove to the hotel, Josh told Leif, “I had an idea back at the airport.”
“Ok bro, I’m all ears.”
“What happened at the airport with Blain and his family really surprised me. I mean, I was not expecting that to happen.”
“Yeah I know what you mean,” Leif replied. “It was like meeting them was meant to be.”
Josh quickly agreed with Leif, “That’s right, exactly what I was feeling.”
“So what kind of idea just popped into your head?”
Josh smiled at Leif with an innocent grin. “You’ll see, but I will give you a little hint… Chris Hansen.”
Josh and Leif spent the rest of the afternoon visiting the new Center. Leif pointed out all the extra work that had to be done due to additional permits that had to be pulled. The Centers were all built in such a way that each presented itself as a solid but beautiful fortress. A fortress protecting those within.
“I can’t believe all the hardships we had building this Center,” said Leif. “Josh, you remember the fight we had with the city officials?”
Josh shook his head as he recalled the many problems. “I have a hard time accepting that there are people out there who oppose building Centers for abused teens in their area.”
“The sad thing, Josh, is that the very same kids who they reject will be the adults that will have to fight to protect not only this country, but every one of these same people.”
Josh gripped Leif on his shoulder. “We have a job to do, and we committed ourselves to this work with no reservations. So we will keep building Centers, and pray that those with closed minds will come to see the good that is the result instead of the broken and abused kids they send to us.”
Later at the hotel, Leif gave Josh the rundown on everything still pending signatures. Everything had to be finished so they could place the teens who would arrive just a week after the Center’s opening ceremony.
“Josh?”
“Yes, bro?”
“What’s up with the speech tomorrow? We still have to meet with the Board before the opening ceremony.”
Josh thought about what Leif had just asked him. “I am way ahead of you on that. The Board meeting will be done over breakfast in the morning, and I also invited the Center director and manager too.”
Looking at Josh with a surprised grin, Leif joked, “And just when were you going to tell me all this?”
“I know that you’ve been swamped trying to get things finished here, so I took the liberty of changing a few things around.”
Leif reached out and jabbed Josh in the arm. “If I didn’t bring it up, you would have gotten me with one of your surprises again.”
Josh laughed. “Yeah, but you know that I have to look out for you, and have some fun at the same time.”
Leif followed through with another jab to Josh’s arm, then got up to excuse himself for the night saying, “I have a few lose ends to tie up, so I’ll catch up with you in the morning.”
“But we haven’t had dinner yet,” Josh squawked as Leif closed the room door behind him. Josh sat in his room alone, thinking about what he was going to do about getting something to eat. It was only 7:30. He was about to call room service when the phone rang. He was startled, and answered quickly. A voice said, ”Hello? This is room service, and I’m calling to inform you, that the kitchen will be temporarily closed due to an electrical problem.”
Josh was disappointed by this news, and asked, “Is there a restaurant delivery service number that you can give me?”
“Yes sir there is. I’ll send some delivery service menus up to your room immediately.”
”Ok, thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome sir, you have a good evening.”
Hanging up the phone, Josh plugged in his laptop and worked on a few changes for the Board meeting in the morning.
There was a loud knocking at the door. Josh was impressed how fast room service was, and hurried to open the door. What he found was Leif standing there dangling his car keys. “Your room service has arrived.” Staring at each other for a quick minute, both their faces turned red with laughter, as Josh tried all he could to close his room door on Leif.
Shaking his head and laughing, Josh said, “Quick payback, huh?”
Unable to answer because he was laughing so hard, Leif just stood there nodding his head up and down. Grabbing his wallet and shutting down his laptop, Josh joined Leif and they went out in search of food.
Leif remembered that Josh’s favorite food was tacos, while his was chicken fried steak. As they climbed into the Hummer, Leif said, “I heard of a really great place for tacos, and I heard that their chicken fried steak is out of the universe too.” Glancing over at Josh, Leif could almost see him drooling. Josh claimed that his aunt made the best tacos and chicken fried steak he ever tasted. Leif knew it was true, from all the many meals he and Josh consumed during their visits to Josh’s home from university.
Trying to take care of Josh’s appetite, and not forgetting about his own, Leif took the express route to his favorite place, Aunties Diner. Returning from an excellent meal, Josh was in good spirits, and agreed with Leif that next to his Aunt Sarah, Auntie’s Diner came in a very close second.
Returning to the hotel, Josh and Leif returned to their rooms for the night.
The next day was going to be very long, and Josh had a few ideas to present to the Board, that would not only support the Center’s mission, but would also bring into focus what actually takes place at each of the Joshua’s Place Centers across the country.
The city officials had reservations about having a Center for abused and abandoned youth. Because of society’s view of teens as a whole, statements like “Generation X” and phrases like “the lost generation” brought feelings of fear and doubt. The focus was aimed at the victims, instead of the reasons that sent them to the Centers in the first place.
Teens are people just like everyone else. Josh and Leif had strong beliefs about that. Beliefs that kids deserved to be respected, loved, and taught that they are very capable of making wise and helpful decisions. That teens are our future, not just kids who messed up. That teens can become both helpful and beneficial to society if given the chance.
Teens need to know and believe in themselves, and that their words are just as important as their lives. Joshua’s Place was totally committed to the care, welfare, safety, and security of every youth, and to the future of every teen who crossed the thresholds of the Centers’ doors. Anyone opposing why a Center was being built in their city would see firsthand the vision and mission of Joshua’s Place nationwide.
Thinking about the opening day just 12 hours away, Josh was piecing together how he was going to address the Board. The idea to dedicate the Center in honor of Chris Hanson. Deciding this at the last moment was not normal procedure, but he knew with in his heart, that it was the right thing to do, and would bring support for the Center’s mission and goals.
After calling the main desk for a wakeup call, Josh turned on his laptop, then noticed the message light blinking on the phone. Picking up the receiver, he pushed the Message button. When the message played back, Josh was surprised to hear the voice of his brother John. “Hey little brother, I finally get some time back in the states, just to find out from Sam that you’re off on another adventure. I’ll be staying with unk and aunt Sarah, so give your big bro a call.” Rolling his eyes with a smile on his face, Josh quickly hung up the phone, and pulling his cell from his belt, proceeded to call his uncle and aunt.
Sitting at the table in his room, Leif was reviewing the number of Centers that would soon be under construction. The plan was to build a Center each year in the areas where the need was the greatest. Leif was as committed as Josh to helping troubled and abused kids, no matter what conflicts confronted them. Just as he was about to finish up his observations, his phone started rang and he answered. “Hello?”
“Hey Leif, what’s up?”
Leif knew very well who was on the other end of the line. “Hey vid head, how are you man?”
John answered with a loud laugh. “Well, all was cool until I found out that my reason for coming stateside and home is down in Florida on another adventure.”
“Yeah, man, you know us, we love adventures, and I know for one that you are the main one looking for adventure, isn’t that why you’re back?”