The Pressure

looking back....

I didn't realize just how much pressure we were under when we still lived in the same community as Patrick and the elders, Jim Cameron and Dave Barrueto. I am so glad that we were able to finally move away. We are now in the city. I know with my head that we are in an area with a larger percentage of criminals than the area we moved from but the freedom we feel here is un-describable.

Anywhere I went I needed to scan for Patrick or someone that was a supporter of him. It wasn't just seeing them that was the problem. Most of the individuals wouldn't think twice about approaching me and trying to give me a hug or something along those lines. The last time my friend that was very outspoken about Patrick ran into him at the Gig Harbor Albertons (this year), Patrick actually flashed her a smile. He is very aware of her opinion of him, yet he felt it was appropriate to smile at her. She was stunned to say the least.

I am thankful that I never did run into Patrick but there were many close calls. I would hear from someone that they just saw him at one place or another. It would be somewhere we had just left or were heading out to go to. One of my children unfortunately saw Patrick, when Patrick was touring the Gig Harbor YMCA. Despite assurance from the YMCA that Patrick, being a level 2 sex offender wouldn't be granted a membership, our child dramatically halted attending the YMCA.

Someone I saw regularly was Jim Cameron. I actually decided to change some of my routines to avoid seeing him. It was too hard for me to even see him. I still hate him. To think Jim knew in detail what happened to our child and that he knew we didn't know, yet he stayed quiet. Jim actually mislead the detective in his official statement. Jim did all this with such arrogance. To know that legally nothing will be done to hold Jim accountable still eats at me.