But it was decades ago.......why I believe the accusers

I grew up in a small town.  Not just any small town, but "the friendly town of progress and beauty".  When you grow up in a small town, things are often done differently.  A grew up several decades ago.  I am fairly confident that my experience growing up was very different from how children grow up today. 

It was a week day.  I was at school and my dad was working.  My mom got a phone call in the morning from the post office saying that I had a registered letter from New York.  I am sure my mom fainted and then called my father with the news.   He left work and went straight to the post office to sign for this letter for me and bring it home.   At that time, parents just couldn't sign a child out of school so they waited for me to come home. 

It was from Conde Nast publications in New York addressed to me.  What was I doing getting a letter from New York? 

I opened the letter and the first thing that fell out was a cheque for $6.00 made out to me !!  And, not just $6.00 but $6.00 in US Funds !!  The letter that accompanied it said that I had been awarded first prize in an Archie Comics contest.  They indicated what issue it would be printed, etc.  My parents had no idea.  I wasn't as surprised as them.  I had written a story about the Ukrainian Festival and sent it in myself.  I had found a way to go to the post office myself and pay for postage.  I was quite resourceful.   Well, I don't know if we had supper that night.  I do know we called everyone we knew and told them.  I also know my mom took the letter to our community newspaper the next day and they wrote an article about it.  I wanted to be a writer when I grew up so I was on my way !! 

The store that I brought my comics from phoned my mom when the comic arrived.   There it was in print in the center of the comic book for all to read.    It didn't have a title.   Just 1st place winner and this above my story.

Shelley Ireland

Age 9

518 Main Street North

Dauphin, Manitoba

Canada

R7N 1C9

And then, the next day, the letters began.  Letters from all over the world wanting to be my pen pal.  Mexico, Switzerland, New Zealand.  You name the country.  I got a letter from it.  Every time I got a letter, my dad would show me on the globe where the country was located and then we looked up the country in our Encyclopedia (yes, I am that old) and learned what we could about the country.  It was a wonderful learning experience.   I wrote another story and submitted and got another $6.00, and more letters.   I thought this was really easy money, but I didn't write any more stories for Archie comics.   

I didn't want to get any more letters.   You see, this was the practice of Archie Comics.  They would print the home address and the age of all of their winners.  No one thought twice about it.  My parents weren't at all concerned that their address was being published.  It was a different time.

I got a few letters from kids my age sincerely wanted to be my pen pal.  But, these were the minority.  Most of the letters I got from all over the world were from men in prison.  Apparently, at the time, Archie Comics were quite popular.  I got about 30 from one prison alone in Mexico.  They were quite up front that they were just lonely and wanted someone to talk to and a letter was conversation.   But, there were a few letters that made me feel uncomfortable.  Obviously, nothing overtly serious because my parents did screen them before they gave them to me, but, they just made me feel uncomfortable.  Vulnerable, I guess.  I had sincerely wrote the articles because I wanted to be a writer and I had given my honest age and my true address.   I had done nothing wrong, but I felt dirty, sort of like I had been asking for this.   And, they knew about me, or atleast they knew I was 9 years old, and I knew nothing about them.  It just didn't feel good.  

And, that was years before I knew the meaning of the word predator.  This was a time way before society felt any responsibility to educate children about good touch and bad touch.  As the modern age has evolved, predators have gotten fancier tools and shared information about grooming and other such horrors.  

My parents were good parents, but they raised me in a age where they thought nothing bad would happen.  Nothing bad did happen when I was in their care.  But, still, there were the letters.  Just letters.  Nothing specific, but they made me feel uncomfortable.  

Decades later and a million things have happened but I still remember that 9 year old feeling of being uncomfortable.  Of course, I don't remember it every day.  But, if I want to, I can remember pretty easily.  And nothing happened.   I can not even imagine if I was abused as a child.  I can't fathom the pain let alone all the other emotions such as shame, confusion, fear, etc.  I would probably do everything I could to not remember yet I am sure it would enter my thought process every day.   

I can't believe that anyone would want to claim this pain unless it existed and was real.  And, to relive this trauma by coming forward would be something that no one would do lightly.  They would have to do it because they would think that someone else would benefit from this knowledge.  Perhaps a future victim. 

Whether it was last year or four decades ago, if you tell me it happened, I believe.