I'd like to be serious, just for a moment

Last Friday police in my small town of Hudson, Ohio, found the remains of two children who had been murdered by their father and buried somewhere along I-80. The father only gave minor clues about where he'd buried the kids before he committed suicide in jail. The poor mother not only lost her kids, but also was robbed of the chance to bury them and achieve some level of closure.

The children were found on wooded land just a few miles southwest of downtown Hudson. Yesterday there were reports that their mother would come to Hudson to collect their remains and get some of the closure she needs.

My cynical side is curious about whether the Hudson Police Department might better spend its time stopping strange men who seem to be burying children not far from large residential neighborhoods -- instead of stopping and checking the IDs of people who are walking on sidewalks at night (this has happened to five people I know in Hudson) or beating people up over picnic baskets. Of course I don't blame that New Hampshire father's psychosis on the Hudson Police, but the officers might simply consider sharpening their view of what constitutes truly menacing behavior.

My compassionate side has been wondering what Hudson can do to offer support to the mother when she comes here. She has rightly stated that she does not want her visit to have any media attention, and it is my hope that people heed her request. But surely there is something we can quietly and privately offer her in recognition of the fact that Hudson has been her kids' resting place for the past two years. Then I got an e-mail from my mother, who works in the Hudson City Schools. Teachers and support staff are pooling resources to contribute to the memorial fund that has been set up in the children's names (after checking with police to make sure her trip expenses were covered, which they are courtesy of the FBI and other sources).

I don't know why I feel so strongly about making sure that mother knows that Hudson is an OK place. It's not that I care about Hudson's image or anything, and I certainly don't expect that she'll ever think, Yes! Hudson! I love it there! Even though my kids were hastily and cruelly buried there through two harsh Ohio winters! I think it's because it might bring her some modicum of comfort to know that, after the horrifying end of their lives, however hideous and undignified, her children were buried in a community that cared, whether it knew it or not.