Part II: Celestial
National, even global--the increasing responses to Jesse Matthew's murder charges are relatively quantifiable. The national and global responses are, to summarize: big, and getting bigger.
Type in Morgan Harrington, and the Google engine today identifies twelve million, three hundred thousand results. Morgan's Facebook is two million. Her Mom yields 628,000 hits.
And as for the Foundation Gil Harrington started to eradicate predatory danger, search Help Save the Next Girl and you'll see 524,000,000: that's five hundred and twenty four MILLION hits. That's more than half a BILLION.
But there is another response to The Day of Charges--which occurred on the very day, September 15th, when Jesse Matthew was served charges for murdering Morgan.
This is a response whose category is, for want of an exact identification, something else. It isn't local, or national, or even global.
This response is the 45th of its kind. At least, Gil started taking pictures 45 instances ago, after she realized how many were happening.
We call the response Birdstrike.
Although the Harringtons have lived in their home for 25 years, they never once had a bird smash into one of their windows. Never before.
Until Morgan's murder.
Since then, the Harringtons' home--I've heard it happen myself 15 times--continues to be surprised by incoming Birdstrikes.
A bird comes flying at one of the Harringtons' windows, smashes full force into the glass, but never, not once, breaks its neck and dies, or even lands below, temporarily stunned or disoriented.
The Birdstrikes happen on both sides of the house, and not on windows that are by line of sight clearly connected to other windows. Again, these strikes have happened only since Morgan's murder. And to no other homes in their neighborhood. We've asked.
So the 45th Birdstrike, since Gil decided to start keeping records of them, happened--can you imagine?
It happened on the very morning of Jesse Matthew's new charges, just a few hours before Gil received the call from Albemarle County Commonweath's Prosector, Denise Lunsford, alerting Gil that papers were about to be served.
SMACK!
Gil heard the THUD of another Birdstrike.
Kirby started barking.
The Birdstrikes are loud.
This one was on her dining room window.
She called me, amazed: "Jane! This one is the most beautiful, the most fully expressed Birdstrike yet."
They are visible, because they leave a kind of powdery impression on the glass.
And whereas you might expect a smudge, or sections of the impact to be smudged, these Birdstrikes are always in clear, exquisite focus.
This new Birdstrike showed both arms completely outstretched, and, strange to say, but you can see for yourself: the bird seemed to be--I hesitate to phrase my observation--
The bird seemed to be smiling.
Gil takes photographs of the Birdstrikes at night, by cell phone flash or flashlight. She enhances nothing about them. They are the actual marks left by birds who apparently have smacked straight into glass and inexplicably were completely unharmed and casually flew away.
None of which ever happened before Morgan's murder.
Today, Gil sent me the image of the newest Birdstrike. The one from the very morning the Commonwealth's Office in Charlottesville was finalizing the hand-delivery of charges for Jesse Matthew in Morgan Harrington's murder case.
Whatever Heaven is, its beings are peaceful, wouldn't you agree?
Like sheep in a sheepfold, protected now from devastation, and especially from marauders, from the evil of plunderers, predators, rapists and murderers.
Which reminds me of a beautiful saying: When you lie down among the sheepfolds, you are like the wings of a dove covered in silver, and its pinions with glistening gold.
Isn't it a pretty idea, that peaceful beings, protected by safe surrounds, are like angels, with dazzling wings.
That saying is Psalms 68:13.
Our hearts glisten, too, as we marvel at the winged mystery of Morgan's own response.
Jane Lillian Vance
Vice President, Help Save the Next Girl, and
Morgan Harrington's professor in the last Spring of her life