My Truth: Staying on this Journey

By Cheryl Smith
Publisher  

It’s going to take a while for me to get Pookie out of my system. Actually, I may not ever be able to forget him because of the lives he devastated. Before I knew his government name, I dubbed Jeffery Wheat “Pookie, the serial rapist.” Maybe you heard of the case of the man who was terrorizing women in North Texas. As he continued to violate women, there appeared to be a common thread: several of the victims were members of the now 108-year-old Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and they were in their 50s and 60s. Almost a decade later, Pookie was arrested recently after his DNA was a match. Calls, emails and texts from across the country have kept me busy. Many expressed relief that Pookie was about to begin paying for his heinous acts.

I know that my heart rate increases significantly every time I hear a “Pookie story.” People tell me how they would pick up the paper just to see if they would find the notice asking for information that would lead to his arrest. Some said they couldn’t believe that for almost a decade I gave up valuable real estate in not one, two, but three publications: Texas Metro News, Garland Journal and I Messenger. After all, it’s not like I couldn’t have used the ad revenue. Yet, it was more important to catch a rapist, before he raped someone else. You see, we know about a few assaults, but, do you really believe Pookie hasn’t raped since the last reported incident? You can’t have a 10-day memory or become forgetful because it isn’t about you.

Which brings me to my truth.

If you believe in something, you must live for a cause and not just BECAUSE!