Going To Bat

For Chivalry

To the Editor:

Last Friday night, I went to a show with my wife and some Sandy Hook neighbors in Bridgeport. (These neighbors are the people for whom the slogan “Nicer in Newtown” was created — salt-of-the-earth, don’t-come-any-nicer-folks that we are very fortunate to have in our lives.) Thirty minutes into the show, we received a phone call from our 13-year-old daughter, Madison. My wife couldn’t hear her over the music, so she asked Madi to text her. Madi texted that she was at her friend’s house, locked in the bedroom, and there was an intruder in the house.

We initially weren’t certain how serious a threat this posed, and asked a few questions. I left the theater to speak with Madi on the phone where I could hear her. She was whispering. I asked why. She said she didn’t want the intruder to hear them. She convinced me she was scared. I called the Newtown police.

Concurrent with my requesting a police dispatch, Madi had successfully reached a neighbor, a family which included a 14-year-old acquaintance of Madison’s. I spoke to this 14-year-old boy, he agreed he would go over to the house where Madi was hunkered down and check on her. I thanked him and asked him to call me after getting there to confirm all was ok.

In my haste to assure myself that Madi was at zero risk, I failed to take into consideration that I didn’t know the risk was zero, and was therefore potentially placing this 14-year-old boy at risk. I’m embarrassed to say this never crossed my mind.

When the cops showed up, they were greeted by three young boys, armed with baseball bats, who came to the aid of my daughter. Their ages are 14, 11, and 7 years old. I imagine the bat might be larger than the 7-year-old is. I wish I had been there to see that image.

There was no intruder, and Madi was at no risk. Her imagination was probably influenced by having watched Scream II earlier in the day. This in no way diminishes my gratitude and appreciation for this act of heroism and chivalry, first from the Newtown police, and second from these young boys. I exchanged voice mails the following day with the father of these three boys to express my appreciation.

You boys know who you are. You should be very proud of what you did. Based on your Dad’s voicemail to me he’s also very proud of what you did, but by no means surprised… it’s what he expects you to do. You and your parents have my very sincere thanks for selflessly coming to my daughter’s aid.

It is very rewarding to know the number of “Nicer in Newtown” folks is very extensive, and that the police department has a reliable farm team.

Brendan Duffy

4 Chestnut Knoll Drive, Sandy Hook                  November 23, 2011