Ran into Carol Seay at the Salvation Army Fashion Show yesterday at Brook Hollow where former First Lady Laura Bush was honorary chair and the “experienced” clothes were disappearing from the racks.
But more about the show and luncheon later. What was pried out of Carol is that former All-Star baseball player, four-time World Series champion manger of the New York Yankee Joe Torre will be the headliner at The Family Place’s September 17th Texas Trailblazer Luncheon at the Hilton Anatole.
This summer Joe will be inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Oh, what’s the connection between the baseball legend and domestic abuse? Margaret’s Place.
What’s Margaret’s Place? So many questions, but good ones!
Joe and his wife Ali created Safe At Home Foundation and established Margaret’s Places in New York, New Jersey and California, where middle and high school students are provided with a “’safe room’ to talk to each other and a professional counselor trained in domestic violence intervention and prevention about violence-related issues.”
The reason for creating such a program was because as Joe puts it, “When I was growing up, my father was a bully. My mother [Margaret] faced verbal and physical abuse from my father. If he didn’t like the food mom made, he would throw it against the wall. He used to make her get up in the middle of the night to cook for friends he brought home.
“Although I did not get physically abused myself, I grew up in fear because my mom did. I was shy and dad would make fun of me. Whenever I saw his car in the driveway, I didn’t want to go home. One winter, when I was 12, my older brother Frank (20) said to my father, ‘We want you out of the house. We don’t want anything other than the house we live in. We don’t want anything from you. Just leave.’ And he left.
“Growing up in a home where there was domestic violence was very difficult and left lasting scars. Although I didn’t realize it then, I used to feel like the abuse was my fault. I felt helpless and alone. For many years, I felt ashamed and worthless.
“In those days, no one in my neighborhood knew what was happening in my home, or if they did, nobody talked about it. I did not talk about it because I was afraid. I didn’t know who to turn to for help.”
Carol along with daughter-in-law Stephanie Seay and Stephanie and Travis Hollman are co-chairing the event.
More news will be developing. Stay tuned.