A Very Bad Day

Tuesday night I had talked to Ceil from the Charlotte hotel room on the cell, then later turned off the cell, because I had left the charger in the car. I didn’t turn it back on until around 7:30 am…about 15 minutes later Ceil called with chilling news...Jenny Ewing had not returned from her Tuesday afternoon bike ride on the Silver Comet Trail. Ceil was already out at the trail with other friends, including Becky Norman. Will and one of the Norman boys were there as well. Jenny’s daughter Margaret had called Ceil at 2 am, calling everyone they knew to see if anyone had heard from Jenny. Jenny’s aunt called at 3:30…at some point she was told search parties were being organized at daybreak.

Margaret, her dad Jim, and brothers Jimmy and George had gone to the trail Tuesday evening and found her Odyssey in a familiar spot. Jim would ride the trail on weekends with Jenny, who’d ridden the trail several times a week for well over a year. They searched the trail through the night, with the help of other relatives. Yesterday morning seemingly hundreds joined the church, including the entire Buckhead Church staff…Jeff Henderson and his wife (who we don’t know), and David McDaniel and Blake Benge (who we know). Our friends the Earharts were called by a NP person to help, and Jimmy Ewing’s firm (Delloitte, he’s a CPA) had sent a company wide email enlisting volunteers. My friend Mark Stephens rode a mountain bike 30 miles on the trail. He’s not in great shape, so today he’s probably hurting.

Ceil had dropped off Matthew at our friend Noelle’s nearby house. Noelle emailed our small group with the news around 7:45. I checked email when got to work. Every morning at 8 am I get the AJC headlines email…had Ceil not reached me and Noelle not emailed, I would’ve found out on AJC.com. Noelle’s husband Reid was off yesterday, so he and a friend joined the search and rode to the 17 mile mark, where the trail had been closed by the police, who told them the search was off. Last night Jim said that he actually got the news from an email from his office…he had borrowed a friend’s motorbike to get away a little. I finished up my stuff shortly before noon, unable to look at the cell phone sitting on the desk. When I checked email I learned they had found her body.

I drove the hour south of Charlotte to pick up Anna, who Ceil wanted home, then toward home. Not knowing details, I almost wanted the cause to be an accident or something medical, where Jenny could’ve died doing something she enjoyed. Ceil spent most of the day out with the gang near the trail, then more time with Noelle before arriving home around 4 pm. She was exhausted and distraught…Jenny was not only a very dear friend, but also a mentor in many ways…decorating, mothering, homeschooling, etc.

Anna and I got home around 6:30. We picked up Becky Norman and went over to the Ewings around 8:30. Becky had called her daughter Katherine earlier, but Katherine wasn’t in a place where Becky could break the news. In the car Katherine called back, and took the news quite hard. The house was filled, particularly with friends of the kids…many of the older friends had dropped by earlier. Jimmy has still wearing the blue shirt that he had delivered a short statement to the media in. He was barefoot, his legs and arms bearing the scratches of the search. Down the street in front of Jimmy’s house was George’s pickup, still hitched to the trailer with the four-wheelers they’d used in the search. Jim had cleaned up, but admitted his exhaustion and shock, and was doing well considering.

Margaret was up in her room, her friends were directly upstairs…one girl I later saw interviewed on the news. Cynthia Hammond was upstairs with Margaret, goofing off and getting her to laugh, talking about her boyfriend…talking about future plans. Jimmy’s girlfriend was close by…answering the phone, setting out food, etc. Cynthia had been in the small group with us and the Ewings, and during her single days Jim, Mark, and I would help in her frequent apartment hopping moves. Ceil and Becky spent most of the time upstairs. Bob and Myra Marsh, our old pastor, came by to break things up so they could rest. Bob is a Braves fan, but we didn’t bring it up as he took us to our car. After picking up the kids, we didn’t get home until 10:30. I saw Ceil and Becky on the news, and looking at the photos on AJC.com…including the one of Becky and Cynthia on page one. Hurts to see people you love suffering in the public eye.

The Ewings seemed to be the perfect family. Jim works for the State of Georgia Economic Development Commission, and is a quiet, strong leader, though fun to be around. He and his sons love hunting and the outdoors…the crow’s foot necklace Jimmy gave Will is one of his prized possessions. Ginny had homeschooled all three all the way through 12th grade, and last year joked that she was retiring her son’s graduation party. Margaret and George, the sophomore at Tech who hired Will to help cut grass, still live at home.