Final Words to my Murderer Father

My name is Will Thompson, some of you know me, some of you may not. When I was a young child (5-8) I was placed into the care of my father with a brother and step sister. He was barbaric to the extreme, a man completely dominated by his temper. He took great joy in inflicting pain on his children, in both the physical and emotional realm. 

                      That's me in the red, beating aged.

I was removed from his care after a string of particularly savage beatings, and over the years put him in the back of my mind as I went on to work as  a counselor and advocate for at-risk youth. 

My father went about his life unfazed by the loss of his children. Continuing to perpetuate the atrocities by which he defined himself and his character. On December 24th, 2013, my father beat my 92 year old Grandmother, Viola Kelly into a coma. She died 8 days later, of the wounds sustained by both his fists and the wall he put her head through. 

http://www.oregonherald.com/oregon/local.cfm?id=6054

She was a wonderful woman, universally loved and respected by all that encountered her. Her visits to my childhood home were highlights of my time there. Not the least of which because my father wouldn't beat us when she was around. An island of tranquility in a sea of trauma that my little brain couldn't even comprehend. 

Upon learning of her death at his hands (which took several months, as I've long been estranged from the family), it opened a lot of wounds I'd long since thought closed. So impactful was the revelation, that 4 days later I had a near fatal heart attack that incapacitated me, left me on the long road to recovery and cost me my job (working as a residential counselor in a group home for teenaged boys). 

My father has decided to plea guilty to a Manslaughter charge, and as such, will serve just 8 years in prison for his crime. The sentencing is going to be carried out on the week of 6/15/14, with an opportunity for all the family members he abused over the years to make final statements to him, prior to his being sentenced. 

This is an opportunity to say my piece, get the final bit of closure and hopefully put this monster firmly in my past.Where his memory can finally wither and fade, growing too insubstantial to cause further harm to my life. 

I am unable to afford the trip of my own volition, but need the catharsis of staring into the abyss and denouncing it's allure. 

 That is hopefully where you all come in. I've nothing to offer but my gratitude. Recovering from this heart attack has left my finances in a disarray, and I've not yet found a means to remedy my post-heart attack unemployment. My wife and I barely scrape by on her income, and I'm as far from being able to afford travel, food and accomodations as is possible. 

The $1693 is the exact cost of travel, car rental, food and accomodations to facilitate my being able to lay this dark chapter of my past to rest. It's the smallest amount in which I can envision myself making it the two weeks this is likely to take, start to finish. I can live on ramen if it means being able to confront the man that took so much from me when he was supposed to give. 

I understand that this is unconventional, and not the sort of thing that a person generally kickstarts/gofunds. The act of creating this page has been a blow to my pride, on top of a number of blows this year. It's the only way in which I can concieve of to get this accomplished. An act of reserved desperation. You can probably glean from the nature of the post that I've not got a large family/support network. Just the folks I've gotten to know over the years. 

Thanks for taking the time to read this, even if that's all the help you're in a position to offer. Solidarity is comforting, regardless of it's form of expression. 

If you know of anyone who might be interested in offering some assistance, please share this page. 

Thanks again, 

Will Thompson

EDIT: I never anticipated I would reach my goal of $500, you've all been amazing and will be recieving personalized thank you letters. I've increased the goal, as it could possibly allow me to eat something other than ramen on the trip and maintain the post-heart attack recovery regimen while away. I'm incredibly grateful for this outpouring of support, and frankly was moved to tears. Thank you all so much, I'm not a fellow who has had the best of luck recently, and this is overwhelming. Thank you, thank you, thank you!

I will not be increasing the goal again if I make this next milestone, as that will be enough for me to take this trip, afford the hotel and decent meals, in addition to car rental and any additional travel expenses. I promise to pay it forward when I next find myself able to do so. So incredibly inspiring. 

Even if I don't make this next milestone, I have enough already compiled to eek by. You guys have made this a reality, without your support, I'd just be a guy with a cross to bear. You're affording me an opportunity to find closure that has escaped me for years. I'm still shellshocked by the response. I'll be posting frequent updates over the coming days. Thank you again!