Graphic photo warning.
AFTER THE FLAMES: LINK TO PURCHASE.
Let me begin by saying that although I was a small part of this story — it is not in any way about me, except perhaps it exposes my shame for having stoked the hype. I do think it is important for reporters to review their own work within the old fashioned guardrails of ethics — which no longer exist in either legacy or indy media.
I understand that some people comment here based only on the few words I write and I implore you to take the time to watch the video or listen to the audio version on your favourite platform. This story and its outcome represent a hugely important moment in this country’s history and shows the best and the worst of us.
We owe this family, nearly all of them long gone now, a reckoning. We must embrace the truth of what happened the morning of the fire back in 1988. We must accept what motivated Linda and Mike Hawkins’ unwavering, heroic support for this catastrophically burned boy — who by all accounts, should never have survived. There are some who say Joey should have died that day. There are others who say, in a sense, he did.
Joey in hospital, later.
Joey before the fire.
I do occasionally wonder what the miracle-working staff at the Shriners Pediatric Burn Unit would have to say now. I was there and I witnessed at Joey’s bedside the family’s courage and the torments that accompany burn treatment.
After all this time, with Joey, his little brother Danny and his mother dead, and through the brilliant work of author Jonathan R. Rose. Rose is the son of Mike Hawkins from a previous relationship —but was young at the time and on the periphery of the tragedy so perhaps the most clear-eyed. From him, we finally get the full story. It is more shocking, tragic and Shakespearean than anyone could have imagined.
My interview with Jonathan shook me to my core even though I’d read the book two days before and knew what was coming. He exposes a truth and a lie so haunting they have rearranged the DNA of this story. But despite finally learning how it all really began — the fundamentals remain the same.
Author Jonathan R. Rose.
In the end, this is a love story. Mike’s for Linda. Linda’s for Joey. A country’s love for a badly wounded child who survived but grew into a grumpy, bloated figure of derision — who died alone in hospital of an infection.
We also learn about ourselves — the good and the bad. How media helps and hurts. What is owed to people who contribute to a hero’s fund. Why there is a need to tear down people we once admired.
Linda, Danny and Mike. Joey, inset photo.
Linda and Mike Hawkins had only been married for three years when the fire that burned down their uninsured home in Cumberland Beach — exploded their future to bits. Joey was not even Mike’s kid but his steadfastness, as this new family walked through hell, is a lesson for the ages.
Linda and Mike — before the fire.
Linda and Joey, later.
I spoke to Mike by phone after the interview. Jonathan gave him my number. I was sad to learn that there are still people who blame he and Linda for a tragedy.
The decades-long belief that the fire that engulfed Joey was ignited inadvertently by the actions of his parents — is now revealed to have been a lie. The fire was Joey’s own accidental doing.
This secret was kept by Joey for decades until he finally confessed to Jonathan who recounts it in our interview and the book. Joey’s mother, Linda, died believing, perhaps her own carelessness had wrought a world of pain and heartbreak for her beloved son. Mike told me on the phone that they picked over their actions from that morning until the day Linda died — searching for what they might have done wrong.
Mike Hawkins at Linda’s gravesite.
Why did Joey not tell the truth for so long? I suspect like all kids who have ruinously screwed up, he was worried about getting in trouble and perhaps being rejected by the people he now relied on for his very life. Sadly, everyone who knew Linda can attest that her care and concern for Joey would never have wavered.
I would love to know your thoughts. Please comment below.
Stay critical.
#truthovertribe
