There's always a Brentwood connection, but this time, it's got a terrorist tie. Don't fret, the city's not under a Code Orange. But the phone was ringing off the hook at Hobby-Lobby International’s RC Fun Center yesterday as national media outlets from Inside Edition to the New York Daily News and Nightline contacted the Franklin Pike Circle business that specializes in radio controlled airplanes, helicopters, boats and cars.

So why did Hobby-Lobby become the media darling? The reporters were looking for an expert in the RC industry to discuss the case involving a Massachusetts man arrested Thursday for plotting to blow up the Pentagon.

 “As a 47-year-old company, our name is pretty well known in the industry,” Debra Love, Hobby-Lobby’s vice president of marketing and technology,   told me. “And we’re easy to find,” she added, crediting Google.

Hobby-Lobby doesn’t sell the large (5- to 7 1/2-foot long) military-style planes the FBI says Rezwan Ferdaus had hoped to pack with explosives and fly to his target. Planes like Ferdaus’ are guided by GPS systems and capable of speeds over 100 mph, according to some of those national press reports.

The biggest plane sold in the store located just over the Davidson County line and on its website is an F/A-18E, a 42-inch long plane licensed by Boeing.  

The planes Ferdaus planned to use come with a little more than “some assembly required,” Love says.  And though at first glance his plan seems plausible, the reality is quite different. “These were specialty jets, but a radio-controlled plane can only carry a payload of a certain size.”

“It sounds like a better plot than it probably was.”

Kisses from Katie … and her 14 kids

Hopefully you already know about Katie Davis – she’s the 21-year-old Brentwood native and Ravenwood grad who lives in Uganda where she has adopted 14 children. She’s back in Brentwood to release her new book, Kisses From Katie (Simon & Shuster).

Our favorite writer, Carol Stuart, is working on a real story on her for Monday’s BHP. But in the meantime, we wanted to give you a heads up that Katie will give a talk Sunday at 6:30 p.m. at Cross Point Church, 7675 U.S. Hwy. 70S in Bellevue.  Everyone’s welcome and it’s free.

Carol will have details on Katie’s Tuesday appearance in Brentwood. So check back for details.

Let's talk about perspective
Lots of people it seems have been following the story about the vandalism during Ravenwood High’s homecoming week, and the Letter to the Editor our school superintendent, Dr. Mike Looney, wrote in response to that news and other recent incidents in the area.

The letter had thousands of readers and garnered the highest number of responses I think a BHP story has ever gotten. We received several that for various reasons we chose not to post.

I’d like to add a little perspective to the issue, and hopefully put it to rest – at least where BHP is concerned or until another incident occurs that warrants news coverage (i.e. Brentwood Police are involved, there is a serious injury or criminal charges are filed).  

The kids who were caught doing something they shouldn’t have been doing suffered consequences. In some of the cases, it was deserved; in others, the punishment may not have fit the “crime.” But that’s life. It isn’t always fair. And in the grand scheme of things, all of those caught and punished will no doubt turn out just fine despite the exaggerated claims of lives’ ruined.

On Tuesday, my 52nd birthday, I awoke to the news that dear friends’ 21-year-old daughter had been killed in a car accident. Claire was driving back to college from her home, just outside of Charlottesville, Va.  Later that day, I learned of another life-changing death closer to home, one experienced by a Ravenwood family and by extension, the entire school community.

That’s real tragedy folks. And perspective.

Susan Leathers is editor of Brentwood Home Page. Click here to read previous columns. Email her at susan@brentwoodhomepage.com