Of course Larry Reynolds, who is about to spend nearly 11 years in prison for a massive Ponzi scheme, said he regrets the day he met Tom Petters. What's surprising is what he said next: "Greed and stupidity made me continue."
Short, humble, accurate. Let's hope Reynolds' words encourage others to similar self-reflection.
This being the season of soul-searching for many religions, (Ramadan ended last week; Yom Kippur begins at sundown Friday) and this being the 21st century, I have just the website to help with that.
A year-and-a-half ago, Jackie Hooper, 24, of Portland, Ore., was shocked at the sudden skiing-related death of actress Natasha Richardson, and, yes, you do need to hang on to see how all of this connects. Hooper, a paralegal, said Richardson's untimely death "reminded me about how quickly things can change." Too quickly, perhaps, for those who suddenly wake up with regret to try to do right by those they've hurt.
She created www.wouldhavesaid.com, and began traveling to schools, jails, rehabilitation facilities and retirement homes, inviting people from ages 9 to 89 to write that long-stored mea culpa.
"People got it right away," Hooper said.
Some had carried emotional baggage for decades, finally opening up to children they'd abandoned, students they'd bullied, spouses they'd abused. She's received more than 1,000 submissions so far, from the United States, Canada, Australia and the Netherlands. Letters from Minnesotans, she said, have been "sincere and unique."
Suzanne, of St. Paul, carried a painful memory for nearly half of her 36 years before reading about Hooper's site. As a teenager, she overheard a guy call her beloved grandmother, who suffered from many health issues, "an old bat," mimicking her poor posture and hesitant movements. Her grandmother didn't even hear the cruel comments.
