Warning: totally depressing story ahead.
Anyone who lives in Lakewood undoubtedly has noticed the four figures in the front yard of Al and Jill Anderson. I’ve jogged past the Lakeshore home many a time. A quartet of life-sized bronze children, pigtails flying, in various stages of frolicking and dance, I have found the statues magical, mesmerizing and, because of their realistic frozen-in-time quality, eerie.
I had heard tell that the figures represented the Anderson’s children, who are now grown, perhaps with children or even grandchildren of their own. I did not know until now that one of those children, Natalie, had died at age 44. After her death, Natalie’s statue, which represents her at 10, served as a memorial. Neighbors and friends placed flowers at her little bronze feet.
Last week, the statues of Natalie and one of her siblings were snapped off at the ankle. Stolen in the night. Presumably, some pitiful, deplorable thug was looking to make a few bucks off of the metal.
The Morning News has the full story (behind its paywall) and photos.
The Andersons told the News that they had willed the statues to the Dallas Arboretum. Now, they say, they will likely remove the remaining two figurines, for their own protection.
What a dark shadow this theft has cast over our neighborhood. Not only did the Anderson family lose a precious piece of their lives, but the Lakewood landscape also is left with a sad void.
Photo from dallasnews.com
