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Miscellaneous See other Miscellaneous Articles Title: Baby Jessica turns 25, gains access to trust fund MIDLAND, Texas — Baby Jessica is all grown up. She’s Momma Jessica now. The toddler who tumbled down an abandoned water well and got trapped more than two decades ago turns 25 on Saturday, a milestone that gives her access to a trust fund of up to $800,000 donated by thousands of sympathetic strangers who spent days glued to the television until she was free. Jessica McClure Morales is now a contented stay-at-home mother of two, and her youngest is 18 months old — the same age she was when her accident drew the eyes of the world to this oil-patch city. She lives less than two miles from the site of the 1987 rescue. “That’s all Jessica has ever wanted was to be a mom and have a family,” said her father, Chip McClure. “She’s a good mom and keeps her eyes on her kids. She’s certainly a doting mother.” McClure Morales has no memory of being wedged in the pipe or of the 15 operations that followed her ordeal, according to her father. A scar from her hairline to the bridge of her nose is still visible where her head rubbed against the wall of the well. She also lost a toe to gangrene because one leg was pinned above her head in the underground shaft. These days, she and her husband run a mobile car- and truck-washing business out of their home, according to a recent interview she gave to the Dallas Morning News. In October 1987, Chip and Cissy McClure were poor teenagers struggling to make ends meet during the depths of the oil bust. While visiting her sister, Jessica’s mother left her in the yard while she went to answer the phone. Moments later, Jessica came upon the 8-inch well opening and fell inside. Her plight captivated an immense television audience. Alone and 22 feet below ground, Baby Jessica sang about Winnie the Pooh. It was “a nightmare that got worse and worse,” recalled her father, now 42, who makes his living selling aircraft in Tyler. When rescuers finally brought her to the surface, her head was bandaged. She was covered with dirt and bruises, and her right palm was immobilized to her face. The image was ingrained in millions of people’s memories and won a Pulitzer Prize for Odessa American photographer Scott Shaw. A 1997 poll taken by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press found that coverage of Princess Diana’s death earlier that year was rivaled only by Jessica’s rescue in worldwide attention over the previous decade. At the time of the accident, sympathetic strangers showered the family with teddy bears, homemade gifts, cards and cash. McClure said his daughter has talked about first setting up trusts for her two children’s college education. He said he’s encouraged her to find a financial adviser. “We’ve talked about it quite a bit,” McClure said. “That’s going to be a challenge. It’d be a challenge to anyone. She’s a very settled and down-to-earth girl. She’ll be fine.”
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#1. To: christine (#0)
I just watched this on Pam's big scrim, and it was just aa awful.
Somewhere in Kenya, a village is missing its idiot.
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The relationship between morality and liberty is a directly proportional one. "Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters." - Ben Franklin
A good mom at 25, you don't hear much about these moms anymore. I am glad they are still out there.
God is always good!
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