Harris-Lewis's at it again

[Kestas <Kestutis.Kveraga@Dartmouth.EDU>]

Golddigger and accomplice in her husband's death Donna Harris-Lewis is at
it again. 
Unbelievable...

                   What was Harris-Lewis thinking?
                   by Steve Buckley 

                   Tuesday, March 28, 2000

                   You want to believe that Donna Harris-Lewis was
misquoted, or, at the very least,
                   taken out of context.

                   Hey, it happens. People say things. The words somehow
get mixed up, and they
                   come out all wrong. But you can spend the entire day
re-reading the closing
                   paragraph in Gretchen Voss' article in the April issue
of Boston magazine, and
                   it's impossible not to wonder: What on earth was Donna
Harris-Lewis thinking?

                   Harris-Lewis, we all know by now, is getting warmed up
for the second
                   malpractice trial in the death of her husband, former
Celtics star Reggie Lewis.
                   She recently gave an interview to Voss, who ended her
Boston magazine article
                   with the following quote:

                   ``You know, I think about those firefighters in
Worcester,'' Harris-Lewis is quoted
                   as saying. ``Lots of money is being raised for those
families, and I need to be
                   taken care of, too. Everybody has to say I'm greedy. But
I do want my money
                   back this time around. Why should I lose?''

                   She needs to be taken care of.

                   She wants her money back this time around.

                   Why should she lose.

                   Yikes.

                   This is a far cry from the woman whose purported
mission, she keeps saying, is
                   to clear her late husband's name and stop the spread of
those rumors about
                   cocaine use. Remember the night the Celtics retired
Lewis' uniform number and
                   Harris-Lewis read her little poem?

                   ``Character is the one thing that never dies,

                   Let's not believe these harmful lies.''

                   And now she is comparing her plight with that of the
families of six Worcester
                   firefighters who died in the line of duty last December.
Let's be clear on this: The
                   only thing that Reggie Lewis' death has in common with
the deaths of those six
                   Worcester firefighters is that in both cases we are
talking about children who
                   suddenly, tragically, were left without a father.

                   But the six Worcester firefighters died trying to bring
down a warehouse fire. Two
                   of them were looking for people who might have been
trapped in the fire; the other
                   four went in looking for their two missing comrades.

                   That's how jakes make their living. Every day they go to
work, it is with the
                   knowledge that they may be called upon to enter a
burning building and save
                   lives. They understand, their families understand. It's
all part of the job.
                   Sometimes, the danger is clearly evident, as was the
case that night in
                   Worcester. The building was ablaze. Sometimes, death is
entirely unexpected:
                   On June 17, 1972, nine Boston firefighters were killed
in the Hotel Vendome
                   collapse. The fire was out; they were overhauling the
building. The last body was
                   removed from the rubble the following morning, Fathers Day.

                   Firefighters are not rich or glamorous. They do not
perform their jobs in front of
                   thousands of adoring fans. They do not get asked to sign
autographs. They don't
                   have agents. A goodly number of them have second jobs to
help make ends
                   meet.

                   Firefighters are the last people you think of on a good
day, but the first people
                   you think of when you smell smoke.

                   The six Worcester firefighters were not told by a
``Dream Team'' of doctors that
                   they had serious heart ailments and would have to stop
doing their jobs. And
                   they were not spirited away one night and taken to yet
another doctor, who told
                   them that they had nothing more than a ``benign fainting
condition.''

                   And the six Worcester firefighters were not quizzed by
both sets of doctors about
                   possible cocaine use.

                   If Harris-Lewis' only point had been to raise the issue
of young children losing
                   their father, she might have been able to pull it off.
But it is an awkward
                   comparison at best, and those supporting comments - she
wants her money this
                   time around, she needs to be taken care of, etc. - make
her sound every bit the
                   ``money-hungry, gold-digging witch'' her critics have
accused her of being.

                   She has a right to sue. We do, after all, live in a
litigious society. But there is a
                   price to pay, and we're not just talking about legal
fees. Once again, the lawyers
                   at the other table will raise the issue of Reggie Lewis'
alleged cocaine use, and,
                   once again, the Harris-Lewis camp will be forced into
damage control.

                   Anyway, that's the way it was during the first trial.

                   This time, it's even worse. Now, Donna Harris-Lewis
wants her money, because,
                   after all, didn't the families of those Worcester
firefighters get their money?

                   Out in Worcester, the families of those six fallen jakes
are just trying to get on
                   with their lives. Would that Donna Harris-Lewis could
get on with her life.