It's not just a black thing or a central Little Rock thing. It's affecting everybody. That's something people need to realize. A reporter mentioned spending his early childhood days in the Beaver Cleaverized womb of the Park Hill and Lakewood neighborhoods of North Little Rock, circa 1950's and 60's. Nawojczyk then drives to a park next to a Lakewood Property Owners' Association swimming lake, the scene of many sepia-toned memories, and points out the gang graffiti that now adorns the area.
Murder is now the nation's leading cause of death among teen-age males.
And during the decade in which he has served as coroner and deputy coroner, Nawojczyk has watched the county's homicide rate go from 38 in 1983 to 111 last year. In short, it sickens him. But Nawojczyk is a man with a mission. Call it preventive coronering if you will. His lexicon is a melange of death and hope, and he'll offer this witness to anyone with the patience to listen.