Barbara Walters, 10 Most Fascinating People (Beth Twitty & Natalee Holloway)

Beth Twitty will be on a Barbara Walter’s show tonight. Airs at 10:00 pm EDT.

10 Most Fascinating People of 2005

Tom Cruise, Condoleezza Rice, Jamie Foxx, Kanye West, Thomas Mesereau, Lance Armstrong, Dakota Fanning, Beth Holloway Twitty, Teri Hatcher

Condi, Beth and Lance, yes. Barbara Walters can have the rest.

I get three of the above names, even though, I am not quite sure if fascinating is the term that I would use for Beth Twitty. Determined, driven and surprising yes, fascinating? How does one compare with the rest of the bunch when life is put into perspective?

Beth Twitty’s accomplishments cannot compare except to Lance Armstrong and Condi Rice as they represent real issues and deal with real life problem that make a difference to many.

Condoleezza Rice, nothing more need be said. She is and should be a role model for many and should be nothing but praised for her accomplishments, both past and present. I do not care whether you agree with her politics, she is a shining example for all.

Lance Armstrong is a shining example of perseverance, hard work, determination and a will for life. The money that he has helped gain for cancer research is beyond words. Lance has touched so many lives.

Beth Twitty should be considered most “influential” not fascinating. That is the wrong word to describe Beth. She has been a pillar of strength fighting for answers to her daughter Natalee’s disappearance when many would have crumbled. Having met Beth personally, she is small in stature but has an inner strength matched by none. I told Beth and her family a while back, that I have never seen a family of a missing person kept in the forefront of the media month after month after month.

Not only did Natalee Holloway become all of our daughters, America adopted the Holloway’s & Twitty’s. Not only has Beth Twitty kept her daughter’s missing persons case alive and pressed an investigation in Aruba, she has also furthered other missing person cases. We are so quick to forget as the case has dragged on that this is a mother searching for her daughter. It is a parents worst nightmare. This isn’t about us, or the story. Its about a missing teenager named Natalee Holloway. People are so quick to say that Natalee’s case takes up all the attention or that its “Pretty White Girl” syndrome. Those are people who have not paid attention and who have an agenda. If everyone has not noticed there has been more MSM air time for a multitude of missing person cases since Natalee Holloway went missing. This was never the case. The media exposure to many cases has been increased. Of course the Natalee Holloway gets more, it has been going on for nearly six months.

We may never know what happened to Natalee Holloway and to Beth and Natalee’s family we are sad. However, the legacy of Natalee Holloway is that she will bring more exposure and hope to families of missing persons. The media, internet and searchers have been put in the forefront of our minds. Responsible people want to volunteer, help search, donate and put the word out so that people can be found and closure can be given to families. A greater awareness has come from all this.

To be a part of helping people that you have never met for the only reason, because it is the right thing to do. I learned this summer that there is no greater deed than volunteering to help someone in need who has lost someone that is so precious to them. That is what makes this story so captivating to many. Trying to help in whatever way and knowing that it could be you. Wouldn’t you want the help as well?

Beth Twitty and the Natalee Holloway investigation will alter how the media covers these cases. We already see the beginning of it. If it can save one person or provide the necessary exposure and spotlight, it will have been a success.

When one looks at the big picture, pretty fascinating.