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Interview With Brad Cunard

Aired November 13, 2003 - 14:52   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thunderstorm and a freak accident forever changed the life of one Atlanta man. In an instant, Brad Cunard lost his wife and two young sons when a tree fell on the family's sport utility vehicle during a very violent thunderstorm in July.
Since then he's been getting a tremendous amount of support from his neighbors. Extraordinary, really. And the community in general, which has donated so far about $160,000 for a memorial playground, a rather special playground, indeed.

Brad Cunard is here to join me now and talk about his ordeal and the triumph that has come out of it as he's seen this support from the community. Brad, I can only imagine going back to July that you never could have envisioned the response that you've seen here.

BRAD CUNARD, FAMILY KILLED IN ACCIDENT: No, not at all. I never would have expected anything like this.

O'BRIEN: To lose everything in an instant like that, I suppose a lot of us thinking about it, would think -- the first thing we want to do is, you know, sell the house, pack up and move. Did that go through your mind? And have you changed since you've seen the way the community is responding?

CUNARD: Well, I didn't know what I was going to do to begin with. I did just want to go home. That was part of what I want to do right after the accident. I just want to get back home where I felt comfortable.

But then I wasn't sure exactly where I was going to go. And then the community support just really, really has been so much that I can't imagine leaving.

O'BRIEN: All right. As we take a look at a picture of your family, your wife and two young boys who were lost so suddenly in all of this, how did that tragedy, how did you go from that point to the idea of a special sort of playground?

CUNARD: My neighbor Cynthia Gentry (ph) actually came up with the idea. And she asked me, and immediately I said, Yes, that just sounds wonderful. We went to the playground all the time. It's old. It needed help. But, we still enjoyed it.

O'BRIEN: Your 3-year-old Max spent a lot of time there in particular. Obviously your younger son Owen I guess didn't do much crawling around on the playground?

CUNARD: No, not at all.

O'BRIEN: But a lot of what is going to be put there, as we look at some of the ways that the donations are coming in, it is in memory and specifically geared to what he have wanted.

CUNARD: Yes, there's a really nice fire truck the kids can climb on and play through that's going to be there. And Max loved fire trucks. Absolutely loved them. So that's very special. That particular element.

O'BRIEN: As you have reached out to the community, what kinds of things are people saying along with giving you the checks?

CUNARD: Most people just don't know what to say. Which is really quite honestly the appropriate response. What can you say in a situation like this? I wouldn't know how to respond. But people just really do give me, you know, their love the best they can.

O'BRIEN: How much so far have you raised? And how can people within earshot help you out?

CUNARD: We've raised I think it's just under $160,000. They can logon to www.vahi.org, and that will let them know exactly how they contribute.

O'BRIEN: All right, and we also have a long URL here which can get you to it, as well. If you can't get all this down, send us an e- mail, LiveFrom@CNN.com, and we'll get you all the information.

What is it going to be like when this playground, this wonderful, beautiful playground is done and you drive by it and you see children enjoying it? I imagine there will be -- it would be uplifting in a sense but it would be very poignant in another way.

CUNARD: I think bittersweet is really the correct word because I would have absolutely loved able to go there with my family and play on it. And enjoy it with them. But, to see other people doing that will be, in essence, the same thing.

O'BRIEN: What is the lesson here for the rest of us?

CUNARD: Live every moment. Don't put anything off because life is fragile and precious. And you never know what's going to happen.

O'BRIEN: You think of them most every moment, I imagine.

CUNARD: All the time.

O'BRIEN: Brad Cunard. Good luck with your efforts. And if you're interested in helping him out we will get you the information one way or another. Thanks for being with us.

CUNARD: Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com







Aired November 13, 2003 - 14:52   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Thunderstorm and a freak accident forever changed the life of one Atlanta man. In an instant, Brad Cunard lost his wife and two young sons when a tree fell on the family's sport utility vehicle during a very violent thunderstorm in July.
Since then he's been getting a tremendous amount of support from his neighbors. Extraordinary, really. And the community in general, which has donated so far about $160,000 for a memorial playground, a rather special playground, indeed.

Brad Cunard is here to join me now and talk about his ordeal and the triumph that has come out of it as he's seen this support from the community. Brad, I can only imagine going back to July that you never could have envisioned the response that you've seen here.

BRAD CUNARD, FAMILY KILLED IN ACCIDENT: No, not at all. I never would have expected anything like this.

O'BRIEN: To lose everything in an instant like that, I suppose a lot of us thinking about it, would think -- the first thing we want to do is, you know, sell the house, pack up and move. Did that go through your mind? And have you changed since you've seen the way the community is responding?

CUNARD: Well, I didn't know what I was going to do to begin with. I did just want to go home. That was part of what I want to do right after the accident. I just want to get back home where I felt comfortable.

But then I wasn't sure exactly where I was going to go. And then the community support just really, really has been so much that I can't imagine leaving.

O'BRIEN: All right. As we take a look at a picture of your family, your wife and two young boys who were lost so suddenly in all of this, how did that tragedy, how did you go from that point to the idea of a special sort of playground?

CUNARD: My neighbor Cynthia Gentry (ph) actually came up with the idea. And she asked me, and immediately I said, Yes, that just sounds wonderful. We went to the playground all the time. It's old. It needed help. But, we still enjoyed it.

O'BRIEN: Your 3-year-old Max spent a lot of time there in particular. Obviously your younger son Owen I guess didn't do much crawling around on the playground?

CUNARD: No, not at all.

O'BRIEN: But a lot of what is going to be put there, as we look at some of the ways that the donations are coming in, it is in memory and specifically geared to what he have wanted.

CUNARD: Yes, there's a really nice fire truck the kids can climb on and play through that's going to be there. And Max loved fire trucks. Absolutely loved them. So that's very special. That particular element.

O'BRIEN: As you have reached out to the community, what kinds of things are people saying along with giving you the checks?

CUNARD: Most people just don't know what to say. Which is really quite honestly the appropriate response. What can you say in a situation like this? I wouldn't know how to respond. But people just really do give me, you know, their love the best they can.

O'BRIEN: How much so far have you raised? And how can people within earshot help you out?

CUNARD: We've raised I think it's just under $160,000. They can logon to www.vahi.org, and that will let them know exactly how they contribute.

O'BRIEN: All right, and we also have a long URL here which can get you to it, as well. If you can't get all this down, send us an e- mail, LiveFrom@CNN.com, and we'll get you all the information.

What is it going to be like when this playground, this wonderful, beautiful playground is done and you drive by it and you see children enjoying it? I imagine there will be -- it would be uplifting in a sense but it would be very poignant in another way.

CUNARD: I think bittersweet is really the correct word because I would have absolutely loved able to go there with my family and play on it. And enjoy it with them. But, to see other people doing that will be, in essence, the same thing.

O'BRIEN: What is the lesson here for the rest of us?

CUNARD: Live every moment. Don't put anything off because life is fragile and precious. And you never know what's going to happen.

O'BRIEN: You think of them most every moment, I imagine.

CUNARD: All the time.

O'BRIEN: Brad Cunard. Good luck with your efforts. And if you're interested in helping him out we will get you the information one way or another. Thanks for being with us.

CUNARD: Thank you very much.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com