I know that on the other side of darkness…
…is light.
I’m just not able to make that turn yet.
My tears won’t fall and I am numb with grief for the families of the victims in Newton. Somehow I was doing pretty well until last night because I just couldn’t fully understand what happened. And then I did.
How is everyone doing?
I am sending prayers of Love and Strength. I bet you are too.
PS. Big Little Wolf has provided a heads up about this excellent article by Nicholas Kristof in the New York Times that offers some realistic possibilities for gun control.
Vicki, the article is interesting, not sure if the link was up when you saw this post or not. It includes the tactics used by Australia and the success rate they have had since imposing them. And I agree with you that it defies belief. There is a part of me that is still in denial.
Absolutely agree with you. There is just no need for that kind of weaponry. "The right to bear arms" was written at such a different time.
Would hold your hand if I could.
Veronique, Please let me know if there is anything I can do to help – we are back from the roadtrip. Jackie
Once again you've said it so beautifully Heather. We were in the midst of the vast Nevada countryside when the tragedy occurred – no cell phones, no radio to alert us to the events taking place beyond the peaceful path we followed. We'd heard initial reports before entering the empty land of 'possibly a shooting at a school' – tragic enough, but we reasoned only 'a possibility' – not reality and 'a shooting' not a cold-blooded massacre. What a shock to learn how the world had been turned upside down during a few hours of our disconnect.
Hello Heather
We are back to numb today, there was a thaw yesterday and we had a good cry. I don't believe there are any answers to this maddness. We refuse to listen to the media since we saw that the emphasis was solely on the President wiping away a tear. They miss the point completely and it all seems so heartless. Like Marsha said – "absolutely no automatic weapons"
We continue to pray.
Hugs to you
Helen xx
Dear Heather. Thank you for this post. I felt so sad for these poor families over the weekend. Now I just learned my neighborhood is related to the shooting: Noah, the 6-year old who was killed and mentioned in the news, has relatives here. His uncle, aunt and cousins live two houses down the street from me. I know his grandmother, who is French, very well. She is also a neighbor. As you can imagine, the whole neighborhood is rallying up to help them, especially Noah's young cousin, who is 6 years old, and was very close to him. I am about to go out and walk the family's dogs, to help out as best I can. Sad, sad, beyond words. Veronique (French Girl in Seattle)
I cannot even begin to comprehend the feelings of those parents and families of the victims… It defies belief… and yet this tragedy has happened… and I still can't quite believe that either… What is our world coming to? I feel so disheartened and sickened by the behaviour of some human beings… I am not sure how we recover or how we can really change it… xv
Heather, this is such a poignant post. We are all thinking of what must be done. For me, there is no reason anyone in our country should own an automatic weapon of any kind. I don't even like hunters of animals. Surely, this tragedy will change our laws. In the mean time, every single school should have armed guards, metal detectors, body scanners, etc. for EVERYONE who enters. I'm a parent and now a grandparent (my grandson will be 5 in January), all of us must demand this.
I have a heavy, heavy heart my friend. Let's hope our sadness and anger galvanizes some effective action. But in the meantime, those children and their teachers are gone forever. As you say, one can only look forward to the light.