Sadness

With my return to the interwebs I decided to check in on the folks on my Blogroll to see what was new with everyone. I can honestly say that I just read the most heartbreaking thing I’ve heard in a long long time. One of my oldest and dearest blogger friends Jade has suffered a major tragedy that no parent should ever experience. My prayers go out to her and her family for their loss and suffering. God Bless girlfriend and let me know if there is anything I can do for you.

Saturday morning I woke up and it was a beautiful day, our house was alive with the sounds of teenagers and the noises of happy chaos. The oldest was preparing to head back to University and we were all working diligently to make sure he didn’t forget anything – which reminds me I need to contact the University about adding a class on “How to Remember Things”.

It was shortly after 10am that I turned on the TV.

For the rest of the day and all day yesterday I’ve sat stunned watching a nightmare unfold in front of my eyes. Without giving out much detail I live very close to where all this went down and a simple turn of chance could have put me right there in the thick of things. Thank God I was not. Many of my friends were there that day, thankfully they were only witnesses and not victims. Words cannot express the loss of the city due to this heinous event. I cannot even imagine the pain caused by some self-righteous asshole who turned our beautiful city into a deathbed for so many people.

Side Rant: I honestly believe that many of our youth are to ‘smart’ for their own good, they have not been given the opportunity or the guidance to balance book intelligence with common sense – if you pair that with a mental instability you have the horrible possibility of what happened on Saturday. By most accounts this shooter wasn’t “beyond weird” but rather just a loner of sorts. Most people interviewed that know him found him to be odd but did not suspect something of this magnitude from a person like him. Parents, look at your children, really look at them. Are you giving them enough time? Are you keeping track of what they are into? Are you talking to them? If they live under your roof it is your civil, not to mention parental responsibility to attend to your child’s physical, emotional and mental well being. Whole health starts at home, if you brought a child into this world you are the one who is to teach them right and wrong. < ./end rant>

I don’t have enough words to express the pain this weekend has brought on, the frustration that it has caused both myself and my fellow citizens. My prayers are with every last person who had to be a part of this senseless act. From the victims to the witnesses, first responders to the Red Cross counselors, to the citizens that are diligently building shrines and holding vigils in the freezing night. Tucson is a special place as it’s just one big little town when it all comes down to it- so please pray for the victims both alive and dead, pray for Tucson, pray for peace.

I do miss you. I’m ashamed and broken, but I do miss you.