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Friday, December 14, 2012

Black Friday

Today I spent the day with my 19 year old daughter, shopping for clothes for her as she is giving up hoodies and sweatpants for clothing more suitable for a young woman in business.  I had intended to come home and write a blog post about the 12-12-12 quilt I did and some other fibery things.  But, some how that doesn't seem appropriate.

This morning, I first got word of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school from a Facebook Post by Jane D'Avila.  I cringed....but I didn't know the severity of it, nor the fact that it was an elementary school until I got home. 

I thought back to my days at Wethersfield Historical Society where my job as curator and educator de facto brought me to many elementary schools throughout Connecticut as Wethersfield Historical Society has a program to go along with Elizabeth Speare's The Witch of Blackbird Pond.  Speare lived in Newtown,  and I remember giving a school program to a school there.  You can't help but think about connections to things like this....

When my daughter was in Kindergarten, I volunteered in her classroom helping the teacher, reading to the children and working with the children who didn't have the skills that is expected of of children entering kindergarten.  I remember thinking that kindergartners are really babies, and even first and second graders are still sweet and innocent.  I know that no one is exempt from evil, but it seems particularly heinous that these babies lost their lives.  To think that they were probably thinking about how many days it was until Christmas, their Holiday programs, and general excitement and in a moment it was gone.  The children who survived will forever have this in their conscious a black pall over a season which is often full of hope, wonder and love. 

I also thought about the amount of help that these families and children are going to have to have.  Unfortunately, counseling costs money and in the United States, even co-pays can be out of reach.  At least Newtown is a prosperous community and most will probably be able to handle this, but I know that not all will be able to. 

This area is also one which had many people who were lost in the 9-11 attacks, or they knew people who lost their lives....another burden to carry.  The neighbor in Conneticut who now has a three year old of her own asked tonight  "Does the NRA have a pamphlet to explain this to my three year old?"

People are asking "Why?"  My question is "How can we stop this from happening?"  I think we need to get beyond the people who keep on pointing at the 2nd amendment, and who keep on stating the mantra "Guns don't kill people, people do" and to actually sit down and discuss what can be done to try to prevent this.   Surely there should be discussion of what CAN be done  instead of knee jerk reaction.  I don't think outlawing guns entirely is an answer, but I'll be darned to think what would be the best thing, and I also know that there is a lot about how guns are bought and sold which I don't know about.

I keep on thinking about an anthem by Evrett Titcomb that we used to sing at St. Andrews.  "I will not leave you Comfortless" which is based on John 14: 16-19.  "I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.  Yet a little while, the world will see me no more, but you see me,: because I live, you will live also."



 

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