Traveling through Tennessee, then North Carolina. Twist and turns through the Smoky Mountains, up and down. Noontime sun helps put the little kids to sleep, and makes the scenery a little more intriguing to the 5 year old. Then on the radio, something about a shooting at Virgina Tech. 33 students died. Worst mass shooting in American History. The skies turn partly cloudy. The day's not quite as beautiful now as it was.
Two hours later, the skies start to darken. Rightful sorrow and grief turns altogether too quickly to the usual shouts. This was expected, as the clouds that sprung up shortly after noon looked just like the thunderclouds and squall line that have popped up before. The typical winds howl --
why didn't the school "lock down"
(try "locking down" a town of 26,000 with a comparatively tiny "police force"), how did the gunman get his weapon,
what was he doing with a weapon,
how did he get it,
why do we allow guns in our culture.......
Night falls, the tornados spawn. Lightening flashes and thunder booms...
"Ban the guns!"
"Ban the bullets!"
"It works in France and throughout Europe!"
"Fire the whole administration,
from the president through the police chief!"
"Let's be safe, for the children's sake..."
By midnight, the storms have broken up a little bit. The stars are a bit dimmer now, for it has been a bad day. The only question is, are they saddened by the loss of 33 people, or the fact that it only took a few short miles of beautiful interstate driving, a few short hours, for such a terrible event to become fuel for political fires.
But it was expected. Expecting a different destination when we are traveling the same roads is ignorance at best, insanity, indifference and insensitivity at worst
Tuesday morning. The sun rose again. Clear skies. But the raindrops are still fresh on the lawn, reminding me that the previous 12 hours weren't as tranquil or pacific as the current one. It causes me to take a moment to pause, and remember.
I'm sure I'll write something political after this day, something about our rights, responsibilities and obligations. But not today. Today, the ground needs to dry out a little. At least before the next storm...
