A Writer's Week #49: No Words

Good evening everyone. I'm sorry that I've been away for a few days. I knew this week would be crazy before it began. I was out of town on business from Wednesday through Friday, so I knew I would not be posting as much as I usually do. I was planning to do my regular post Friday night when I returned home. But that all changed Friday at lunch.

I was sitting in a restaurant in New York City when one of the people I was with told me that a gunman had opened fire in an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, just a few miles up the road from my town.

Lots of thoughts went through my head, but I squelched those and finished up the class that I was taking in a little bit of a daze. Then, I rushed home--subway, then train, then car. My family was at their bowling league when I got home, but soon after they came home and I was hugging them tight.

Needless to say, I could not bring myself to yammer on about my little projects with so much anguish going on in my own back yard. I still can't. Like so many others in Newtown, my town, the state, and the country, I am still trying to come to grips with this unspeakable tragedy, trying to find the words. Ironic, huh? A writer can't find the words.

Well, as time goes on, maybe I will. Right now, all I can do is pray, hold my family tight, and send out my best thoughts and wishes to those who won't be able to hold their loved ones tight ever again.

As more details come out and I hear tales of the heroism of teachers who gave themselves up to protect their students and those who kept their students calm and quiet, so that Evil passed them by, I can only shake my head in admiration. Would any of us be capable of such bravery? Hopefully we'll never have to find out. But I also hope that we can all learn from their example.

Life is precious, don't take it for granted. Your family is precious, don't take it for granted. Friends, loved ones, all are precious, don't take them for granted. Strangers, too, are precious, don't take them for granted. Remember, strangers are just friends you haven't met yet. We all need to take care of each other.

Peace.