Dear Paul B Readers,
I was driving home from an appointment, just 20 minutes ago, when I began hearing about a shooting in Connecticut. I wasn’t too shocked, because I hear about senseless shootings every single day, especially here in Chicagoland. This one really caught me by surprise and I had to reach for my Kleenex box. I don’t cry that easy, I have had family losses, and I “thought” that I had become immune to the gang-land slayings when little kids are shot while playing in their homes. These murders hurt me the most, and I become quite angry when I hear about them. But today, I was overcome with tears. When I heard that 20 little kids, between five and ten years old were shot down sitting in their little chairs at school, I just lost it. Here I am, a grown man fighting back the tears, because I am a father of two kids myself. I imagined being called on my cell that “there is an incident at school,” and I am driving there to discover the carnage, the absolute “hell” of life on earth. How could this have happened? I saw black at that instant, and I had to talk this out with a close friend. I had to question again, “how could this happen?”
I switched back to reality and even texted my freshman son at Buffalo Grove High School to see if he is fine. He must have thought I was crazy.. I didn’t seem to care. I cannot seem to focus on anything but these families, these poor little children, this community that must deal with so many deaths…. Words cannot express this emptiness that I (and many others) are feeling today, now, even a thousand miles away. We all know that the gun laws are way to generous. Were these school age children supposed to be gun-toting tots? Should they all have been armed to protect themselves? An NRA member was asked about his thoughts today after the shooting. His comment was “if you see me today without my gun, then you’re watching me in the shower.” I was catapulted back to reality. Here’s someone who would have saved these poor souls….unfortunately he was NOT sitting in their kindergarten class today……
I am not the same person today that I was just four hours ago.. I hope we can all learn from this horrific loss of life…May God rest their soulsPaul B
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