Blacksburg

Had dinner with friends last night and came home with many conflicting thoughts....

The tragic assault on the student at Virginia Tech was appalling ... no doubt about it and the rush by various news agencies to peer into the souls of the grieving families turns my stomach. Likewise, the vultures among us who are fascinated by the shooter, an obviously tormented and severely mentally ill young man.

During dinner last night, I realized my reaction is not the norm. Yes, I feel immense sadness for the families and the tragedy of those lives cut short but I also feel immense sadness for the shooter. Caught deep in his delusional psychosis, so many warning signs ineffectively handled, he was a time bomb waiting to happen. I can only pray that our merciful God can heal his heart and ours.

As I drifted off to sleep last night, my thoughts ....we (Americans) are so preoccupied with these random and sporadic episodes of violence and continue to dwell on 9/11.

What would we do if we lived in a place where everyday 15 - 150 people die??? (Sudan, Iraq, etc.) We need to look outside our country to put this event in perspective.

Hopefully, my next post will be more upbeat....

Here I Go....

Grand Rapids - beautiful, sunny and 60's whoo-whoo

It's great to see the sun after all this awful April weather! This morning Melinda left the outside door ajar and Cassie decided to take off. I didn't know she was gone until after I had showered and dressed.....needless to say, she was all over the neighborhood. The neighbors were laughing as I tried to coax her into the car.

In her little doggy mind, I could just imagine her thinking...."yeah,right, woman! I'll be there in a minute....first need to checkout this tree....oh wait....I smell something else! You can say 'look what i've got' all you want in that sing song voice but I'm NOT coming until I'M READY!"

Being the sop that I am, I rewarded the miscreant with a trip to Burger King for breakfast after she finally got in the car!