A Day After A Tragedy

I woke up this morning to the alarm clock going off at 7 in the morning.  I slept very well, exhausted from the annual holiday party on Thursday night and the sales dinner on Wednesday night.  It was one of those nights when sleep struck quickly and the dreams were vague memories by the time I was shutting off the alarm.  I had an hour to feed the cats, make coffee and get ready for basketball.  Then like a reminder to the stark reality I heard President Obama on his weekly radio address to the country. His voice was reassuring but the tragedy that occurred yesterday morning in Connecticut did occur.  I remember driving to work after 9 /11 and the announcer said, yes. It’s true the towers are gone.  It was true.  Children were slaughtered.  Twenty.  Maybe this tragic event will be the mark when as a country we can say no more access to assault weapons, to the arrogance of a powerful lobbyist group in the NRA.  I am not against taking all guns, it’s these particular large scale killing machines that are the reason for these incidents.  Have your hunting rifles for hunting.  Is there a sport in machine gunning in the woods for deer?  When is it enough?  I know it’s not just the guns.  Some say it’s our mental health programs which are working with reduced staff and funds.  Some say it’s the violence in the video games.  Yet this event will subside and we will go on with our lives till we are shocked that another madman struck.  Wasn’t it this week a man shot and killed in some innocent lives in a mall?  Minnesota.  Children were killed yesterday in their elementary school, and forever Newtown Connecticut will be etched in our country’s history as being a town where this hideous act occurred.  It could be any town.  It has become too many towns, malls, churches, universities, trains, city streets, play grounds, but as long as these guns – these assault weapons are available – we run the risk of the possibility there will be more blood.   I played basketball for a couple of hours in Amityville with some guys from work.  After that it was a quick shower, change of clothes and off to help Phil move.  They moved to Ronkonkoma, a house that is right behind Connetquot High School.  It was a mild day today which made the job easier.  Most of the furniture was loaded in the truck by some of Gabby’s friends.  It was the unloading where we made the biggest dent.  It did not take long to unload, but some of the furniture was very heavy.  Their new neighborhood is a step up, and the new house is larger.  Men were washing their cars in their driveways, eyeing us with suspicion and not making eye contact to their new neighbors.  After we left, I saw house after house with Christmas lights and kids running on front lawns and in another a group of kids playing football with their father.  I am happy for Phil and Jenn and the kids and wish them the joy and happiness not only in their new house, but in their new neighborhood.  And like that our lives continue as other lives cope with their pain.  I say a prayer to all of you...may God comfort you for the rest of your lives.