There was the stabbing at the Lone Star College, here in Houston. Approximately 14 people were sliced with a blade by a deranged fellow student. This just goes to prove that anyone will lash out with an intent to hurt or kill, with any weapon.
It's more about our culture of violence that is to blame. What is causing this behavior? Drugs? Video Games? Mental illness? Lack of face-to-face socialism skills?
Anyway, then we had the bombings in Boston. We followed the events on television and Americans were sick at heart as we learned of the deaths and the terrible injuries that some people have suffered. And to know so many were hurt by the shrapnel that flew into many bodies; I believe the physicians felt as if they were treating patients in a war zone.
I was praying for the city as they called for a "Shelter in Place" which is something our area is very familiar with because of this industrial area and "regular" explosions involving hazardous chemicals. We have the siren warning system to helps us get to a Shelter in Place right away. But, to see Boston taking these measures because of a terrorist...for residents to be in lock-down in their homes...it made you realize that the city paralyzed as first-responders crawled around the city looking for the second suspect.
And good for the woman who noticed her boat being disturbed, she trusted her instincts and called the authorities. Eventually, the last hold-out was caught, taken alive.
However, yesterday morning we found out that West, Texas has a fertilizer plant in town that exploded. Since my father worked in a local fertilizer plant here in Houston, from my childhood thru my adulthood, we were always taught the extreme dangers of working in such an environment, so when we heard about the massive explosion in West, Texas, we were stunned and devastated for the entire town. There's no telling just how many people have been affected by that explosion.
It's difficult to fathom all of the emotional pain that area of Texas is experiencing.
What do we say to people who must find a way to put the pieces of their lives back together? Some lives cannot be whole again. Some lives will be forever altered or will never be the same because someone crucial to them is gone.
In Texas and in Boston, a little more innocence has left their midst, yet increasing strength has taken its place.
Typing this post from my little I-Phone pad was not easy, but I had to share thoughts with all of you because it's hard to be on track with ordinary blogging as these events take place...my focus is on the victims of these tragedies. Any one of us could have been in their shoes; we rally behind them while knowing the days to come will not give many of the victims relief because their battles have just began.
I am finally going to sleep as suspect #2 is in custody for the bombings and the torturous thoughts that can run through your mind at what the bomber could do next has been eased with this capture...well, for now that is alleviated, but our hearts are still heavy with the knowledge that these kinds of things can happen in any of our towns and that the lingering after-effects are far from over.
As for West Texas, our hearts are heavy over the devastation that came upon them so suddenly.
Maybe later I can get back on track with writing about every day "boring" things that are meaningful to us regular folks because that's what we do in America...we do our best to stay on track and to live a regular life, even in the middle of irregular times.
God Bless America and I am looking forward to making a trip to Boston, hopefully THIS YEAR!
1 comment:
Oh Lana - I DO so hope you get to make that trip to Boston! Tony and I went in the fall, remember, and we loved it! If you get to go, let me know and I'll pass along any information that you might need. It's a great city - people warned us about yankees being so rude, but we found that the folks up there are SO nice and friendly! Perhaps it's the type of person that YOU are that people are kind or rude - that's what I always think. It's def been a sad week - it's hard to understand... I'm praying for all those poor folks that have losses - no matter where they may be...
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