Damn. I had this really witty remark to make and I can’t remember it. And now I have got this goofy feeling. It is like coming up with a great retort to an argument, only you had the argument three days earlier.
Feh.
Archives for April 2007
VA Tech Massacre- A Hero Rises
I know that the title sounds overly dramatic, but what Professor Liviu Librescu did is admirable.
JERUSALEM: A 76-year-old lecturer shot to death trying to save his students from the Virginia Tech assailant was a Holocaust survivor who later escaped to Israel from Communist Romania, his son said Tuesday.
Relatives said Liviu Librescu, an internationally respected aeronautics engineer and a lecturer at the school for 20 years, saved the lives of several students by barricading his classroom door before he was gunned down in Monday’s massacre, which coincided with Israel’s Holocaust remembrance day.
Librescu’ students sent e-mails recounting the last moments of their teacher’s life to his wife, Marlena, his son, Joe, told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
“My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee,” Joe Librescu said in a telephone interview from his home outside of Tel Aviv. “Students started opening windows and jumping out.”
For the full story click here.
Robbing Children of Their Innocence
My heart goes out to the loved ones of the victims of the VA Tech massacre. How many lives have been shattered. How many hearts have been broken because of this one person. It is a terrible tragedy. At some point I’ll share my thoughts about an armed society versus unarmed, but not now.
What really grabs my heart is the terrible problem of trying to explain tragedies like this to children.
My own children are still quite young so until recently it was relatively easy to shield them from stories like this, but that is no longer the case. Out on the schoolyard my son is learning all sorts of new things.
A simple trip to the grocery store presents challenges. All around us there are conversations about the sick man who killed all those people. The questions are starting to come.
Why do people kill each other? Are they dead forever? Will they miss their mommy? Will they try to kill you? Will they try to kill me?
I always knew that the day would come when I would have to try and answer questions that have no answer. I always knew that these moments would pop up, but I guess that I always hoped that it would be a long time from now.
During a conversation with my son and eldest nephew I realized that the day is coming and perhaps it has already arrived. Forgive me if I sound melodramatic but I cannot help but mourn innocence lost.
What The Rolling Stones Will Look Like in 2078
Thinking Blogger Awards Irritate Me
One of the latest crazes to hit the blogosphere is the Thinking Blogger award. As I understand it bloggers are given the opportunity to offer an award to the authors of blogs who make them think.
For some reason this rubs me the wrong way. It feels cheesy, stilted and contrived. Maybe it is because the participants are supposed to link back to the original blog.
Or maybe it is just because I am jealous that I didn’t come up with the idea.
A Less Conventional Way To Support The Troops
Watch this country music video and tell me what you think.
Hat Tip to Toner Mishap and Bitch P.H.D.