What Can Happen In Just A Week? or "Life Has Its Little Ups and Downs"

Have you ever deliberately sat down and cataloged all (at least all that you remember or that was significant to you in one way or another) that happened in just a week, all that you have gone through, things that have happened to your friends or loved ones, events across the nation or around the world that were significant to you?  Have you ever considered the great "roller coaster ride" that we can experience in just one week?  I have to say that the past week was just such a roller coaster for me, for many of my loved ones, and for people I do not even, some of whom have never crossed paths with me.

This past week I experienced one of the most blessed events a person can have, shared in the pain of a friend who lost his daughter in tragic car accident, and learned of the death of my own loved one.  Those were just some of the highlights.  There were some things that happened that did not directly involve me at all, but had an impact on me and on many others as well.  One of those events, one that did not involve me, but had an impact on me and many others, a tragedy, is one that I will write about soon but I did not want to write about it today, on what is the first blog I have posted in several days. With the highs and lows, ups and downs, I suspect that my week was just about like yours, and all of us have stories to tell about last week, just one week out of one month, out of one year of our lives.

Years ago the late Charlie Rich ("Behind Closed Doors," "Rolling With The Flow," et al) sang a song that contained the line "Life has it's little ups and downs, like ponies on a merry-go-round."  If we just look at one week of our own lives, we see that that simple line above applies very much to those seven short days, as well as to a lifetime.  First, whether we are talking about a week or a lifetime, there are ups and downs, whether or not we choose to look at them as "little."  There are sad things, happy things, in-between things, but they can all happen in just those seven short days.  But the second truth is this: our week - and our life - goes on, or turns, if you will, just like that merry-go-round, in spite of all the ups and downs.

Without a doubt, the highlight of the past week was the bringing into this world our second grandchild, by his mother, our own second child.  There were so many things that could have gone wrong with this pregnancy, a high-risk pregnancy for several reasons.  Of course we were concerned for months about this day, but it was coming no matter the risks.  Life has its little ups and downs, like ponies on a merry-go-round.  The birth of Derek Weston and the health of the mother both during and after the birth were both such great "ups" that the "downs" were overshadowed, though not unfelt at all.

Baby Derek came into the world to his waiting, loving parents and his "big" sister (and his large extended family) on July 26th.  Unlike many newborns (just being honest here, not being grandfatherish) Derek was a beautiful newborn right from the start.  Yes, all babies are cute after a couple of days, but many look like little space creatures at hour one!  But Baby Derek came out looking good right from the start, and looks even better now. 

Our first grandchild, Leah (Baby Baby to me) was a little unsure, at first, about what the new little being meant for her.  She knew she would be getting a baby brother, but I think she was not prepared for that baby brother to be a pink little crying thing all wrapped in a blanket.  I believe she was disappointed to find that her little brother could not jump up and play with her right off the bat!  But is appears that in the days that have passed since Baby Derek was born, Baby Baby has (at least tentatively) come to accept him as the newest member of the family.  And no doubt he will play with her some day.  I am sure on that day there will be a huge fight because "those are Weeyah's toys!"

Like all the rest of the family, I took my turn holding Baby Derek, and just like it was for Leah from her day one, my heart is so full of love for this little bundle that it ached.  Really, it almost burst, because it is the same heart that is so full of love for Baby Baby, and now it is twice as full.  It is so amazing that such a little soul, with such perfect little tiny hands and feet, will one day be child, then a teen, then a grown man, and all in such a short span of time.  It truly is a short time.  It seems like only a few days ago that we brought our own children home from the hospital.  Older and wiser people told me this would all pass so quickly, and I thought they were crazy.  Now I find those crazy people were right.  The time has truly flown.  Baby Baby is now over three years old, and not really a baby any more.  My own Child A and B, and our new son Child B+1, are now grown and productive members of society.  But that cliche...it seems like only yesterday!...is so true.

Yes, this past week was surely a week of ups and downs, although by far the ups outweighed the downs.  I actually hope for a week filled with somewhat FEWER ups and downs than was the week past, but whether or not that is the case, the coming week will be filled with life's little "ups and downs, like ponies on a merry-go-round."  That merry-go-round would be such a bland ride if the ponies did not go up and down as they turned...ita quoque vita

The "Good Old Days" or Terror In A Small Town In Mississippi

Have you ever heard someone say, "How I miss the "good old days," or "I wish we could go back to the "good old days"?  Maybe you've said it yourself, and I know that there have been times I have wished for the simpler times of "the good old days."  But what could it mean to return to the "good old days"?  Would turning back the clock and somehow living in the "good old days" be "good" for everyone?  Or said another way, the "good old days" were not the same, were not necessarily "good," for everyone.

Case in point.  I attended a party with my lovely bride the other night, a gathering of good friends and some who would become good friends as the night went on.  It turned out that a gentleman I met at the party was a history major (as well as an attorney) and was the newly hired director of nearby museum.  He and I of course had much to talk about.  As we talked about Texas, the Southwest, the relationship of the neighboring states, and so on, evidently some item of conversation reminded the hostess of the party of something she remembered that happened to her uncle several decades before "the turn of the century."  This incident (actually several incidents) occurred in the late fifties or early sixties.

The hostess's uncle ran a drug store in Mississippi during the "good old days" when Black Americans were still not allowed to have their full measure of freedom and civil rights by a large portion of the White population, even though various constitutional amendments had passed which guaranteed everyone equality under the law.  The Civil War was over a hundred years in the past, and many a Black American had fought and died during World War II, while thousands of others survived the war along with "the Greatest Generation" in America.  Yes, all Black soldiers gave some, and some of them gave ALL in the cause of stopping the world takeover attempted by Hitler, Hirohito, and Mussolini.  But when the war was over, the Black soldiers returned to an America that quickly forgot their bravery and sacrifice.  It was clear that they were not a part of this Greatest Generation.

My friend's uncle, unlike many of the White residents of Mississippi at the time, decided to do what was right and what his conscience dictated.  He opened his store to local Black citizens.  They did not have to use the "back" entrance, could sit at the counter, and could depend on being served  courteously and treated fairly.  Well, this was still the "good old days."  Word soon got around that a certain drug store was open to Black Americans in a small town in Mississippi where most of the other business establishments still openly discriminated against Black people.  The Black people were happy; many of the White people were not.  And the local "chapter" of a certain organization was most unhappy.

Within a day or two of opening his store to Black residents, the White owner became the victim of a campaign of terror orchestrated by the still active and powerful Ku Klux Klan.  At first persons unknown hurled rocks or bottles through the front windows at night.  Soon these acts of vandalism began happening in broad daylight.  Shortly afterwards this honest and conscientious man began receiving death threats over the telephone and "Molotov cocktails" in his front yard.  After he received several calls threatening the lives of his family, my friend's uncle called his sister in Oklahoma, who made a quick trip to Mississippi to pick up her sister-in-law and the children.  The store owner continued to serve Black customers in spite of all the mayhem.  I am not sure how long it went on, but he and the store survived the threats and vandalism.  At some point his family was able to return. And also at some point, Black Americans were able to shop or secure services at businesses in that little Mississippi town without discrimination (open discrimination, at least).

This was a most interesting account to me.  I realized that while times were great, or at least good, for most Americans back in the "good old days," and many people might want to return to those good, simpler times, not everyone would want to return to the "good old days" as they were in the America of the 1950's or 1960's.  For some, the "good old days" were a quieter, simpler time.  For others the "good old days" were times of meager living and jobs that paid very little for a hard day's work.  But for others, the "good old days" were days of struggle, uncertainty, and yes, days of grave danger.

I realize that when most people say "How I wish for the good old days," they are speaking of good times, of friends or loved ones who have gone from this world, of the small towns or familiar neighborhoods that have given way to the lifestyle of the 21st Century.  Very few people want to return to the prejudice and discrimination that was a part of a by-gone era.  But when we wish for the "good old days" or reminisce on our pleasant memories, it is good to remember that the good old days were not the same for everyone.  I think it is also good to recall the heroes, especially the ordinary people like this store owner, probably not a hero in his own eyes, who helped in some small way to put "real" good into the "good old days."

May God bless the South - AND the North
May God bless Texas

And of course

God Bless America

She Shared Her Ice Cream With Poppee

This past Saturday my daughter (Child B) was given a baby shower in anticipation of the arrival of our Grandchild #2, debuting sometime in July.  The baby shower was attended by many, and was a great success, but alas, it lasted for some time longer than Baby Baby's attention span.  As the games and festivities came to an end, and the young couple began open gifts (yes, apparently MEN can now go to these affairs...but I digress) Baby Baby (our first grandchild) reached the end of her attention span.

At this point my lovely bride suggested that I find Baby Baby some "juice," which is the baby's code word for almost any liquid, except water, which she must be coerced to drink.  So I searched the location of the baby shower but failed to find any "juice" except for some water, which of course Baby Baby will not drink except when stranded in the Sahara for a couple of weeks.  Having found no "juice" in this locale, I took Baby Baby across the street to get a small root beer for her at a nearby fast food place. 

Since this was a fairly busy road, I carried Baby Baby across the street while instructing her to look both ways for cars.  But Baby Baby instantly recognized a red oval sign with two large white letters and yelled, "We're at the ICE CREAM STORE, Poppee!"  I said, 'Yes, Baby, we ARE at the ice cream store!"  Baby Baby said, " I want 'nilla!"  I assured her that we would indeed get some "nilla" ice cream.  Baby Baby said, "We can share 'nilla, Poppee!"  I said, "Sweetie, you can have your OWN ice cream, and Poppee can have ice cream."  Baby Baby said, "NO, Poppee!  You share LEAH'S ice cream!"  I asked if she wanted her own dish of ice cream and she again said, "NO! Leah share with Poppee!"

It was a touching moment, a near tear-jerking moment.  My little Baby Baby wanted to share HER ice cream with her Poppee.  So we went to the counter and ordered one small root beer and one medium dish of ice cream, um...with TWO spoons.  We had one of the best times together in her short life as we shared ice cream, bite for bite.  Then Baby Baby said, "Let's go to the park!"  At first I thought she meant that she wanted to go play at the park, but I soon learned differently. 

Baby Baby finished a bite of ice cream then "walked" her spoon across the table and to the half wall that separated the sections of the restaurant.  Then she walked her spoon up the wall and to the top.  Once at the top. Baby Baby let the spoon "slide" down the wall.  "I am SLIDING," shouted Baby Baby, "You slide TOO, Poppee!" 

Well, I grabbed my spoon and "walked" it to the wall, climbed the wall, and "slid" down.  Leah yelled, "Yea, Poppee! Now I go again!"  When Baby Baby slid down the wall one more time, she announced that it was once again time for ice cream.  We took a couple of bites, then Baby Baby yelled, "SLIDE, Poppee!!"  SO we walked our spoons to the park, climbed the slide, and then went for ice cream.  We repeated this action several times, then, lo and behold, the ice cream was gone.

I said, "Look Baby Baby, we are all out of ice cream!"  Leah said, "It was fun sharing ice cream with Poppee, and we played at the park."  I gave my little sweetie a BIG hug.  I told her, "I am so glad you shared your ice cream with me, Baby Baby, and I am glad we got to go to the park!"  At this point Leah announced that she wanted her "juice," the root beer.  I let her have a few drinks of root beer, but then the telephone rang.  We were wanted back at the Dojo, my daughter's and son-in-law's mix-martial arts school.  We walked back across the street and into the Dojo.

By this time the festivities were over and everyone soon went his or her separate ways.  As I drove home with my lovely bride, I was so full of joy and happiness.  My little Baby Baby WANTED to share her ice cream with me.  Her little angel face had such a beautiful smile all the way through our dining experience.  She was so proud to have shared her ice cream with me.  I think it was the high point of her day, and I know it was such a special time for me.

Baby Baby, as all babies do, will soon grow out of her childhood, will soon be a school girl, then a teen, then all grown and out in her own world.  That is why these kinds of moments are so special.  People always told me that my babies would be grown "before I knew it."  Well, that was certainly the case, and now, I tell Child B and my new son that their babies will be grown in such a short time, such a very short time.  I am not trying to scare them, only tell them of my own experience.  Special moments, like sharing ice cream with a small little girl, will be such fleeting moments, and soon gone...but the sweet, precious memories will remain.

I love my little Baby Baby, and her sweet parents.  And I love my little Baby Derrick already.  I can't wait for him to get here!!

Justify and Michael Smith: 2018 Triple Crown Winners

Some of my favorite sports events are the three horse races that make up the Triple Crown: the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness Stakes, and the Belmont Stakes.  I like these events even more when one horse wins the first two races, which means that there will be a chance for a Triple Crown!  So, Justify was that horse, and the Preakness was that race.  By the time Justify had taken the posts I was hyped for the possibility that Justify would win the Triple Crown.  The three or so weeks between the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes could not pass fast enough!

As the time for the Preakness drew nearer and nearer, the talking heads began their nay-saying, right on schedule.  First, there was Justify.  He had proven himself in the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, as a horse that could run a fast race in the rain, and as a sprinting horse.  BUT...the Preakness was a long race, in fact the longest in the Triple Crown, at a mile and a half.  Sure, Justify could run fast, and could keep his footing in terrible conditions...but, could he pace himself for a long race, not burn out before the finish, yet not fall behind so far that he could not catch up at the end?  And the general consensus was that Justify would run himself out at the 1 3/4 mile mark.  Well, okay...

Then there was the jockey.  Michael Smith, who had ridden Justify in both the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness, was 52 years old.  As one reporter put it, Smith was in his "twilight years" as a jockey.  Michael Smith, however, was not just any jockey.  He had ridden other Crown Jewel winners and was, in fact, a member of the jockeys' hall of fame.  Nonetheless, the talking heads declared Michael Smith was too old to ride, at least, too old to ride well enough to win the Belmont Stakes.  There were so many much younger men in the race, younger men who had more stamina to endure this, the longest race in the Triple Crown.  Apparently Smith's resume and experience were not enough to counter the man's age; at least that's what the talking heads would have us believe.  

Yes, the talking heads were persuaded that the Justify/Smith duo had basically a fifty-fifty chance at the Belmont Stakes.  But when the gates opened, Justify was the first horse out, got a length ahead, and never looked back.  The first quarter mile was fast by Belmont standards, but Justify had a lead and Smith let him settle into a Secretariat-like stride for the next half of a mile.  The field behind Justify was very dynamic, as riders jockeyed in and out, battling for second place...because, first place was never in question.  In the last half mile only one horse closed to just a few feet behind Justify, but that is when Michael Smith let Justify have his head, and Justify really kicked in the after-burner!  The race was over at that point - Justify crossed the line with a clear lead and plenty of power to spare.  What a race!

Justify, ridden by a jockey in his "twilight years," was the newest Triple Crown winner, the first since 2015, when American Pharaoh won all three races.  Incidentally Justify and American Pharaoh were both trained by the same person, Bob Baffert.  With today's Triple Crown win, Baffert becomes the only trainer to have TWO Triple Crown winners in his curricula vitae.  

Congratulations to Bob Baffert, Michael Smith, and most of all, to Justify, for bringing in the Triple Crown!  Although it was only three years between American Pharaoh's Triple Crown and Justify's win of the Triple Crown today, there was a drought of THIRTY-SEVEN YEARS from the previous Triple Crown win by Affirmed. Will there be a Triple Crown winner in 2019?  That stats say that's not likely.  But today, what a great race!  And I am already geared up for next year's Triple Crown of horse racing!

May God bless all of you

And God bless America

After Santa Fe, More Gun Control Is Needed NOW!!

The terrible mass-shooting at Santa Fe High School points out the need for more and better gun control.  Not for more debate and more laws - MORE/BETTER gun control AT HOME!

That's right...I don't believe more laws are needed, that stronger gun control statues with "more teeth" are needed.  What is needed is more responsible control of guns at home.  The weapons used by Santa Fe shooter were "average weapons," not the much maligned "assault rifle," yet this teenager still managed to produce at least twenty casualties, including ten dead.

As expected, the talking heads on both sides are yelling about "More Gun Control" or "Guns Don't Kill People, PEOPLE Kill People." Both of these arguments are tired and so over-used, and (as the news says) "revived" at every mass shooting.  But the discussion that often "slips between the cracks" is the "how."  If the shooter obtained weapons either legally, or by circumventing all the laws on the books, then again, it is clear that no new laws are needed. We already have them!

The Santa Fe shooter broke several laws when he obtained, possessed, and carried his weapons with him.  First, he was under age.  The law limiting the age at which a person can by a gun is already "on the books."  He was too young to possess ammunition, ANOTHER law already on the books.  The shotgun he carried was "sawed off," or illegally shortened.  Yet ANOTHER law on the books that was violated, and probably not only by the shooter.  Most likely the shotgun was shortened by the owner or some other person who was "of age" to own the weapon, and chose to break the law as to barrel length.  So, it is clear beyond any further debate that no more gun laws are needed.  We HAVE THEM NOW!

What IS needed is GUN CONTROL.  No, I don't mean the illegal "damn the Second Amendment" type of gun control advocated by so many. I mean the common-sense gun control that falls squarely on the shoulders of each gun owner.  No amount of legislation can force people to use good judgment when storing their weapons, unfortunately.  But the many incidents of underage persons taking guns to school could certainly by reduced if true gun control were exercised by gun owners, many of whom I am sure are at this very moment are still decrying the atrocity committed at Santa Fe High.

It is so very simple to secure all of one's weapons at home.  There are devices and gun safes of many varieties and price ranges, so there is literally NO REASON that gun control in the home (or even in one's  business) cannot be practiced at all times.  I remember as a youngster being taught by my father, my uncle, and my grandfather, not to touch or handle the weapons that were located in our home and the relatives' homes as we were growing up.  I am not sure what was different then, or if maybe there was simply less coverage of accidental shootings then, but in any case, none of us children handled the guns without permission.  That does not seem to be the case anymore.  Also, not so long ago, many people carried rifles or shotguns in gun racks mounted inside their pickup trucks.  Again, people did not seem to trifle with such weapons in years past.

Be that as it may, however, the safe and common-sense approach is to have all your guns unloaded and locked away.  Not everyone has a gun safe, but everyone can MAKE their gun SAFE!  By the way, storing a gun in a vehicle (except if you utilize a secured rack of some kind) is not a good idea, either.  Guns left unsecured in a vehicle are presents for car burglars.  Guess what...anywhere in your car that you can think of to hide your weapon has already been thought of by the gun thief.

Back to guns in the home, it is abundantly clear that guns in the home need to be secured, now more than ever.  But wait!! What if someone breaks in while I am in my house?!  First, you need to secure your guns and ammunition the right way, THEN you can plan for what may never happen, although I and you know it does happen fairly often.  Here is a good plan for both keeping your guns secure and your family safe from attack in your own home.  First (and AGAIN) secure all your weapons.  Daytime burglaries are far more common than nighttime home invasions.  So, while you are at work and the kids are at school, you do not need access to weapons at your home...and neither do the BURGLARS.  Have all your weapons secured, even if that means chaining them to plumbing.  Second, when you are preparing for bed and feel that you need a gun close at hand and ready for action, you should remove ONLY the weapon that you would use in home defense to be ready and at close reach.  By the way, I do not advocate sleeping with a gun under your pillow.  There are just too many things that could go wrong.  But, I do advocate having the chosen weapon in a safe place near to hand, along with a very bright flashlight.  Both will be necessary if it should really come down to needing to defend your family.

How does this different, common-sense gun control apply to the Santa Fe shooting, or other shootings, for that matter?  Well, because in several of these shootings, including Santa Fe, the shooter took weapons from the "family armory" presumably without permission of the responsible adult (s) in the home.  Surely the parents did not hand the shooter the shotgun and revolver and tell him to take the guns to school.  Of course not.  But did they have the weapons locked away, or was the shotgun leaning in the corner of a closet, the revolver in a box on the top closet rack?  Unfortunately, these kinds of arrangements constitute "gun control" in many homes.

True gun control begins in the home, and the gun owner is ultimately responsible for the security of his or her weapons.  This is even more important when a child in the home is known by the parents to be depressed or to have some other emotional or mental issue.  I realize that parents can not know everything their children think or do, but parents DO in fact know, by the time a child is nearly fully grown, that the child has some mental or emotional issue and should never have access to weapons that are kept in the home. So please, secure your weapons.  Go to a gun shop or sports center and take a look at all the options, or view them online.  Then, BUY THEM AND USE THEM!  Please do not let your weapon fall into the wrong hands.  The life you save might be your own, your children, a police officer, or even a school full of innocent children.

May God bless you all, and God bless America

This Is America - I Refuse To Be Bound By The Laws Of The European Union - Even Just To Blog

I found the following notice pinned to my blog a few days ago:


European Union laws require you to give European Union visitors information about cookies used and data collected on your blog. In many cases, these laws also require you to obtain consent. 

As a courtesy, we have added a notice on your blog to explain Google's use of certain Blogger and Google cookies, including use of Google Analytics and AdSense cookies, and other data collected by Google. 

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I reflected on the above statement for several days, and in that time I did not add any new posts to my blog.  But I am now back to post blogs until "B Blogger" takes my little (but THREATENING, apparently) blog off its website.  If that happens, I will just find a new launching point for my blogs.  Why do I feel this way?  Let's look at the B Blogger statement above.

The very first words are offensive and intolerable beyond description. "European Union laws require...."
Those first four words render the entire statement moot as far as I am concerned, and even more so on the eve of Memorial Day, a day when we honor the millions of fallen soldiers, sailors, and airmen who fought and died for OUR freedom.  The American heroes died so that AMERICANS could be free.  Yes, they died liberating our brothers and sisters across the oceans from Nazi and Japanese empirical intentions, but the ultimate aim of helping our allies defeat the Central Powers was so that the American way of life could continue.

So I find those first four words to be disgraceful.  We (you and I in the United States) are NOT under the laws of the European Union.  I understand that if I visit a member nation of the European Union (or ANY nation) that I am bound by the laws of those nations for the duration of my visit.  But how dare the hosts of B Blogger tell me that I am bound by the laws of the European Union if I choose to blog.  Readers of my blog are mostly in the United States, but some are from nations ranging from England to Indonesia.  You and I in the United States are citizens of the UNITED STATES, and therefore bound only by those laws passed by United States legislative bodies.

The B Blogger statement goes on to say that it is my responsibility to notify people in the European Union of any cookies that may be attached to my blog.  Well, attention European Union...I do not attach cookies to my blog.  If Blogger, Google, or any third party advertiser attaches cookies to this blog, I would have no way of knowing such.

Then the statement says that cookies from third party advertisers using this site may collect even more information than the blogger (me, in this case) knows is being collected by the cookie.  Well, since I don't know what information a cookie is collecting, and I may not even be aware of these cookies, I am pretty sure I could not give an educated answer as to what cookies have been embedded in this blog, and what information those cookies are collecting. 

But the main point is, the European Union has no authority over me as long as I am in the United States.  Would B Blogger have even posted the same notice if it were "required" by Russia or China?  I think we know the answer to that question.  I am sure any person would be enraged to hear that we were bound by the laws of those two nations, and the same goes for the European Union, as far as I am concerned.  

So, on the eve of Memorial Day, the day we choose to honor our dead soldiers, I choose to honor those soldiers by ignoring the statement from B Blogger.  I am NOT going to attempt to find out what cookies are embedded in this blog, nor will I attempt to find out what information such cookies are collecting.  I blog from the United States; therefore I will make no attempt to comply with laws of any other nation.  Of course I know that this blog can be seen by anyone around the world who follows it, or accidentally stumbles across it.  Of course I know (now, at least) that someone is attaching cookies to my blog, as my "payment" for using the B Blogger platform.  But here is one other thing I know, and believe.  If my blog, or the website that I blog on, is offensive to, or in violation of, a nation's laws, it is up to that nation to censor my blog or the website responsible for allowing such offensive blogs as mine access to the Internet.  

I am thankful and grateful for the sacrifices made by our American heroes, 

and may God bless America.

PS: I will continue to blog until B Blogger cuts me off.  I appreciate everyone of you who read my blogs.  If this blog goes away, I will eventually find another and be back on the net again.

J.J. Watt Opens His Heart To The People Of Santa Fe

Another mass shooting at a school, this time at the high school at Santa Fe, Texas.  Fortunately, this time the evacuation of the students got most of them out of harm's way, while a quick and effective response by multiple law enforcement agencies resulted in the quick capture of the shooter.  Tragically the shooter killed ten people before police were able to arrest him.  Several students and a couple of police officers were injured.

Another mass shooting...

I find I really don't have much to say about it, nothing to add, that hasn't already been said about these killings.  I certainly don't have anything that could provide insight on how a man, really a teenager, can just wake up and decide to kill a bunch of people.  I wonder even if we as a society knew why a person would do this thing, would then be able to predict when and where the next massacre would happen, and which possible shooter would commit it.

Another mass shooting...

I find that no words I, or anyone, could say will really comfort the survivors and the loved ones.  Only the Good Shepherd can do that, and only with time.  There have been so many mass shootings that words of sympathy are so inadequate anymore.  It will be weeks or months before those that lost their children, their loved ones, will even begin to heal.

Another mass shooting...

Sadness, anger, outrage, just as with all the others, but then...a glimmer of light in the darkness.  Out of the blue, Houston Texan football player J.J. Watt felt a calling.  He has offered to pay for the funerals of the ten victims.  No, this won't bring back the dead or undo the lasting pain, but...a gesture of love and compassion in the midst of all the pain and sorrow.  The cost of ten funerals could easily reach over $100,000, yet J.J. Watt stands ready to do what he can with what he has to come to the aid of people, fellow Texans, whom he most likely does not know.  But what an act of kindness, Mr. Watt.

No, I have nothing to add to this sad thing, but I do want to honor J.J. Watt for what he is doing for these hurting families.  Yes, there are and will continue to be monsters out there who are able to kill others, even their fellow students, but there are also people out there like J.J. Watt, who demonstrate the best in humanity right in the ashes and rubble of the worst in humanity.

May the Good Shepherd comfort the people of Santa Fe, especially the families that lost their children, and those that lost their adult loved ones.  May the Lord bless J.J. Watt for what he is doing for those hurting families in Santa Fe.