I drove through Connecticut this past Saturday morning, where I lived for nearly 10 years (in Westport and New Haven, between the late winter of 1974 and the late summer of 1983), on my way to have lunch with my 90 year old mother-in-law in Manhattan. Signs and billboards along the highway had been changed or newly errected to honor those slain the day before.
I have not watched the news on television, it is not my habit, nor have I done much reading of actual or virtual papers. I felt compelled, however, to watch the memorial service when I found it on Sunday night. Words of prayer, comfort and hope were offered, from Jews, Muslims, Christians of several denominations, Bai'hi, Buddhists, and maybe others I missed as I muted the sound to try and absorb the words I'd heard, and the images of grief-striken families, with and without children, I was seeing.
There is more to do, of course, and action is required. For now, in my own tiny little world of rural New Hampshire right now, folks every where are saddened, children are frightened, and, well, life goes on. To be continued, of course...
These are the birds I took to my mother-in-law. She has several, before these, and she likes putting them around her apartment in predictable and unlikely places. One was peeking out at me from behind a towel as I went into the bathroom. These were made in China, and have been seen here before. They seemed as good a transition as any, in this blog, between commenting on the tragic loss of lives in Sandy Hook and starting to move on. But not forgetting, not ever.
