i'm trying hard not to imagine the horror visited on the victims of the latest mass murder in newtown, ct. the details being shared in a continuous loop by cnn and foxnews are too much. such a tragedy.
i can identify, to a degree, with the shock, the empty void of loss thrust upon those families and the people of newtown.

the day was November 11, 1958; a day like so many others.  my sister and i rode the bus home after school.  the day, as i remember it, was sunny and warm.  we walked up the lane, from where the bus stopped to let us off, to the house.  coming in the front door the house was quiet and still.  calling for our mom we walked through the house and out the back door.  still our mom was not to be found.  what we did see was the smoldering remains of one of our dads dog houses. not sure what was going on we stood around staring, not seeing, until a truck drove up close to where we were standing. our cousins dad got out.  one of us asked "what happened?" he replied "that baby burned to death" and with those words the world as we had known it changed forever.  our five year old sisters remains were there in the pyre. the innocent, funny sister we left in the morning was no more. she was not a victim in the sense of those in newtown but our loss, our pain was just as deep.  as with newtown's slain youth, the bright promise of what might have been was gone in that instant.

our hearts ache for those in newtown, most especially for those whose lives were forever altered on friday.  whether by tragic accident, or an event as awful as the one at sandy hook school, there is no making sense of it.  those remaining are left to wonder why and to try to carry on.  with the passing of time the scars left by tragedy fade.  yet on remembering that day 54 years ago the hurt is still there. as it will always be.  

people of newtown, we here at 7420, families across America and around the world are lifting you up in thoughts and prayers.  may god be with you in this time of numbing sorrow.

aio