Virginia Tech

Sometimes, you wish it were all a movie.

You wish that the people who died were acting. You wish that you could rewrite the script, that you could add a hero to stop the madness, that you could change the plot an hour earlier.

But the shuttle still explodes, the plane still flies into the tower. And one morning, one student destroys the lives of many others.

A family member goes to Virginia Tech. On this day of all days, he skipped class and spent the morning in town. Thank God for small favors. A coworker awaits the list, hoping for safety of old friends who went to school at Tech and stayed to teach. My prayers and thoughts are with them, the families, and the survivors.

We watch the violence on screen, both wide and small, where soldiers and foreign enemies, murderers and vigilantes, crime syndicates and cops, heroes and villains all rain fire. It’s exciting, it’s entertainment.

One survivor said the shooter “had a very serious but very calm look on his face.”

We live in a connected world. We touch someone, and that touch migrates to others. Throw a pebble in the ocean and birth a wave. The violence we cause rings out and wounds. Someone loses five loved ones in the tower. Her friends see her grief and share it.

Today is a day to share. Solace is necessary, needed, either in thought or action. We live in a connected world. Touch.