Somehow, we made it through.
We went camping this past weekend. This is particularly significant for a few reasons.
First, this was our first camping experience ever with Sgt Pepper. For the most part, he handled it like a champ. We had 2 minor incidents.
1) We did kind of wear him out a bit on Saturday when we took a walk in a little park. OK, by "kind of" I mean "completely." Poor kid was so pooped that we had to carry him back to the car. And once we got back to our campsite, he made sure he was touching some part of the water dish at all times (since Hubby had just put ice in there, it was nice and cold), practically cuddling the damn thing. It was cute, but we clearly expected a bit too much from him in the heat.
2) There was an intense thunder storm Saturday night. This was the first big storm we'd been through with Pepper and it had to happen while we were sleeping in a tent? Of course it did. Little man had super crazy eyes and wouldn't (or couldn't) stay still. We did our best to comfort him, but that thunder was insane. He was terrified. (Miss Maxine, of course, barely noticed anything was going on and slept through the majority of the insanity.)
Second, this was our first camping trip of the year. I always look forward to camping as a little family, and this year was no exception. Aside from the storm and packing up a bunch of wet camping equipment, it was a lovely trip. I'm already excited to plan for the next one!
Third, the storm itself. For anyone who has not heard, a young girl (10 or 11) died at Devil's Lake State Park this weekend. Reports vary a bit, but the gist of it is that a part of a tree fell on her tent during the storm and they were unable to free her. A quick Google News search will bring you up to speed, and Weather.com is even sharing the story.
The family was camping at site 435 in the Ice Age campground; we were at site 338. You can see that these sites are pretty far away from one another (via this map of the campground), but I heard the sirens of the emergency vehicles. I didn't know where they were or what was going on. In fact, we didn't find out about it until late Sunday after we'd been home for several hours.
The thought of "it could have been us" is one that is lingering in our minds. In fact, before the storm even hit, Hubby had mentioned something about how he was terrible for checking for "widow-makers" (branches that could fall during a storm) when deciding where to set up camp. I kind of laughed it off, but damn. In this case, they're saying the tree looked secure, so I guess it really was just a freak accident. Still, my heart goes out to the family. It should have been a fun trip with lots of happy memories. It should have ended with the whole family driving back home, lamenting the end of the weekend and the horrendous traffic. It should have gone so much differently.
So, assuming you've made it through all that unpleasantness, it might be nice to know that we had a nice weekend, though we were VERY glad to be back home. I'm not sure camping is Pepper's favorite activity, but at least we know what to expect for next time. We made an awesome dutch oven pizza (with Rocky's pizza sauce... YUM!), took in some beautiful sights, spent a lot of time relaxing and talking, and just enjoyed being there together. Yay!
Showing posts with label tragedy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tragedy. Show all posts
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Friday, April 19, 2013
A (Not-So) Quick Update
The end of the semester is just around the corner, so I'm working my big ol' butt off to make sure it ends well! I finished my rock and roll class (with a 96% even!), so now it's just on to Psych. I took the day off from work to get started on my final paper (sleeping in until 11 probably wasn't the best idea, but it felt oh-so good). Currently I have a title page, an abstract, an intro and part of methods. It's definitely a good start, but there's still a lot of work ahead of me. Thankfully, Hubby is gone all weekend, so I'll have plenty of time to work on it with minimal distractions.
Now, to address everything that's been going on.
First off, fuck. Seriously, just... fuck.
OK, that having been said, this week has been beyond insane. I was working Monday, checking out Twitter for random updates when I saw something about a blast at the Boston Marathon. (It was just before 2 PM here, so the bombs had JUST gone off.) I sent a message to Hubby, who didn't see anything on CNN yet. He checked FOX news and found something about it. To say it snowballed after that would be like calling a hurricane a little rain. It avalanched. (Yep. Making it a word. Deal with it.) Within a few minutes, the internet exploded. Twitter and Facebook were flooded with updates and links. Pictures, videos, and commentary were on every site available. It wasn't long before #BostonMarathon and #PrayforBoston were trending, and the number of those affected climbed with each update. It was terrifying.
I don't think I got any work done after that. The rest of my day was spent scouring the internet for updates (mostly on this site), trying to learn the extent of the situation. I was desperately hoping that it was just a pipeline that burst or some terrible accident. When it was confirmed as a bomb, my heart sunk and my stomach knotted up. After I logged off of work, I made myself go lie down. I felt physically ill, and I knew that if I stayed anywhere near the computer, I'd keep torturing myself, hunting for pictures and videos to satisfy my morbid curiosity. That night, Hubby and I just spent time together. We watched TV, had dinner, and tried to be thankful that we had each other and we were safe. There's a certain sense of guilt that comes with that, knowing that others are suffering, but it's something good to think about and be grateful for nonetheless.
The rest of the week was simultaneously painfully slow and exceedingly fast. The explosion near Waco (and this insanely lucky/unlucky guy who escaped BOTH incidents). A potential gunman at Carroll University (which turned out to be an airsoft gun, thankfully). The ricin letters. Some crazy shit with an envelope and some (probably) psychosomatic symptoms in Beloit. And let us not forget CNN's fabulous reporting about the nonexistent suspect in custody. It was all unbelievable.
And then last night happened. I can't recall the timeline exactly, but I know that Hubby told me about a shooting at MIT. We both started following Twitter updates and checking news sites for info. We started listening in on the Boston PD scanner for awhile, and between that and Twitter, it almost felt like we were witnessing it ourselves. There were pictures, first-hand accounts, videos... Technology has made it possible for us to be on top of news before any new stations even pick up the story. CNN, of course, was extra slow in posting about the Watertown/MIT goings-on (which was probably for the best; wouldn't want to jump the gun and report something prematurely...), but Anonymous and the scanner kept us as up-to-date as if we were there.
It was intense. And scary. And I had some pretty awful dreams last night. But I marvel at the things technology has made possible, and am thankful for the good it brings. It showed me the kindness and resilience of people in the wake of such a tragedy, like the epic words of Stephen Colbert, the heroic actions of those both at the marathon and nearby, and the power and unity of Bruins' fans singing the Star-Spangled Banner.
Patton Oswalt said it best:
...the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evildoers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.
So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will."
#BostonStrong
Now, to address everything that's been going on.
First off, fuck. Seriously, just... fuck.
OK, that having been said, this week has been beyond insane. I was working Monday, checking out Twitter for random updates when I saw something about a blast at the Boston Marathon. (It was just before 2 PM here, so the bombs had JUST gone off.) I sent a message to Hubby, who didn't see anything on CNN yet. He checked FOX news and found something about it. To say it snowballed after that would be like calling a hurricane a little rain. It avalanched. (Yep. Making it a word. Deal with it.) Within a few minutes, the internet exploded. Twitter and Facebook were flooded with updates and links. Pictures, videos, and commentary were on every site available. It wasn't long before #BostonMarathon and #PrayforBoston were trending, and the number of those affected climbed with each update. It was terrifying.
I don't think I got any work done after that. The rest of my day was spent scouring the internet for updates (mostly on this site), trying to learn the extent of the situation. I was desperately hoping that it was just a pipeline that burst or some terrible accident. When it was confirmed as a bomb, my heart sunk and my stomach knotted up. After I logged off of work, I made myself go lie down. I felt physically ill, and I knew that if I stayed anywhere near the computer, I'd keep torturing myself, hunting for pictures and videos to satisfy my morbid curiosity. That night, Hubby and I just spent time together. We watched TV, had dinner, and tried to be thankful that we had each other and we were safe. There's a certain sense of guilt that comes with that, knowing that others are suffering, but it's something good to think about and be grateful for nonetheless.
The rest of the week was simultaneously painfully slow and exceedingly fast. The explosion near Waco (and this insanely lucky/unlucky guy who escaped BOTH incidents). A potential gunman at Carroll University (which turned out to be an airsoft gun, thankfully). The ricin letters. Some crazy shit with an envelope and some (probably) psychosomatic symptoms in Beloit. And let us not forget CNN's fabulous reporting about the nonexistent suspect in custody. It was all unbelievable.
And then last night happened. I can't recall the timeline exactly, but I know that Hubby told me about a shooting at MIT. We both started following Twitter updates and checking news sites for info. We started listening in on the Boston PD scanner for awhile, and between that and Twitter, it almost felt like we were witnessing it ourselves. There were pictures, first-hand accounts, videos... Technology has made it possible for us to be on top of news before any new stations even pick up the story. CNN, of course, was extra slow in posting about the Watertown/MIT goings-on (which was probably for the best; wouldn't want to jump the gun and report something prematurely...), but Anonymous and the scanner kept us as up-to-date as if we were there.
It was intense. And scary. And I had some pretty awful dreams last night. But I marvel at the things technology has made possible, and am thankful for the good it brings. It showed me the kindness and resilience of people in the wake of such a tragedy, like the epic words of Stephen Colbert, the heroic actions of those both at the marathon and nearby, and the power and unity of Bruins' fans singing the Star-Spangled Banner.
Patton Oswalt said it best:
...the vast majority stands against that darkness and, like white blood cells attacking a virus, they dilute and weaken and eventually wash away the evildoers and, more importantly, the damage they wreak. This is beyond religion or creed or nation. We would not be here if humanity were inherently evil. We'd have eaten ourselves alive long ago.
So when you spot violence, or bigotry, or intolerance or fear or just garden-variety misogyny, hatred or ignorance, just look it in the eye and think, "The good outnumber you, and we always will."
#BostonStrong
Friday, December 14, 2012
I may regret this...
But I feel like I can't concentrate on anything until I get my feelings out. Eh, who reads this anyway, right?
What's happening in CT is terrible. No, it goes so far beyond terrible that I'm pretty sure a word doesn't exist that adequately describes it. I know that the reports of how many are dead or wounded are all over the board right now, but it doesn't matter. The shooting itself is deplorable and makes this a tragedy. If one child loses a parent or teacher, or one parent loses a child, it's no less tragic than 27 dead (or 14 or 3 or whatever the final count comes to).
That being said, I keep seeing people who are screaming for gun control, declaring that guns should be abolished completely. I love that idea, I really do. I am NOT a gun person. Hubby has one that he keeps in the bedroom; does NOT make me a happy Riki. But really? In what world do you realistically see guns being done away with completely?
Make guns illegal? Sure. Because that works so well for drugs. And stealing. And hate crimes. And murder. These things are all illegal, and all still plague not just this country, but the world.
Get rid of guns all together? OK. Because prohibition worked so well for getting rid of booze. Even if we convinced the rest of the world to join us (which is terribly unlikely), I would imagine it would just create a more aggressive black market for weapons.
Do I think that guns should be handed out to everyone and their mother? Good god, no. Handing everyone a gun is the only thing I can think of that might be worse than getting rid of them all. There have been studies done that show that the mere presence of guns can make people think and/or act more aggressively. Giving guns to people who are already aggressive might make them that much more likely to act on their aggression and then we end up with more of these incidents. No thank you.
To own a gun, I think people should have to go through lots and lots of training, get background checks, be registered, etc. I know that there is no possible way to make sure that everyone who has a gun is OK to have a gun, even with regulations like 3-day waiting periods and certification for concealed carry. People who are responsible for these shootings are not at all well. They could have rage issues, mental illness, or any number of things, but they are not well. And since no one seems to see the shootings coming, these people were apparently able to hide that fact from others, so I'd imagine they could get a gun without anyone blinking twice.
What is the answer, then? I haven't a damn idea. I am as lost as I could possibly be. It's a scary world, but being over-reactive is not going to make anything better. At the same time, neither is complacency. So I've got nothing.
I know these thoughts aren't well organized, but that's kind of where I'm at right now. My brain's trying to sort out how I feel and what is going on. I'm struggling with it. And to top it all off, I have to get back to studying for finals.
Come on, brain. Let's go look at some puppies and rainbows.
What's happening in CT is terrible. No, it goes so far beyond terrible that I'm pretty sure a word doesn't exist that adequately describes it. I know that the reports of how many are dead or wounded are all over the board right now, but it doesn't matter. The shooting itself is deplorable and makes this a tragedy. If one child loses a parent or teacher, or one parent loses a child, it's no less tragic than 27 dead (or 14 or 3 or whatever the final count comes to).
That being said, I keep seeing people who are screaming for gun control, declaring that guns should be abolished completely. I love that idea, I really do. I am NOT a gun person. Hubby has one that he keeps in the bedroom; does NOT make me a happy Riki. But really? In what world do you realistically see guns being done away with completely?
Make guns illegal? Sure. Because that works so well for drugs. And stealing. And hate crimes. And murder. These things are all illegal, and all still plague not just this country, but the world.
Get rid of guns all together? OK. Because prohibition worked so well for getting rid of booze. Even if we convinced the rest of the world to join us (which is terribly unlikely), I would imagine it would just create a more aggressive black market for weapons.
Do I think that guns should be handed out to everyone and their mother? Good god, no. Handing everyone a gun is the only thing I can think of that might be worse than getting rid of them all. There have been studies done that show that the mere presence of guns can make people think and/or act more aggressively. Giving guns to people who are already aggressive might make them that much more likely to act on their aggression and then we end up with more of these incidents. No thank you.
To own a gun, I think people should have to go through lots and lots of training, get background checks, be registered, etc. I know that there is no possible way to make sure that everyone who has a gun is OK to have a gun, even with regulations like 3-day waiting periods and certification for concealed carry. People who are responsible for these shootings are not at all well. They could have rage issues, mental illness, or any number of things, but they are not well. And since no one seems to see the shootings coming, these people were apparently able to hide that fact from others, so I'd imagine they could get a gun without anyone blinking twice.
What is the answer, then? I haven't a damn idea. I am as lost as I could possibly be. It's a scary world, but being over-reactive is not going to make anything better. At the same time, neither is complacency. So I've got nothing.
I know these thoughts aren't well organized, but that's kind of where I'm at right now. My brain's trying to sort out how I feel and what is going on. I'm struggling with it. And to top it all off, I have to get back to studying for finals.
Come on, brain. Let's go look at some puppies and rainbows.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Unimaginable.
Imagine you were reading a book, or watching a movie (for those less book-inclined), starring a fairly standard family: Mom, Dad, two boys and a younger daughter.
Now imagine that when the kids get older (teens and early twenties), their father dies. Car accident. It's terrible, but the family has each other, not to mention friends and neighbors, to help them through it.
Life goes on; never quite the same, but things get better. Then eight or nine years later, the younger of the sons is in a car accident. He dies. The grief is tangible and the news is heartbreaking to all. Still, life manages to go on and while it is tragic, it isn't beyond belief.
Not even a year later, there's a phone call. Something terrible has happened and now the eldest son is dead, leaving only the mother and the daughter. At this point in the book or movie, you'd probably be pretty upset. Oh come on! you might think. It wasn't enough to take away the father/husband and one of the sons, now you've killed off both? This is just unbelievable!
And that's the feeling you're left with. The story isn't over, but at this point, it's hard to believe that one family could endure so much loss and grief. Most books or movies wouldn't take it to this point. The irony of the middle child's death via car accident, so similar to his father's, would have been the most tragic part, and things would have gotten better in the end.
Unfortunately, this isn't a book. Or a movie. If you remember this post, then you already know that.
It's unimaginable what this family has gone through (and seemingly continues to go through), and my heart breaks just thinking about it. Most tragedies never even take it this far, and yet, this couldn't be further from fiction.
RIP, neighbor.
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