Sometimes even simple plans go awry. With Toys and One December, I was on my way to filling the December Cigar Box with stories connected to Christmas joys. Those plans were cast aside by a young man I never met nor probably ever would have - a person who perpetrated the most despicable act a normal mind can conceive.
Twenty six families had their simple plans, normal expectations of normal lives for children, thrown into the cauldron of endless torment when, in one short hour, the currents in one young man’s life crashed together in a monstrous act. His life’s currents appear to include mental illness and easily available guns. His name will not be recorded here. We must not feed, fuel nor abet the next troubled soul or evil mind to emulate his actions for infamy or fulfillment of some twisted purpose. Those who can muster the strength will pray for his soul but his final act shall endure as unforgivable.
Christmas is a time for children. This is the time when we celebrate innocence. Eyes of wonder are opened to the magic of imagination. Family lore is told and retold by generations of storytellers. Today, just ten days from the day when all the efforts parents give are aimed at filling wide eyed expectations, we are a world mired in mourning. Experts are encouraging parents to insulate their kids from the news. In the next breath, the same experts are encouraging them to talk to their kids about the incident. No one really knows what to do.
Hearts have be torn asunder in homes and towns around the globe as completely as if their children had been attending Shady Hook Elementary School. As the daylight began to fill the morning of this day after, some parents rose from fitful sleep and were surprised that the sun could find the courage to cross through the horizon. Parents through all the world grieve as they dig deep for the strength to make Christmas magical for the children whose fragile innocence has luckily been preserved for one more spin of the world.
As in every instance of tragedy, people want something to do. Everyone wants to help. Everyone wants to find the things that can be changed to prevent such pain and evil from revisiting anywhere, anytime. Such instincts are born of a need for healing, of finding the lost feeling of safety, of feeling in control and secure. None of that will come easily or quickly. The stricken were mostly little children. When grizzled veteran reporters and the president tried to speak, personal pain locked their throats and left tracks of tears down their cheeks. The road back to normality, to simple expectations will be long and rocky.
Amid all of this sadness, pain and suffering, we have work to do. First, we must hug our children tightly and love them unconditionally. The imaginative joy of Christmas should be preserved for every child we can reach. Our job is to know each other better and fight for the help that’s needed even when we’re judged, condemned or castigated - we have to be clear-eyed enough to identify maladies that can lead to tragedies. We must find ways to help a troubled soul before it breaks. As a country we have to decide if children or assault weapons deserve the greatest protection under our laws. We should try to bear some of the burden for the parents and families who are in the eye of the latest tragic storm. We must hug our children tightly.
Through all history, heinous events have punctuated the endless enormous current of positive progress and good works. Such an event has happened again. We have ten days to find in ourselves the will and the strength to drive despair into the recesses of history by filling each day with light and love. If we do... Virginia’s question will certainly be answered - assuring every child that there is indeed a Santa Claus. If we do... the light of a star that once marked the birth of a baby will shine brightly everywhere but brightest in the eyes of children. If we do... we’ll honor lives lost and rededicate ourselves to doing the work we have to do.
Since I cannot unwind time nor undo the deed, today I will find someone to hug, someone to help and someone who can use a smile they didn’t expect.
--td