Home sick

I am home sick today...sore throat, headache, yada yada yada. I may actually get a lot of work done in the quiet...we'll see.

First, in regards to GreenLineBoy's tattoo question...the stories behind all five of my tattoos are here.

Munchkin made her first ever solo-subway ride yesterday, which she was quite proud of. She was at her friend's house in Brookline and took the T home. They put her on the train at Longwood and I met her at Park Street...she felt like quite the big kid;-) That is a pretty short ride (five stops I think? six?) but I still get nervous at the idea of her being alone on the T. At 5:00 on a Monday holiday, the Green Line from Brookline to downtown is probably as safe as any public transportation you will ever find, but still... I told her to sit where the driver could see her;-)

This Virginia Tech thing makes me sick to my stomach, and I am sure I am not the only one. It happened to be Blacksburg, VA, but it could have been State College, PA, or College Park, MD, or College Station, TX or Big State U, Anywhere. I have never been in Virginia, and I don't know anyone who ever went to Virginia Tech, but my guess is that everyone in the whole state knows someone who is there, or has kids there, or went there, or all of the above. Major state schools like that become a central part of the culture of a state, and everyone feels some connection to the school, and to the kids at the school.

So something like this hits everyone on some personal level. This is a place where people have gone to learn, to make friends, to grow up, to find opportunities and to start new lives. And now all of those memories, and all of that history is forever changed in a dramatic and irreversible way. It is a tragedy for the 30+ families involved, and for all the students at the school, and all of the loved ones of the victims, and for everyone with a tie to the school.

I am going to hold off on a gun rant for a couple days, but you can be assured that it is coming. For now, though, I feel sick for everyone involved and my heart goes out to all of the people affected.