The other night before I went to bed, I checked the news online and read that 19 fireman were missing and presumed dead. I didn’t think that was possible. Surely by morning they would be found and safe at home.
The morning brought no such news and I watched a wife talk about her husband and their four children who are too young to even comprehend what their future will be like without their father. Like everyone else, the enormity of the loss has weighed heavy on me these past few days.
There were also stories about Edward Snowden, George Zimmerman, Paula Deen and Kim and Kanye’s baby.
Voting rights and marriage rights.
I suppose there is an audience for the former in a culture that is enamored with the celebrity of the moment, regardless of the unseemly behavior that got one there. There is also an audience for the politician who vehemently opposes or supports the latter, although those opinions are strikingly predictable.
Thankfully, though, the majority of us live in the middle and avoid the fringes. Mildly amused, irritated or angry with the daily news or the state of our country, but very well aware of the people in our communities who run towards the very things we run from, and whose claim to fame breaks our heart.
