“Be nice to each other” ~ Dawn Hochsproung , Principal Sandy Hook Elementary
Every morning this what the students heard over the loudspeakers. So shall my posts for 28 days,one day for each victim , along with some additional thoughts.
First ~I have shot guns my whole life (I own one now ) ~ my father was a local rancher with apples as one of his main crops. Know what a squirrel loves to eat ? The tender inner green bark stripped off of young apple trees, that tends to kill them and that tends to make a rancher mad. Hence my squirrel killing special skill set ~ one shot square in the brain. We learned young how to handle guns along with how to respect them. Guns have a time honored place in American culture and we “true minutemen” ,as it were, need to stand much farther apart from the radical gun “nut”.
Secondly~ When you see a fire raging , do you think “I’ll add more fire to help put out that blaze ? ” Probably not ~ adding more guns makes about as much sense. Especially as these shooters tend to wear bullet proof vests ~ just like Adam Lanza wore that day.
Lastly ~ Granted you just NEED an assault rifle for your squirrel shoots~ but do you need these bullets ?The .223 bullets travel at a velocity of about 3000 feet per second. After the bullets enter flesh they continue to explode through out tissue,compounding the damage. My sound is out but this video shows bullet damage done to water bottles, from some distance. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCVe8t_cvJc
Imagine that damage close up ~ the blessing here is that Charlotte probably did not suffer but died quickly from such devastating wounds.
We are born into this world and we will die here ~there is no denying that. Complete “safety” is neither possible or desirable. But we can “..be nice to each other “

Good post sage. Like you, I grew up in a home that used guns to hunt. I was taught very early how to use one. There was no stigma at the time. Interestingly enough, I was a “champion squirrel hunter” too. Good eating. After doing my duty to my Uncle I had no more use for guns, however I begrudge no hunter or other user who owns and uses them responsibly.

I felt compelled to do this ~ I have read or watched just one account a day,it is all I can take…the grief is overwhelming. I know some of what the families are going through , although each of us has a different set of circumstance and methods to endure the unimaginable.
Today is the day Kelsey died (04) so this is not easy to do~ yet how to face the pain and sorrow are tools I have in my special skills set. Try as we might ,protecting ourselves from the chaos not possible. But we can teach self respect,courage, how to ask for help,compassion, respect towards other Human Beings ( I know there are more)~and a deep belief (trust, faith,use the term you are comfortable with) that all is going to turn out. It is just possible that is all we can give our children. It is just possible that will be enough.