I have to be honest with you. I’m so heartsick over the mass shooting in Orlando that I can’t think of much else. It’s consumed me since I first heard the news yesterday morning. And to be even more frank, I’m tired of hearing politicians who have done their best to thwart any kind of gun control say they are praying for those who suffered loss.
Here’s an idea: How about doing something? An amendment to the Constitution that had to do with muskets and a militia has been enshrined in such an extreme manner that you’d think it was our most important right. That it trumped any other rights, including the right to live. I don’t think the framers of the Constitution were envisioning an AR-15 assault weapon or a gun culture that is out of control when they drafted that amendment.
Have you ever lost someone to gun violence? I have. When it becomes something other than a story in the newspaper, when it enters your immediate world, when it happens to someone you love – everything changes.
I could go on and on, but I’m too tired to do it. Do me a favor. If you plan on leaving a comment defending the NRA or repeating one of the NRA’s talking points – don’t. I’ll just delete it. There is no defense. After mass murder after mass murder, we are still having to have this discussion. And that is indefensible.
Love. Or as Lin-Manuel Miranda said in his Tony acceptance speech last night, “Remembrances that hope and love last longer. And love [is love is love is love is love is love is love is love] cannot be killed or swept aside.”
Some pretty pictures to take the edge off. This is a catalpa blossom. They are quite beautiful and have a heavenly scent. Thank goodness yesterday’s relentless wind didn’t take them all down to the ground.
Pretty pink spirea.
Vicki tells me she hasn’t been receiving my comment replies lately. You know, I don’t know what to do about this. I get your comments emailed to me and for the last 2 or 3 weeks, I’ve only had about a quarter of them arrive in my mailbox. I don’t know why. I’ll get some. I won’t get others. I called Bluehost (this blog’s host) and had them check into it. They show the comments being emailed to me and ‘accepted’ on my end. But I’m not getting them. And they aren’t going in my spam folder. So go figure.
If you’re not getting my replies, please let me know. I can try another plugin (that’s what enables me to reply to you directly.) But in the meantime, please check back. You know that I always reply.
Sorry about all of this, but I’ve done about all I can do.
Happy Monday.