Monday, April 20, 2009

Always Remember It All.

I realized something strange today. There is something about the dates around my birthday.

-The day before my birthday, April 16th, is the anniversary of the Virginia Tech Massacre.
-Two days after my birthday, April 19th, is the anniversary of the Oklahoma City Bombing
-Three days after my birthday, April 20th, is the anniversary of the Columbine High School Massacre.

What is it with those dates?  Is it a coincidence?

The flags at our university flew half mast today, in remembrance of Columbine, and it's 10th anniversary.  I still remember that day clearly.  Kelsey and I had a babysitter next door, who, when we arrived there after school, let us watch the news coverage all afternoon.  We were traumatized.  We were only 12 and 10.  I was mesmerized... I'd never heard of something so incredibly awful.  (Aside from the Oklahoma City Bombing, which I also remember with great clarity, as I was at my grandparent's house and we also watched much of the coverage for days)

The Virginia Tech Massacre, of course, is fresh in my mind, as it was only 2 years ago that I sat on Em's bed in her apartment and saw that my friend (who goes to VT) had a strange away message up:  "I am safe. Hiding in my room, we're not allowed to leave.  The death toll is up to 15.  Turn on the news."  I immediately flipped on the television and Em and I watched with horror, the coverage from the day, and sobbed while I desperately attempted to make sure everyone who I knew at that school was safe.  

And I ask now, with tears streaming down my face as I remember each of those days, "why does such evil exist in our world?"  It's a question I have been trying to find the answer to for many, many years, and I get the feeling that it will never be answered.

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