It's been over 2 full days since the shooting in Tucson that resulted in 6 deaths, including a 9-year-old girl, and 13 injuries, including Rep. Gabrielle Giffords who currently is in critical condition. Lots has been said and written about the event and, not counting talk radio, it's mostly been informative and even uplifting.
I wanted to add my 2 cents, that won't make national or even local news, but that I found very interesting. I have talked with numerous people, mostly at church, who have some connection with the event. The most direct connection is an active church member whose son was there at the scene, and ducked not long before one of the bullets hit very close to him. Additional connections:
- a man who goes every Tuesday to that very Safeway (where the shooting occurred) because the store donates food that he passes out to over 30 people in rural Marana.
- a man and woman who might have been there at that time, except that they decided to do some errands south of the store first.
- a man who had shopped there just the day before.
- a woman (not a member of our church - i talked to her on a shuttle ride home from dropping off my car at the Toyota service dept.) who was eating lunch just across the street at the time of the shooting.
- a man (my next door neighbor, who also is a member of our church) who was a classmate of one of those killed - Gabe Zimmerman, the community outreach director for Rep. Giffords.
I might also add that I had the pleasure of meeting Rep. Giffords about a year and a half ago, at the Marana Community Food Bank (which our church founded, and which is right next door to it). She was there for a friendly competition with Mayor Ed Honea, seeing how much food they and their staff could collect. Pallets of food were trucked in by both parties, and weighed. I can't remember the totals - but with smiles and good-natured ribbing all the way around, Rep. Giffords won.
It struck me, as I have heard from all these people in the last 48 hours, how small our community and world really is. Yes, that Safeway is in Tucson, but it's at least 10 miles from my home, and even further than that from our church. And it's not like our church has thousands of members so that, naturally, there would be all these connections. We are bound together in tremendous ways, and that which we share is made evident in events such as the one here in Tucson.
Events such as this also make me grateful for each day. We really don't know the time or place of our passing. We tend to live as our days on earth won't end or change much, but that's not true, is it? I am reminded once again to love God, my wife, my kids, my family and friends, and even my enemies in more significant ways.
If you wish to read some well-said thoughts, each with a different twist, here are two:
- from our church's General Minister and President, Sharon Watkins - http://bit.ly/eUBrRj
- from my next door neighbor, Matt Clark - http://matthewdclarkaz.wordpress.com/2011/01/10/shooting/
blessings to you.
3 comments:
I've been thinking about your family since this happened. It is so sad. It is a reminder to be thankful for what we have on a daily basis.
Dave,
Something that strikes me as I read your post, is how you are seeing how interconnected our community is, even in a place as big as Tucson (not that we are huge, but we are by no means small either,) yet so many times an event like this can be viewed as a sign that we are becoming a bigger, and thus less connected community.
I think the difference in perspective is an important one, and one which helps keep the community united despite size. Perhaps if we keep looking at these ties, not only can we heal/cope as a community better, but also lessen the amount of incidents like this that take place here.
Great post, though, and thanks of course for the link.
I too have been thinking about you and Monica this week. Love and miss you guys. Wishing you comfort and peace.
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