ORLANDO MASSACRE & DEATH

Sunday Morning

Rodney saw me in the hall and asked if I'd heard the news.  I hadn't.

"No.  What happened?" I asked him with forboding.

He said, "You should.  There was a mass shooting in Orlando."

Lisa knew, and we talked about it throughout the day.

I recall that I could not emote.  I'm guessing I was in shock.  Lisa cried openly.

A few days later (last night), there were interviews of people who'd lost friends and loved ones.  One could not cry, but another sobbed through his description.  The CNN person later interviewed a psychologist (?) who was involved in securing counselling sessions for these people.  The psychologist said the stoic survivor would likely need more help.  The weepy survivor was processing his grief well.

So I wondered about me.  I didn't cry on Sunday.  But last night, I wept with the weepy survivor.  And every time I thought about their loss.  And every time I thought about the whole tragic event.

But now, it's 3:47 am, and I'm not weeping.  I'm coughing - and it's keeping me awake.  DAMMIT!

So, the list of deaths in my life lately:

1.  Bill Laursen's father (Brigham City)
2.  John Williams (SLC)
3.  Greg Holcolm (Huntington Beach)
4.  49 gay & straight friends at PULSE (Orlando)
5.  A 2-year-old boy killed by an alligator at Disney Resort (Orlando)

I know.... people die every day, every second.

Death is a permanent, one-way street.  Or so it seems.

I'd love to attempt to fulfill at least a part of a real dream in my life before I die.

Maybe later today, I'll start.