We’ve just been through another “newsnado”. That’s when a story packs such a punch, is so large, so jarring, so frightening that every other story is left in its wake. That story, of course, being the Orlando atrocity. Suddenly long security lines at airports, barely a whimper; the Stanford sexual assaulter’s light sentence- he’ll serve 3 months out of his massive 6 month sentence if he behaves. I assume that judge is still on the hot seat but there is some definite cooling in the shadow of Orlando; the dead Cincinnati gorilla, fughetaboutit; Bill Cosby, oh yeah him. We didn’t have enough time to absorb the insanity of that singer’s murder on Friday, also in Orlando, before we were thrown into the biggest terrorist nightmare since 9/11.

My first encounter on this planet with the feeling I’m not living in a Norman Rockwell painting anymore was the assassination of JFK, five years later RFK and MLK Jr. Three lunatics brought down 3 men who possessed vision, strength and power, go figure. When you witness all that before you are 20, you think you would be hardened to whatever ugliness comes your way, but the last 20 years have brought down scenarios no one could fathom. If within the last 2 decades we only, and of course I don’t mean “only” lightly, lived through 9/11 that would certainly be enough psychological scarring to last a lifetime, but the carnage and body count keep going up. High schools, college campuses, movie theatres, health care centers, a marathon, and churches were all ground zero, and that’s only in this country.

Well, I guess the light in all this bleakness is the simple fact that these crazies can’t ultimately win. While there might be thousands of the unhinged, there are billions who possess a solid benevolent mind and that’s what allows me to sleep somewhat soundly every night. Oh, and having a dog helps calm your nerves a lot.

Peace,
Garry