A Momentary Pause

In light of the horrible shootings on the Virginia Tech campus earlier today, it doesn't seem right to post any of my usual whimsical material. In fact, it doesn't seem right to post anything else right now. We should all just pause for a moment to think about what happened today, wonder how in the world someone could see fit to treat his fellow human beings so badly, and be very, very thankful for those in our lives who mean something to us.

You've probably read at least one account of the story, but here were the ones that caught my attention:

• A series of text messages between a VT student taking cover and a building and her brother and mother (strong language warning)


• A leading criminologist discusses the likely motive of the shooter


• The principal of Columbine High School reacts to the shooting

I don't know anyone at VT in person, but I've visited the site of blogger Ryan Harne many times over the past three or four years. Though we've never met off-blog, we've corresponded a time or two, and I was feeling more than a bit of anxiety as I got to my own campus today to check his blog and make sure he was OK. It turns out that he is, but he lost some people today, and there are others who are still unaccounted for. If you're so inclined, please keep Ryan and his classmates in your prayers.

(And on that subject, here's a prayer for the victims by Newsweek columnist, Rabbi Marc Gellman.)

UPDATE: This is ridiculous--despite the fact that today's shootings are still very much in the investigative stages, a Florida attorney has already gone on TV to blame the whole thing on video games.

Blowing out the candles, but quietly: I do want to wish a happy birthday to Mom. Unlike most years, I'm off the hook as far as calling her goes, because she and Dad are vacationing in Egypt at the moment. (I'm glad that I was a "good son" and sent her card a few days early this year--in tandem with that of her sister, my Aunt Nora, whose birthday precedes hers by a year and two days).