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I wish I could take some of the pain away....

Love from NC

The area of central Connecticut and up through central and west Massachusetts contains a lot of small arms makers. The are sometimes referred to in the gun press as "Gun Valley". Colt Arms (since 1838) and Savage are within 30-40 miles and there are too many more to list within a two hour drive.

we have to seriously begin to peel back the onion. These kids were murdered by much more than one gunman or even the NRA. Although they certainly are complicit in this not so little heavily marketed industry. Newtown has some work to do. The idea that it has been a New England style lovely winter greeting card is a farce.

Yes, gun manufacturing is a major industry in Connecticut. Has been for more than a century, maybe a century and a half.

A tidbit of the ride home from the party.
We were driven home by another couple who are our close friends and were discussing the NRA response to Sandy Hook. How crazy the response was. As we were getting close to our house our friend got a call on their Iphone and it was on speaker in the Ford Expedition. It was their daughter calling from 27 Palms. She and her husband are both semi recents graduates of Annapolis. First Lieutenants in the Marine Corp and have been deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are both really good kids and she was a constant around our home as she grew up. I find myself yelling out UhRah from the back seat to her and saying our hello's. She was coming home for Christmas and we would get to see her.. It felt strange after I yelled it and struck me that our world has become so confused and mixed up. I don't know what to say. This is life smack in the face.

wrong to forget, even for just a few hours considering what Christmas is like this year for hundreds of people that were close to the victims. I'd guess it was on the mind of everyone there anyway. Too bad it had to ruin your friends evening.

It kind of reminds me of a friend who was dying of cancer. I ran into him one day. It was obvious he wasn't going to be around long. He was down to under a hundred pounds, for a guy that was normally around 250. I didn't even ask how he was doing. How many times does he need to tell everyone he's dying , or lie to them and say things are hopeful? We just bullshitted about football, like we would have done under any other circumstances. I figured that was better than him hearing any sympathy crap from me. He'd know that would go without saying.

Maybe it would have been good to ask everyone to stay off the subject in the invitations? Let everyone know there would be a moment of silence and a chance for everyone to say a few words at the end of the evening?

It's too huge. I'm sure the energy level at that party was low.

You did right by your friend, though.

When she is ready it...a shoulder to cry and a listening ear.

That is the best...and expect the rivers to open if she trusts you enough to open up.

Hugs

A she said, an upside today is that the media left and now the town can try to get back to normal and grieve on their own.

A VERY worthy cause. My husband came over to me a few hours ago and mentioned how it was gonna be a very sad Christmas, and he was crying again. We've both cried many times since it happened. Hard to get it out of your mind, and every time I see my son, I hug him. He still lives at home. I hug him a lot.

She was speaking about the need to stop the gun sales. A woman I play music with was telling me last week about Noah who she taught in pre-school for 3 years and what kind of child he was. She said "I taught at least 4 of the children, but this one crushed me." He was unique.
I have had enough.
Good night and give someone you love a hug.

I have two sister-in-laws that live in Connecticut, one in Newtown, the other just up the road. We went to visit one of them in New Milford, Connecticut tonight for a family party. My one sister-in-law lives in Newtown and just moved to the other side of town from Sandy Hook. My nieces are 5 and 9 would have been at Sandy Hook School had they not moved one month ago to the other side of town, I am not sure either one of my nieces know what's going on, but both are not quite the same, after losing friends and have been affected for sure. Our 13 year old triplet daughters spent all evening with their two little cousins...My two other nephews in New Milford were both under lock down in their New Milford schools for 3 hours after the Sandy Hook shooting. My sister-in-law is a hairdresser in Danbury and cannot stop crying at the drop of a hat, like she did several times tonight...almost every one of her customers has been coming in to see her to get hair done and "get therapy"...her last customer last night was the wife of the first Newtown Police Officer to arrive at the sandy hook School on that fateful day and was very emotional, saying she did not even want to go home...

Our dinner conversation basically boiled down to; "These children did not die in vain...Something must be done about the current state of guns and gun culture in this country".

For many of us in the NY/NJ/CT tri-state area, the Sandy Hook Massacre has affected one us on a personal level and is seriously weighing on us and our children, one way or another and we are all committed as caring parents and Americans to make sure things change...it has become personal...

Once people have drawn a breath, the arms industry in Conn. needs a wake up call. Very sorry for your concerns.

He didn't make it and I've never forgotten him. It was almost 20 years ago. Luckily, for some reason, this incident didn't trigger me but I can damn sure see how it would trigger her. People rarely think of the collateral damage and really, we don't want you to - the kids died. Their families are the ones we should be thinking about now.

I do hope the hospital she works at is planning a debriefing, grief work support group. It really is needed, not only in the school but in the hospital and the community with these horrors happen.

And I hope people are finally ready for some gun control. This has to stop.

Please and not just once. Give her someone to hear her out in a safe and nonjudgmental way, to help her subconscious catalog what she has been through. To let her know she is human and to remind her she did the best she could do at that moment. To delay that is the path to worsening PTSD. I still have rescue calls that I rode on that haunt me and I was debriefed several times over them.

for the Benefit for Sandy Hook

There's a resident of Newtown on this Vid who says (parphrasing) "you do what you can .. everyone does a little and it adds up to a whole lot."

http://www.wlfi.com/dpps/lifestyles/must_see_video/comfort-pies-brought-to-newtown-nd12-jos_5178351

Grief seems to be two steps forward, one step back. It sounds like your friend was experiencing a step back.

I was unaware of the gun mfr'g in that area, even though I once lived there.

And what the pie lady did is so cool. Yes, it does all add up to a big "something."



Cher

That entire area--our entire nation for that matter--has had its heart shredded with this. The mere act of saying how sorry I am is just not enough, but it is all I have for now.

I also have a burning anger for the culture that has allowed this to happen, and that is about all that can sustain in a time like this. SOMETHING has got to change if we want this kind of thing to end, and I am convinced that these most recent deaths will help to force that collective change. We cannot forget, we cannot be silent. We can't have any more of this senseless death.

May your community find solace in whatever way you can. Blessings of peace on you all and on the rest of us as well.





Laura

Just seeing the news and photos of those sweet kids is horrific enough. Thoughts to you and everyone from NC-

someone can't stand it any longer and brings it up.

I just let them for as long as they wanted. There is a lot of shell shock, too, and there are people who just don't know what to say or think. My heart hurts for them.

I wish you all a wonderful holiday filled with joy and hope for a different future than the one we have been on the road toward.
Fear cannot win.

McGuires Ale House this Friday.