"Feel GD"

The Peace Tree

Two weeks ago today I attended my office Christmas party. It was a great night with friends filled with the joy of the season. The next day while feeling "a little under the weather" from partaking in too much of the previous nights festivities, I made my way into work. When I arrived several co-workers were gathered around a T.V. watching the live footage from Sandy Hook Elementary. "Did you hear what happened?" they asked. The synopsis that followed was more than I could process. An elementary school? First graders? 26 people? 11 days before Christmas. Times like this  have a way of making us question our faith. How could something so horrible happen to so many innocent people? Children?

So, I would like to share some observations I brought home from Newtown. If you are religious or spiritual you may find some extra meaning.

• On Christmas day we paid one last visit to the memorials. In front of the town hall a "Peace Tree" had been created where many thoughtful ornaments paying tribute to the victims had been hung. Nearby was a woman who had set up a table and was giving away home made cookies. She was appropriately named "Faith." Faith is a teacher who lives in Phoenix, Arizona. Like Taylor and I she traveled to Newtown to spend Christmas because she needed to "do something." 

Taylor and I with Faith, a teacher from Phoenix who traveled to Newtown on Christmas to hand out home made cookies.

• When we returned to the main area of memorials in Sandy Hook Christmas morning a man had brought his piano and set it up next to the memorial.  We stood mesmerized by his music for quite a while. Silent Night, O' Holy Night, to name a few, together in the setting of the gently rolling river nearby brought a great sense of peace over us. 

• Before leaving to come home on Christmas morning we left a new teddy bear under each of the 26 Christmas trees that lined the road to the elementary school. As we waited to make a turn at the main intersection in town where the majority of people congregate around memorials my eyes were drawn to the license plate on the car directly in front of us.

Nike has a slogan, "Just do it." Three simple words that capture an attitude of achievement. As I continued through the day on December 14th, everywhere I went people were staring at the news accounts on the television, the same looks of disbelief on all of their faces. By the time I arrived home at the end of the day I had inadvertently created my own two simple word slogan, "Do something." I was not yet sure of what I was going to do, but I was absolutely determined to do something! There are so many things that could be done for the people of Newtown/Sandy Hook. Numerous funds have been established to help the families of the victims or to support charities related to special interests the victims had. All are very worthy causes. But for me I wanted to do something more personal than anonymously sitting at a computer and punching in my credit card information. I wanted to rally a community far removed from Newtown, Connecticut and bring our message of love and support personally to them so that they would realize that an entire nation was grieving with them and they were not alone. The greatest attribute of the human spirit is that it grows stronger in the face of evil. One evil act has led to countless acts of kindness and compassion  and that is the only way for those directly affected by the Sandy Hook incident to ever regain any sense of normalcy and purpose. I hope this blog has helped to make the dozens of you who contributed to this effort feel connected and that you too were delivering a personal message and not an anonymous contribution. As we move forward I would encourage everyone to continue to "do something." There are so many people in need and so many worthy causes to support. It does not always have to be monetary gestures. Often the most valuable thing we can contribute is our time. Even if it is taking a moment to call a friend or send a card to someone who is struggling. Maybe if we all commit to more consciously "doing something" kind and positive we will someday rediscover a world where incidents like Sandy Hook are not as common.

One last personal note. So often when tragedy strikes we say to ourselves and each other, "go home and hug your kids." Having my daughter with me all along the way during this experience has been the greatest "hug" I could ever imagine. I thank all of those who so graciously gave to this cause for helping make this possible.

I hope you have found this blog informative and will sign up to "follow" it. If you have read any of the entries prior to Sandy Hook you will see that it often focuses on human interest stories related to law enforcement. I would love for the following to continue to grow and bring awareness and appreciation to those I write about. Some still with us who could use your thoughts and prayers; and some who have passed but should be honored and remembered.

I would also welcome your comments. I wish everyone a safe and happy new year.