Take Care What a sad few days it has been. The shootings at Kirkwood City Hall touch all of us, whether we were friends with one of those who died, or are trying to comprehend how something of this terrible magnitude could happen right where we live.
Even those of us who write for a living have found it difficult to put feelings into words over the past few days.
One of the most poignant interviews I did the night of the shootings was with Alanna Kellogg. She's the food writer for the Webster-Kirkwood Times, and I met her as she was walking her dog on the plaza in front of City Hall about two and a half hours after the shootings.
Like so many that night, she said she felt drawn to the area after hearing the news. As she walked to the heart of Kirkwood, she also said she struggled to find words to describe her feelings about what had happened. What would she say, if she had to write about what had happened? How would we explain the events to our children?
People like Alanna helped verbalize the confusion and grief so many of us were thinking that night. I'm grateful to each and every person who stopped to share their thoughts that night, and in the days since then.
These are truly dark days of February in more ways than one. From the tragic events in Kirkwood, to the bad weather, to the flu bug currently raging through our area.
One of the things that keeps coming to mind for me now is the need for all of us to be kind to ourselves. It may be a long time before we make sense of these troubling times, or find the words to describe our feelings about what has happened. Let's be sure we give ourselves the time to find them. ¶ 3:41 PM