What a Week...

What a week.

What a WEEK it has been.

I haven't posted much.

For I, like you, have been O_O concerning what's been going on in our beloved USA.

First of all, I was driving home from a doctor's appointment on Monday afternoon and I heard on the radio that their had been some type of bombing. I had caught the tail end of the announcement, but later heard it was up in Boston somewhere, during the marathon.

How horrible.

A whole city was put on lockdown today. That's like, really close to some Marshall law type of craziness. I can't say I remember a time when that has ever happened. That would scare the cheese outta me if the ATL was put on lockdown. Can you imagine? They can't leave the house. Why would you want to? This dude might have explosives strapped to his body. This is just... wow.

And all of this has been unfolding on television. Technology is something else, isn't it? I knew when the feds put out the camera footage of those dudes walking with those backpacks that it was only a matter of time.

And their time has come. That older brother was killed, and the younger one is on the run. 

When I see this type of thing, I think about a post awhile ago that I wrote after Bin Laden's death...

If you plant watermelon seeds, you get watermelons. Don't go out looking for green beans. You reap what you sow. You harvest melons.

Then, a couple of nights ago, a fertilizer plant blew up, and it took out a good bit of the surrounding area at the same time. Now, with me being a chemist, I growned. That's because when I think of fertilizer, I automatically think of ammonia, and how if one's not careful, that stuff is awfully dangerous.

Sigh.

This made me think of a Food-for-Thought post I wrote over a year ago titled "5 minutes".

There was a quote from a sermon in there.

"You worry about the future. You wail about tomorrow. Get all depressed, let the circumstances get to you. The truth of the matter is that you don't know what's gonna happen tomorrow. Tomorrow isn't promised. You can't even see 5 minutes in front of your face..."

No, we can't see five minutes in front of our face. Tragedy happens in an instant. People were on the phone talking, eating dinner, watching TV, or sleeping... and tragedy struck in an instant.

No we can't see five minutes forward. Shoot... we don't even know what's gonna happen a minute from now. It's all a stark reminder of that.

Then, to just add to all this, our beloved Congress, pretty much spat in the face of those families whose children were killed in that massacre a few months back.  I myself didn't see anything wrong with all the stipulations surrounding a law that tightened up the gun control in this country.

I myself didn't know you could just walk up in a gun show or log in on the internet and buy a cache of weapons.  I thought there was a background check, like when you go into the store to buy one.

Wow.  Now I know. And I consider myself stable enough.

I am worried about all the UNSTABLE people who know that information now. I tell you... no telling what cat the media has let out the bag here.

But alas, Congress... as if that 16% approval rating isn't low enough, well.... it will probably get lower.

I see Congress somewhat as a desperate woman on drugs. She ends up, sometimes, having to sell her body and do other unquestionable things to get that next high.

And the NRA has basically told the Repubs... "Get on your knees. You know what you gotta do."

Yeah, I hate to be crass. But that's the analogy of the day.

I'm not sure I could look in the face of a parent - ANY parent - who has come to speak to me about the child they lost to gun violence and who is pleading with me to vote for changes in the gun laws... and then have the nerve to go and vote against it.

Being funded by the NRA is more important than human life, I suppose.

And it is just human nature. Makes me think of the following:

Nothing truly affects you until it falls on your doorstep.

Until one of their children or grandchildren has the same fate... doesn't matter. It really doesn't.

And that's sad. But like I said, it's human nature.

Compassion and empathy won't get you re-elected, now will it?

And America has the attention span of a flea. We will be interested in something else in the next few months.

Sad, but true.

My prayers go out to those who were affected by these tragedies. While we move on to other things, you must live with the memory and residue of it the rest of your lives. You are in my thoughts and prayers.

Just my thoughts for this Friday, the end to a sad week.

I myself am looking forward to brighter days, even though tomorrow isn't promised.

As for now, I'm always thankful for today... and the life I have...

Today.