No blog today... With a heavy heart, we send out Love and Prayers to all those affected by the tragic High School shooting in Florida. 17 dead. Dozens fighting for their lives. Families devastated. AGAIN. Sadly, we've been here before. Far too many times. I can't help but wonder what has happened to our society. When did atrocious acts of mass violence on our own soil become a "go-to" solution for people who are mad or angry or upset?? There are those who claim it is strictly a gun control issue. Others point to a failed mental health system. I believe both play a part. 

In my day, the biggest thing you had to worry about was the class bully pushing you on the playground. Those were, indeed, "The Good Old Days".

I talked to Jackie earlier, as I do every morning, and she was a little less upbeat than usual.  I knew why. Like hundreds of thousands of parents, she dropped her son, Charlie, off at school this morning with a pit in her stomach. "I plastered a big smile on my face", she said. "But my heart was filled with angst as I watched him walk through the school's front doors. I mean, you just never know". 

While, as Americans, we don't let the fear of these kinds of unspeakable acts alter the way we live our lives, it pains me to the core that it is something that we even have to think about. I miss the days when we could send our kids to school, go to work, attend a concert or a movie without that nagging little feeling in the back of our minds. I miss the bully on the playground. 

-Dick

P.S. I'm leaving now to head downtown to go out on one of the Salvation Army Bed & Bread Trucks in preparation for the 31st Annual Radiothon a week from tomorrow, Feb. 23rd. We'll be serving up more than 4000 meals - like the Bed & Bread Program does EVERYDAY, 365 days a year. To support this vital program, just click on @salmich.org.