Whoa.
When they say that history repeats itself, they weren't kidding.
My mom called me yesterday morning from her walk-in closet. She was going through a bunch of stuff and found an old fanny pack with ticket stubs and a receipt for funnel cakes from Great Adventure back in 1998. That made her realize that we've been living back in NJ for almost ten years now. We're on the phone reminiscing about old times, not so long ago, while Virginia Tech was in a state of chaos not unlike the happenings of eight years ago in Columbine. At that same time, the Raritan River was wreaking havoc on a town no more than ten minutes away from my parents' house and another city no more than ten minutes from my job, in a disaster similar to the flooding of '99, eight years ago, after Hurricane Floyd.
While the these disconnected things happened at different times, in different years, it just feels strange to me how two years of my life (1998-1999) were ones of personal upheaval while things that were bigger than myself were happening, and yet, I didn't really appreciate their weight, their gravity, the seriousness, until now.
Thoughts and prayers to the students at Va. Tech and to those who were ever involved in a school shooting and must have re-lived it, are re-living it, as they watch the news today. Thoughts and prayers for those in Bound Brook and Manville as well (and everyone else dealing with this horrible flooding), who must clean up and rebuild again, even as the recovery from '99 was still progressing in some parts.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
My mom called me yesterday morning from her walk-in closet. She was going through a bunch of stuff and found an old fanny pack with ticket stubs and a receipt for funnel cakes from Great Adventure back in 1998. That made her realize that we've been living back in NJ for almost ten years now. We're on the phone reminiscing about old times, not so long ago, while Virginia Tech was in a state of chaos not unlike the happenings of eight years ago in Columbine. At that same time, the Raritan River was wreaking havoc on a town no more than ten minutes away from my parents' house and another city no more than ten minutes from my job, in a disaster similar to the flooding of '99, eight years ago, after Hurricane Floyd.
While the these disconnected things happened at different times, in different years, it just feels strange to me how two years of my life (1998-1999) were ones of personal upheaval while things that were bigger than myself were happening, and yet, I didn't really appreciate their weight, their gravity, the seriousness, until now.
Thoughts and prayers to the students at Va. Tech and to those who were ever involved in a school shooting and must have re-lived it, are re-living it, as they watch the news today. Thoughts and prayers for those in Bound Brook and Manville as well (and everyone else dealing with this horrible flooding), who must clean up and rebuild again, even as the recovery from '99 was still progressing in some parts.
Now back to our regularly scheduled programming.
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