Black Valentines

Mourning the victims of another senseless killing.

It's been a week of mourning really. This Thursday marked the one-year anniversary of the drowning death of my friend Ron Simmons in a Florida cave. As most of my closest friends gather this weekend it's difficult not to reflect on the fact that some of the best are gone for good.

And somehow the black day of February 14 is now further darkened by another mass murder at a university, this time in Cole Hall at Northern Illinois. Seven victims, including the shooter, that will all be missed by their families, friends, and lovers this Valentines day. I don't want to read about it, or learn the intimate details of their lives via CNN. I lived through the heartless, self-promoting news coverage and speculation when the spotlight was on us and it makes me ill reading a story, written by these same piranha , about the same thing all over again. It's enough to know these innocent people lived and died too young; I send only my wish that everyone involved draws from one another the strength to continue on.

If possible, on an even more personal note, my girlfriend and I found out only two days ago her dog is suffering from an advanced canine lymphoma. Melba has been in the doggie ICU at the veterinary med school since then, and started chemotherapy last night. She's tired, clearly uncomfortable, and no one knows at this time how well she will respond to treatment. I've known Melba since she was a tiny puppy crawling around the bottom of my sleeping bag on a cold winter night and I'm as attached to her as I've ever been to any pet of my own. It's hard, particularly knowing she's fighting this thing scared and alone in a kennel at the hospital. And we've felt alone at home without her.

All these things make me appreciate even more those I care so much about. I'll close by saying I miss my mom for many reasons but one is that under conditions such as these she would always find strength others never believed she had to carry on. She would quote Scarlett O'Hara and say, "Tomorrow is another day.” And she carried on.