It's Spring, It's Cold. A Boulder Tragedy and a Talkative Little Girl

 Dear Joanie,

    Yes, it's cold, about 18 degrees as I'm writing. These are the days in the Rocky Mountains when we all feel weary of winter, when the snow keeps coming, and when we say, trying to be upbeat, "We need the moisture." That's true, of course. We depend on snow pack for our water supply, and winter was very dry. But we had almost three feet of snow about two weeks ago, and we've had snowy days ever since.  

    We need the moisture. At age 81, I'm still a good snow shoveler. It took me two days to dig out from the huge snowstorm. I actually don't mind the job, but this snow was wet and heavy. The snow plow pushes up huge chunks of icy snow as it passes by, and I end up by picking those up and throwing them in the creek.  Shoveling helps me clear my mind as I clear the snow. And, of course, we need the moisture.

    I need to talk to you about our Boulder tragedy, one of many that has happened over the past, say, 20 year. I'm talking about a mass shooting. In our case, it happened at the local supermarket. A deeply disturbed young man managed to purchase an assault rifle. He opened fire in the grocery store. Ten people were killed, including a police officer who was first on the scene, my dance teacher's best friend, an actor, a developmentally disabled person who worked at the store, a grandfather, a store owner--all simply doing the mundane task of getting groceries on a Monday afternoon, or, as employees, sacking groceries, managing the store itself.  

    I might not be mentioning this tragedy to you if it were some anomaly, something that happened out of the blue and wouldn't happen again, possibly ever. But that's not the case. I'm telling you about it because I have long been an advocate for gun control and that includes a ban on  assault weapons. You will learn, I hope, of the history of gun violence in this country and also the opposition to it, lead by very powerful organizations. It's disgraceful. And I have lost heart, because each times something happens like what happened in Boulder on Monday, people say "Enough is enough! Something has to happen now, so that we'll never see a mass shooting again."  And then it happens again and again, and people say, well, you know what they say.  So, right now, I've given up on any kind of change.  When I see a police car in Boulder, I wave, I say, "I'm so sorry." And then I burst into tears. What will your world be like, I wonder.

    The one bright spot in my life has been the pictures your parents have been posting.  You in a swing, you in a walker, making noises and having fun.   Your grandmother Coco gave us a digital frame that rotates pictures, and every time one of you pops up, Dougie and I stop what we're doing and gaze on your bright, intelligent, beautiful self. 

    Hoping for warmer weather and happier times,

            GG Katie