Very Real

 “This is like one of those things where you see on TV and you’re like that never gonna linger its way toward my community, but it does happen. It’s really real.” These were the words a student at Perry High School used to describe what happened on the first day back to classes after Winter Break. 

A visit from the President? A major cash award from a tech company to fund the new science wing? A new poll had selected their school as one of the top ten in the country? 

No.

You all know.

A student from Perry High School opened fire just after breakfast was being served. When the last shot was fired, there were four wounded students, the principal who stepped in to try and talk the shooter down was shot but is expected to survive, the seventeen year old gunman shot himself. But not before killing a sixth grader who was eating in the cafeteria because his middle school shares a campus with the high school. 

Welcome to 2024. 

The description from the student is a refrain that is all too familiar. Which is sadly ironic since there were eighty school shootings in 2023. The fact that we don't anticipate such events when the United States averages one mass shooting event every day should make this less of a shock. 

Which may be the only thing that saves us, ultimately. There is not a sixth grader in the world who gets out of bed expecting to be killed over breakfast. These are not the thoughts of a sixth grader. Nor should they be. The math test in third period. Trying to remember your locker combination after two weeks off. Will they have the cinnamon rolls I like? 

Bullying. Mental health. Single parent homes. All worthy points of discussion. For grownups. But how about we do something about the guns while we're at it? 

Post Script: Wayne LaPierre resigned from his post as CEO of the NRA, effective January 31. He cited health reasons for his departure. Others suggested that he left before the beginning of the trial begins for abuse of his organization's funds. 

At least he made it through breakfast.