We Remember

One the first day of Jacqueline's freshman year at Virginia Tech, police and state troopers burst into the auditorium and rushed the students out because there was a shooter on campus. They had to run outside with their hands above their heads so that the police would know they were not armed. At one point, they had to crouch down behind a hilly sidewalk until the police were sure it was clear.
That Spring, on April 16th, the massacre took place. Jacqueline had come home for the weekend to watch the family dog while we were in Atlanta with Kenny for his spring break. As Vickie took her down to school that morning, word came over the radio that two people had been shot, and that the campus was shut down. By the time they turned around at Ironto to come back to Salem, word was coming in that more had been shot. Ten-then a few minutes later, 12-then 22, then the final, ungodly total: 32 killed, plus the shooter had killed himself.
I was on my way to work in Lynchburg that morning. I stopped at Moneta to just sit and cry and compose myself. By the time I got to Lynchburg, the church phone was ringing constantly, more like an alarm than a bell. Everyone asked the same thing, "Is Jacqueline o.k.?" After a few minutes, I just told my secretary to answer the phone, and don't worry about anything else that day. I got back in the car, and drove to Salem as fast as I could.
That night, and the next few days, seemed unreal. We all gathered at Cassell and the football stadium to watch as Gov. Kaine and President Bush came to speak at the memorial service. I was not a fan of President Bush (ok, at least TRY to hold your laughter!) but he did a wonderful job that day, and it really came from his heart. The campus was somber, stunned, heart-broken.
We went to the wonderful make-shift memorial set up on the Drill Field, and we took a bouquet of 32 balloons to add. The Roanoke Times has a video (or at least they did) that includes a shot of those balloons, blowing in the wind.
Jacqueline will graduate in May. Eight of her Class of 2010 classmates were among those killed that day. Perhaps you think I make too much of all of this. But I could have easily lost MY baby girl that day, and I quite frankly don't know how I would have survived that.
April has never been a very popular month, due to taxes. The last few years have seen tragedies that have marred the month as well, from Waco to Columbine, and who would have ever believed it, Virginia Tech.
Please remember the fallen on Friday. Wear a Hokie shirt if you have one. And don't be surprised if you see folks who, for no reason, seem to have a tear in their eye.
We took a walk at the beautiful yet simple permanent memorial Sunday night. It still really hurts.
That's it for this week. I'll write something again on Monday. Have a blessed week and weekend!