This is a very un-me post. . . just a warning. For a change, it's not self-centered or (attempting to be) funny.
I'm not the type of person who cries upon hearing bad news. I'll break out in tears every once in a blue moon when I hit almost-rock bottom, or when I see a tremendously sad weeper of a movie. And to be honest, I didn't shed a tear when the Virginia Tech story broke yesterday. Maybe it's because (horrible as it sounds), this type of disaster is, if not exactly commonplace, not exactly surprising.
Then I saw a picture of Ryan Clark, and the tears began to form. Ryan is the man who died in the first moments of the tragedy, rushing to the aid of a victim in his dorm--going above and beyond the duties of a Resident Assistant. Look at this kid. He was, by all accounts, magnificent. I look at this picture and I see a warm soul. I see a kid happy to be alive, proud to be a Marching Virginian. He was a triple major with a 4.0, hoping to pursue a Phd. in cognitive neuroscience. How many of us even know what cognitive neuroscience is? I'm glad Ryan Clark lived for 23 years. He seemed to be the type of guy who touched lives and enjoyed every moment of his own--the type of guy who deserved to walk the Earth for far longer than he had the opportunity to. The moment that bullet penetrated Ryan Clark's body, everything he worked for, lived for, dreamed for--it was all gone forever. And that just makes me sad. What a freaking waste.
The title of this post comes from a Stephen Sondheim song from
Into the Woods. It doesn't answer any questions, but sometimes it helps to put these kinds of upsetting thoughts to music:
No more giants. . . waging war
Can't we just pursue our lives, with our children and our wives
Till that happier day arrives, how do you ignore
All the witches
All the curses
All the wolves, all the lies, the false hopes, the goodbyes, the reverses
All the wondering what even worse is still in store
All the children. . . all the giants. . . no more
6 comments:
Of all the posts I have read throughout the Web world about the Virginia Tech tragedy, this is by far the best. Truly heartfelt without going over board. I, too, was touched by the story of Ryan Clark. One of several heroes that came to light in Monday's bloodshed.
And, no, I don't think the government will do anything about gun control even now. Or about making mental health care more available and affordable. Better mental health care at VT could have saved Ryan's life.
I haven't seen much about Ryan, but I did see his twin brother Bryan interviewed - I cannot imagine how hard it must be for him...
I felt the same way when I saw his face...the first face... so bright and innocent. I live near Tech and can tell you it's really hard knowing the town so well and the people. I came from Michele's tonight.
Very well put, you had similar impressions of this young man as I did. I, like Colleen live not far from VT & the total saturation coverage is getting wearying. I'm trying to focus on the many I know through work who have lost someone.
Thanks for stopping by my blog earlier
I watched the coverage for the first few hours but not since then, Carli. As a result I've not seen anything about any of the victims of the rampage. Events like that are just too sad for me to dwell on.
Aw, suzy q already said what I was gonna say (her first paragraph, NOT her second!). I've read a lot of ranting on the VT incident, but your post is really what it's all about. It's a sad, sad waste.
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