"No more hurting people..."

©Associated Press, Ken McGagh

"The week from Hell". This is how some newscasters are describing the events of this past week. First the bombing in Boston; then the horrific explosion in West, Texas. One deliberate and one allegedly accidental. The results were the same -- indelible images on our television screens of horror, pain, and anxiety, as the search for the bombers in Boston and the search for more victims in West kept us glued to our television sets. Lives lost. Bodies maimed. Life would never be the same for the victims nor those of us who witnessed the devastation.

As I shed tears, I prayed over and over for the victims, the first responders and volunteers, and the witnesses - especially the tiny ones who must have been terrified. As the days wore on and we discovered the identities of the two young men who perpetrated this attack on the innocent, I found myself sending up prayers for them as well. Especially the younger one. As he was being tracked like an animal, and believed to be wounded, I thought of his youth. He was still only a boy, had to be in pain, and scared out of his mind. His classmates, friends, and teachers all spoke so highly of him. What could anyone, even his older brother do to change him so dramatically?

What happened to what appeared to be happy, well-liked, and seemingly well adjusted young immigrants to our country, that turned them into monsters willing to take the lives of so many? I feel one answer to this for the older one must lie in the trip he took to Russia last year. The months he might have been involved with a radical Islamic group of some kind, being brainwashed and trained to be a killer -- for Allah. How does a religion so twist the minds of followers to condone such massacres as occur much too frequently in our world? How did life become so unbearable for the younger of the two, who seemed to have so much good in his life -- many friends and even a scholarship -- that he could throw that all away by the influence of his older brother?

We may never know the true answers to these questions. The world is filled with violence that is so much more visible than in years past. Remember, these young men were exposed to war and violence on a daily basis as children in their homeland. They sought and found refuge in our United States. They, as all of our young people, have been exposed to more and more frequent violence via the social media, violent video games, television, movies, and the headlines from around the world where man's inhumanity to man is constantly vying for their attention. The often gory images are imprinted on young minds.

Too many people are quick to lay the blame upon Islam. Islam is not the first religion to kill "for the sake of God or Allah". Christianity has a dark past as well. The Crusades, the Inquisition, even the Salem witch trials come to mind. Blaming this horrendous happening upon lax immigration laws is equally fruitless. These young men had been here for a decade, and the younger one was a naturalized citizen. They were not illegal.. or newly arrived. I am by no means condoning the slaughter that took place in Boston. I do believe that punishment should be meted out. If the young man survives, he will likely spend the rest of his life in prison, filled with regret that he wasted the beautiful promises his life in America held. That is the least that he deserves.

One glaring item that caught my attention was the fact that the older brother was tagged by a foreign government as someone the FBI should investigate. They did so, which means they have a file on him. If we had had stricter background checks in place, perhaps when he purchased a gun or at least the gunpowder used in the making of the bombs a flag would have been raised and the tragedy might have been prevented.



The Newtown shootings and the Aurora theater massacre each inflicted more fatalities than Boston. We must not let the Boston bombings deter our resolve to do something about gun control in this country. We have our own homegrown terrorists, produced in part by the availability of assault weapons, high capacity magazines, and ineffective or unenforced background checks. The recent action of the Senate in refusing to pass legislation that would be a start towards reducing the number of guns, and on the path to reducing violence in our country, is absolutely disgusting. They lack the courage to stand up to the gun lobbyists in the form of gun manufacturers and the NRA, which is now controlled by the manufacturers. Polls show that the majority of Americans want this legislation NOW! When are we going to insist our representatives do the will of the people or be voted out??

Martin Richard (R.I.P.)

And when are we going to do as the youngest victim in Boston said, "No more hurting people"?

God bless the wounded, dead, and hurting victims of Boston and West, Texas.

"Peace", Martin,

Marilyn

There was a little girl...

who grew up to be the beautiful woman at the left. My daughter Carajean is a remarkable woman in many ways. She has always had an extraordinary amount of determination, and when she set a goal for herself, she obtained it no matter what obstacles stood in the way. She underwent surgeries that kept her jaws wired shut for two months at a time, and continued to work a full-time job, a part-time job, and go to college part-time at night. In more recent times, she has become a triumphant breast cancer survivor for over ten years.

As a very petite eleven-year-old in Albuquerque, Carrie came home one day and informed me she wished to play the cello (her friend played cello). I was taken aback because I couldn't picture tiny Carrie lugging a big cello to school, so I convinced her she would be better off playing the viola. From the beginning, her music teachers told me Carrie had a natural ability. She soon played in a performance with the Albuquerque Junior Symphony Orchestra. Upon moving to Dallas, she continued her music lessons, and was invited to play in the Dallas Junior Symphony Orchestra. For some reason, she quickly became bored with that. When she was in the 8th grade, Carajean played her viola alongside her music teacher with two professional orchestras at Easter performances. To maintain her amateur status for state level competition, we had to have her return the money she was paid, which did not sit well with our 13-year-old.

In high school, Carajean moved with her father and stepmother to a city where orchestra was not offered. I was so sad to see her put her viola aside. She played again briefly after graduation while living and studying in Pennsylvania, but again gave it up when she decided to go to college.   She laid down her viola again, not to pick it up for many years. She went on to get her degree in biology, and then attended medical school for a Physician's Assistant degree.

(Carajean practices while helping Mom move.)

After college, a brief career as a Physician's Assistant, marriage, and three children, Carajean decided to make music again -- much to this mother's delight. She played viola, enrolled her girls in the Suzuki method of playing violin; and when her son came along he learned the cello by the same method at a very young age. I don't believe any of the children have the passion for music that Carrie did as a child, but they each continue to play (and play very well indeed) 'til this day. Carajean eventually switched instruments, and now plays violin. She has played with the Amarillo College Chamber Orchestra for the past 17 years. This past weekend her daughter Audrey joined her when the orchestra performed in concert. Carajean is in the front row middle, and daughter Audrey (with bangs) is behind her:

Amarillo College Chamber Orchestra

Next week, Carajean will perform in her first "professional" concert -- at least one when she will be able to keep whatever remuneration she receives! She will play with the West Texas A and M University Choir and Symphony Orchestra, accompanied by the East New Mexico State Choir. They will perform Mozart's Requiem - the piece Mozart was hired to write at the age of 36, and did not live to finish. She is bubbling over with excitement, as she loves this piece. 

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Carrie may not be very happy that I used this venue to brag on her, but I feel that she has a God-given talent. Each of us came to this earth with a purpose -- in some cases, many purposes. Something as precious as a gift of musical talent will not be ignored, even if one waits as many years as my daughter did! Although to play professionally was not a "goal" of Carajean's, she dreamed of playing music at a very young age. It goes to show that it is never too late to realize a dream. One of my daughter's purposes is surely to make beautiful music - and she plays for the sheer joy of it.

Of course, I am also happy she laid aside her musical instrument when she did. Otherwise, she might not have met my wonderful son-in-law Branch in Medical School! And I might not have had the three beautiful grandchildren they gave me...                                                                                                                   

Peace, love, and beautiful music to you all,

Marilyn