Too much depressing news

There are so many things on my mind right now that I'm having trouble sorting through them. The news is ABSOLUTELY depressing today. The news is depressing everyday actually. Whenever I hear about someone losing their life, I always pause for at least a moment to think of what this person's family and friends must be enduring at that moment. But today, it's been a little much. Children dying at the hands of depressed/neglectful mothers, a toddler realizing my worst fear at one of the world's most spectacular wonders, the remains of the skydivers have been found, nooses at Columbia University, it's all too much. If I go back and refresh CNN.com, I'm sure new devastating headlines will appear.

*moments later* See what I mean? I just refreshed the homepage, and now there's a report of a shooting at a school in Cleveland, OH. 5 shooting victims so far, and the gunman is reported to still be in the school.

No "Video of the Week" today

I'd rather spend today reflecting on how blessed I am to have life. To have another day to be the best that I can be. To have another day to spend with my husband and kids and my doggies. To have the opportunity to influence others in a positive way.

I'm not at the CNN Center today. I'm at a different campus in a training seminar. At the moment, I'm on my lunch break and I'm sitting on the top floor of a building looking out of the window with a clear view of downtown Atlanta. In fact, I'm right downtown, but I'm looking out at Interstate 75/85 with the typical mid-week business of traffic and our lives in general. Exactly 6 years ago today, 2,996 people lost all opportunity to be with their loved ones, fulfill their dreams, make this world a better place. As I sit here on the top floor of this building and look out at the skyline, I think of what it must be like to have your entire life robbed of happiness in one fail swoop. As numb as we tend to become as human beings, I think that it's impossible to be non-reactionary when hearing and seeing events from 9/11. In fact, each year Q-100 FM plays a montage of events from the tragedy of that Tuesday morning 6 years ago. And each year, I think I'll be able to listen to the exact same montage without feeling so emotional. After 6 years, it's just as painful to hear as it was the first time. The same words, screams, confusion and anguish that occurred that day still live with us, and that will never change.

Please keep the loved ones who were left behind in your thoughts and prayers today. This will be about as rough as life gets for anyone.

We will not forget.

Tragedy in Minnesota

Many, many prayers are needed. This is unthinkable. My worst fear come to life. All of the local and cable news networks are covering the bridge collapse that occurred in Minneapolis during the height of evening rush hour.

[CNN.com]

Family Tragedy

Most of us have at least one first cousin. My grandmother has a first cousin named Vivian. Vivian and her late sister Julia both have grandkids, Chris and Del, that are very close to one another. Chris and Del, 13 and 15 years old respectively, are about the cutest kids you'll ever see.



Around the middle of April, two sick, disgusting animals known as Jeff Moody and Chris Penn decided to take the lives of these precious children. The kids were on Spring Break at the time, and were walking to a Kroger near their home for snacks one afternoon. They took a well-known shortcut through some woods. This is where they met their untimely and gruesome fate. I wanted to blog about this some time ago, but the details of their deaths are so horrific that I haven't been able to write about it, let alone even speak of it to anyone.

Another thing that makes this so tragic to me is that I never even had the opportunity to meet either Chris or Del. If you take a picture of my family tree, you may as well cut it into fourths beginning with my great-grandmother and her siblings. This is why my grandmother and her first cousins aren't very close, and on down the line. People, if you have issues with a sibling or a first cousin, and decide to cease speaking to them because of some argument, misunderstanding, or a simple failure to see eye-to-eye, bear in mind that you are also affecting generations to come. I did not even know that Chris or Del existed until this horrific occurrence.

So please understand that no condolences are necessary for me. They should be reserved for the parents and grandparents who will be personally suffering and grieving this loss for many years to come. Please go to the Lord on their behalf. May these angels be at peace in the kingdom of heaven for eternity.


Chrisondra Sierra Kimble

More:
[Article from close friend]
[Family describes cousins]