Changing World

All of yesterdays' activities were, unfortunately, overshadowed by the mass murder - again - of 20 children and 6 adults (7 including the shooter) in Newtown, CT. Just as the President indicated, this is happening far too often in today's world. It is a real dilemma and when the air clears, some dramatic changes should be made in gun laws, health services and security. It is wrong to believe that fixing one without the others will solve this problem. Bear with me while I go off on this tangent.

When we were kids growing up, there were no mass shootings - anywhere. Yes, there was a very rare occasion where a local shooting occurred, but it was usually the result of a domestic quarrel. We could walk to school without fear of being kidnapped. We never worried about deranged gunmen coming into the schools. Gun laws were as relaxed as they ever had been in history. It is the drug impact that has changed our world. Changes have been made to the gun laws over the last 20 years, but they are not being enforced. There are more changes that can be made, but it's not the only problem. The biggest difference that I can see is the proliferation of drugs which were not a problem when we were kids. The effects of these drugs on the younger generation is monumental, if known at all. These drugs can and do impact logical thinking and reasoning in anybody that takes them. Until the drugs are controlled, we will have crazy people doing crazy things.

The other area that needs to be addressed is the lack of security at all of our schools. Granted, states are forced to cut back in areas in order to stay within budget guidelines, but there are other frivolous areas that can be addressed - namely in their own spending habits for travel and events. Every school should have an armed security guard on duty during classroom hours - and stationed at the front entrance. The damage has been done in these shootings by the time the police arrive.

The whole point is that there are several changes that need to be made in our society. The immediate response to these tragedies is always to eliminate the guns. That is just a symptom of the real problems. That is one person's opinion anyway.

It was an otherwise fine day for us yesterday. Josie was pumping out the arrangements and centerpieces for the Holidays at the design center. I went shopping for a roast and did the crock pot thing and made a decent dinner. With a little practice, I could become a crock pot expert.

We're dealing with some wet weather for a change and we've had over .35" of rain in the last 2 days. It is suppose to end today and warm up again by the start of next week. It was the first significant rain since we arrived, so we'll take it for sure...