sad outtakes

This week I shot more tears than normal. At a memorial for the victims of NIU at SIUE, a few students burst into tears during the service. The students said the shootings were "too close to home." (Watch the audio slideshow.) Two days later, the body of a marine was paraded through his neighborhood, en route to the funeral home. His neighbors, family and friends came out of their homes to watch. One woman said "Iraq has never hit so close to home until now." One day, a brave marine. The next, gone. Life is an intricate thing. We're stunned when it's taken from those around us. Death is abstract until it's someone we know, and then it becomes very concrete.