| Joy
in an Uncertain World |
| What a week of ups and downs. |
| Monday after work I stopped at Elden Street Marketplace
to pick up a few items. As I went from my car to the stores
I was aware that I was looking over my surroundings. Those
around me seemed to be doing the same thing, and all of us
moved quickly into the stores. |
| Was there someone with a rifle waiting across the road?
Should I have not gone out shopping, even for a short time?
Was I being terribly paranoid? |
| This whole sniper episode in Maryland and Virginia is like
a scene out of a very bad movie, the kind of movie I don't
usually watch. The shootings come less than 13 months after
the terrorists attacks of Sept. 11. It has been a year in
which Americans, especially those of us who live in the Capital
area, have been profoundly affected. |
| Terrorist attacks, anthrax scares in our backyards, a pending
war in the Mideast, and now these shootings. Herndon and Reston
schools canceled outdoor activities for Monday and Tuesday
this week (see
story in this week's Observer). Police patrols have increased
in Herndon at schools, shopping centers and gas stations. |
| All physical education classes, which are normally held
outdoors, were taken inside, and the Herndon Middle School
band, which is rehearsing for the Oct. 19 Herndon homecoming
parade, also rehearsed indoors. |
| "We're taking every precaution and method we possibly can,"
Dr. Frank Jenkins, principal of Herndon Middle School, said.
"I think the most important thing is that kids feel they're
in a safe environment so they can learn effectively." |
| A late development on Tuesday was an announcement from the
Fairfax County Park Authority that said, "...all outdoor community
use of park and school athletic fields is canceled for October
8 (as well as Monday)." |
| Things this week aren't the same. |
| Say what you want. Say that you are going about your business
in your normal, everyday routine. Say the shooting deaths
don't bother you. |
| This event bothers most of us, and the shooter has everyone
on edge. To ignore it would be foolish, but to let it run
and ruin our lives would be wrong. |
| But it's so hard to do, and I just hope we don't get used
to the evil. |
| On a much brighter note, my wife, Betsy, and I became grandparents
again last week. Audrey Alice Moore, 6-pound daughter of our
daughter Katie Moore and her husband Chris Moore, was born
Oct. 3. |
| Audrey is our third grandchild. A hundred wouldn't be enough. |
| Her birth gives me and my family great hope in a world of
uncertainty. It provides balance and love, and reminds me
that fighting for the future will always be worth the struggle. |
| We will all carrry on. |
| And that's Our Town this week. |
