HEART FAILURE

Many of you know our K.T., who just turned 15 last week, is in Washington D.C. on a school trip. It goes without saying what a wonderful opportunity this is for her to be in the place that so much American History has been made. However, Wednesday was another story. Here is what happened:

Text from me: So, are you having so much fun?

Text from Katie: Heck ya! We just finished lunch - now we are headed to the Holocaust Museum

(since communication from our child has been sparse I forwarded the message on to Jim)

30 - 45 minutes later, as Jim sits down to his desk at work a CNN NEWS banner comes across the computer: Shooting at the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C.

Of course immediately he is just sick inside! Texts again, this time between Jim and Katie:

Jim: Call me now!

Katie: Not now.

(by this time he is wondering what that means....is she stuffed in a closet? Why can't she talk? What is going on?)

Jim: I need you to call me now. There has been a shooting and I need to see if you are all right.

Katie: The only shooting here is John Wilkes Boothe killing Lincoln and that is over now and is old news Dad. (ever the cynical child)

At this point he realizes that perhaps all is well.

We finally found out that night while talking with her that although they were on a strict tour schedule...... for some reason that was obviously inspired they switched the schedule at the last minute and decided to go to the Lincoln-Ford Theater first and then the Holocaust Museum. It just so happens that while Jim was texting Katie they were reenacting the shooting. Odd and bizarre timing. She had no idea what he was talking about, even though they were just across the alley from the shooting.

It is so sad that there are people out there with so much hate. This 88 year old man has been carrying this hate for many years against all blacks, Jews, etc., a classic White-Supremacist who "denies the Holocaust", etc.

There were events planned at the Holocaust Museum this week to comemmorate what would have been the 80th birthday of Anne Frank but fearing copy-cat crimes some speakers/events have been cancelled. So sad.

I am grateful that all are safe and my heart goes out to the family of the security guard who was killed in the line of duty and I am grateful that the other guards acted so quickly to protect the public and diffuse the situation quickly. It could have been so much worse.

Now that I am over my heart attack I can finally blog about this. All is well and she will be home on Saturday night! Life is short. She's getting a big hug from her parents, like it or not!