The Punk Standard in Middle School - 1974

When I was in seventh grade, my class visited the 7-Up bottling plant near Philadelphia. I remember the last part of it very well.

After the tour ended we were sent to a small auditorium to wait for the school buses to arrive for the trip home. Someone in my class discovered a soda vending machine that worked without putting money in. Gold mine for the class! The teacher escorts were not around as we each helped ourselves to a soda.

Of course, our home room teacher found out and she was extremely upset. As we sat in the auditorium, she read us the riot act and demanded that we return each Seven Up. I still remember vividly the clinking of the bottles in a silent room, the stern looks of the plant tour-guide and our utter embarrassment as the 10 ounce sodas left our hands.

That was almost forty years ago. Since then, students probably don't go to beverage plants anymore because it might be seen as promoting sugar consumption. Metal detectors are installed at the doors to my school. Security officers, maybe armed, are employed there now.

Advocates of gun control remind me of that home room teacher. She was dedicated, passionate, concerned. So very eager to promote her view of "the right thing to do."

They'd like to see the world work as if they could scold a classroom full of 13 year olds in 1974. The madness of owning war weaponry, I know they believe deep down, is indisputable. More laws, more lecturing - this, they feel, is the answer.

They are right in one way. It is madness. But the guns won't leave the hands of the owners as if they were young teens caught stealing a 20 cent soda in 1974. The embarrassed looks aren't there. The expressions are angry now and the grips become tighter. Like it or not, they are clinging to a constitution - and to freedom.

More changes will be made to the campuses. It's difficult to think what our K-12 education system will look like in another forty years.

I'm completely convinced that crying "get rid of the guns" is easy and useless. Talk about toning down the violence in media and video-games is important.  Recognizing and controlling the monsters like Adam Lanza is ultimately the key to preventing more of what we saw in Newtown.

Mr. Rogers and A Little Motivation

3 miles a day - sometimes outside but mostly on the treadmill. Today I got through mile 2 at the gym and pictures of those kids appeared on the TV screens. My knees went soft and I did not feel like finishing.
Then I remembered the picture and the quote. Remember the helpers. I thought about the firemen, the first responders. Running across a parking lot with children. Then running back for more.
Did 3 and a little extra and I don't think that girl next to me could even tell that it was not all sweat running down my face.

Click here for the story: Look for the helpers...

Newtown, USA

At the heart of the causes for this tragedy are the thoughts and actions of a killer. "Mentally ill" does not even begin to describe how sick and demented a person must be to slaughter 6 and 7 year olds and their teachers in a school.

The fact that he had access to efficient instruments of murder is significant and we all wish that he did not. But he did. Where do we go from here?

Outlawing guns by simply passing a law is not the answer. There are nearly as many guns in this country as citizens. Do you want your home searched for guns with the intent of confiscation? Some would not mind. Most would. It will not happen and even if it did, there will still be guns out there. Ultimately, like it or not, the US Constitution says we have the right of ownership. This will not change, at least not for a very long time.

Are more restrictive gun laws the answer? Maybe. But keep in mind that Connecticut has some of the most restrictive gun laws in this nation.

What could have saved those children and teachers last Friday morning?

1. Someone recognizing Adam Lanza's behavior and potential for mass murder before he acted.
2. An armed guard or policeman at the entrance to the school.
3. An armed kindergarten teacher.

We live in a society where each of those three options are difficult, impractical or distasteful. I know that #3 will send a few MSNBC talkers through the roof. I am not advocating that one.

Time to stop just saying "enough is enough." So many images and pleas are just provocative. But provoking is simply wailing in the dark. Light a candle for those kids. Talk about real solutions.

Let's start with mental illness.