Comments on: where were you? http://ajourneyoflife.com/articles/2007/04/18/where-were-you/ Mon, 12 Dec 2011 20:05:47 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Kristine http://ajourneyoflife.com/articles/2007/04/18/where-were-you/comment-page-1/#comment-261 Kristine Tue, 24 Apr 2007 03:12:59 +0000 http://journeyoflife.goof.com/articles/2007/04/18/where-were-you/#comment-261 I was at work with no internet access. I heard two cubicle neighbors say something about a shooting at a campus, but I couldn't make out where. I had been sending phone text messages to my friend who works at Ohio State all morning (hey, I didn't have anything to do but read stuff I'd read 3 times already) and she wrote me back, "shooting at va tech. 20 dead." I started calmly freaking out -- holy cow, that's close to home, what if my dear sweet niece was there for some reason or what about her friends from high school? I went over to my neighbor's cube and asked if I could read the scant details from CNN over her shoulder. One of them was talking about the escaped inmate, I corrected her that that happened in the summer. Something was said about bomb threats, I said that was fairly common. I think that was around lunchtime. My imagination went wacko between then and by the time I got home to catch the news and read stuff online. Then I had to call my niece, who was okay, but folks she knew hadn't heard from one of their friends (turned out to be Reema). I just had to tell her I loved her. She's not at Tech, but it could happen anywhere. Then I was sickened by the politicizing of it all. I was at work with no internet access. I heard two cubicle neighbors say something about a shooting at a campus, but I couldn’t make out where. I had been sending phone text messages to my friend who works at Ohio State all morning (hey, I didn’t have anything to do but read stuff I’d read 3 times already) and she wrote me back, “shooting at va tech. 20 dead.”

I started calmly freaking out — holy cow, that’s close to home, what if my dear sweet niece was there for some reason or what about her friends from high school? I went over to my neighbor’s cube and asked if I could read the scant details from CNN over her shoulder. One of them was talking about the escaped inmate, I corrected her that that happened in the summer. Something was said about bomb threats, I said that was fairly common. I think that was around lunchtime.

My imagination went wacko between then and by the time I got home to catch the news and read stuff online. Then I had to call my niece, who was okay, but folks she knew hadn’t heard from one of their friends (turned out to be Reema). I just had to tell her I loved her. She’s not at Tech, but it could happen anywhere.

Then I was sickened by the politicizing of it all.

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