12/12/12

I promised myself I would write on this day, because of the date. So, before this day ends, here I am. I woke up this morning with the events of yesterday on my mind. While driving home from work my husband informed me, via a cell phone conversation, that six police cars just went roaring up the highway. This comment was followed by his informing me perhaps their speedy passing was in relation to a shooting at the mall. As I'd not been listening to any media reports, this was the first I'd heard of this event. My husband, then informed me this shooting had taken place at the Clackamas Town Center Mall. I promptly turned our TV on channeling directly to local news. As it happened I had my choice of all local news channels, as this event was being broadcast, live, on each one. As of today we now know a 22 year old young man donned a ski mask and charged across the parking lot and into the mall. He passed through the Macy's store and up the escalator to the food court on the second level. For reasons I don't understand, many people, according to firsthand reports, didn't initially recognize anything was amiss. Some said they thought maybe it was a joke. PEOPLE--HOW CAN A MAN WEARING A MASK AND RUNNING THROUGH A MALL CARRYING AN ASSAULT RIFLE BE A JOKE!?!? Apparently reality set in when the gunfire started. Well, okay, according to reports, for most people it was not necessarily after the first couple shots, but instead reality set in once there was rapid fire, i.e. multiple shots in succession. About this time there began mass pandemonium and panic, with two people, an adult male (age 45) and an adult female (age 54) being shot dead, and a 15 year old girl, seriously wounded by way of gunshot wounds. Wow, at the risk of sounding like a freak, in typing the previous paragraph, I just noticed a curiosity in relation to the ages of both the adults, a flip of their age numbers, along with the fact each of the three persons has the number 5 in their age. Anyhow, back to the story... I thought it unusual, albeit a blessing, that more people were not wounded or killed--in light of the fact this guy clearly was there with the intent to kill, and was equipped with a weapon to do so. However, today in the news we learned the reason for this was because his assault rifle jammed. News reports suggest he died of a self inflicted gunshot wound. I suspect that his death, by self inflicted gunshot, is not the truth. IF the truth was altered, I can't say why. However, having an adult child who served in military intelligence, I am aware there are times when our national "leaders" give the public information that is different than actual events. This includes when it comes to the means that brought about certain persons deaths. In this case, the gunman was alive when the police and swat team entered the mall. Last night, in being reported he was dead, it was stated he had been neutralized. This terminology, to my understanding, when used in the military, means "the enemy" had been "taken out"-- as in killed by means not of his own hand (or doing). I am open to correction if this is not always the case. But, at the time of this writing, this is my understanding. Therefore, I suspect "the enemy" was "taken out". This morning, I reflected on the numerous times I've strolled through, shopped at, and otherwise visited that mall. I've been there so many times I couldn't even begin to count. In more recent years, there have been occasions I'd ride into the city with my husband, then leave from his office to go shopping. Some of those occasions included a trip to that mall, to shop, and to let my little one play. Right outside the Sears store, where this young mans life ended, is where the kiddy play area sits. It frightens me to realize how this place, that for over a decade I have thought of as being safe, was so quickly turned into a place of terror and death. In the news we learn of acts of terror happening in other parts of the world and, sadly, even in our own country. But to have such an act take place in my own back yard, so to speak, is very unsettling. It has given me pause to think. Today when I prayed that God would watch over and protect me and protect my loved ones, it was not mere rote words. This time I meant it with all my heart.