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In the aftermath of unfathomable death, life went on Saturday (Dec.15). A day after the killing of 27 human beings — 20 of them grade-school children — in Newtown, Conn., games were played and tributes made at sporting events across the globe.
The New England Patriots will wear this tribute at Sunday’s game.
Television broadcasters offered solemn words for the horror of Sandy Hook Elementary School. At games and on social media, voices offered condolences. Twitter and Facebook continued to be the place for reasonable, rational discourse — especially regarding guns and the Second Amendment. Well actually they weren’t. To try to have an intelligent dialogue on such sites is unreasonable, irrational expectation.
And so I didn’t spend much time on there Saturday. Nor did I spend time watching sporting events. Not that any of that makes me a better person for doing so. It simply was a case of not feeling ready to incorporate such actvities back into the daily routine. Mainly because returning to the routine has been far from routine.
Given the chance to be at the Chicago Bulls-Brookyln Nets game or spend time with my “Sports & Torts” co-host David Spada, his wife, family and friends was an easy call. Of course, that call had been made long before anyone had been killed in cold blood.
Something says even if such a decision had not been made in advance, going to the Bulls game would not have been on the agenda. My mind (or what passes for one) remains numbed by the shootings.
There seems to be no such problem in the world of sports, where events went on as usual. Sunday’s NFL games will be played. The New York Giants and New York Jets will wear decals that say “S.H.E.S” in honor of Sandy Hook Elementary School. The New England Patriots will wear a decal honoring Newtown.
Maybe it would be too much to ask the NFL to cancel or postpone any games. It’s unclear what the threshhold for deaths to force such action is. Is it the number of the murdered? Is it the degree of prominence of the murdered? Is it the proximity of the murdered?
Anyway, instead of traveling to the United Center, the wife and I enjoyed an evening around adorable, screaming childen and their parents. Of course, such enjoyment comes in part in knowing that whoever is screaming is not your offspring. And part of the enjoyment comes in the sweetness and innocence the youngsters have.
The same sweetness, the same innocence that the Sandy Hook children had.
By now, the regular readers around here — and even the irregular readers — probably are wondering why this space isn’t more upbeat, more irreverent, more sports-oriented. Like the editorial staff at elliottharris.com strives to be.
Simple answer: Because life is precious. And the loss of life — whether it is a 6-year-old or a 27-year-old first-grade teacher who told the gun-weilding killer her students were in gym class when they actually were hidden in closests or any other victim.
Among the many things I don’t understand about Newtown and everything are things such as tweets that say: For every 1 RT this gets $1 will be donated to the families who are suffering from this tragedy.
Pardon my stupidity, but what is that all about? Hey, if you want to donate money to people, go right ahead. But it somehow has to be part of Twitter and some form of recognition? Really? And I’m still trying to figure how money is going to help “the families who are suffering from this tragedy.” This wasn’t Hurricane Sandy destroying property; this was mass murder ending lives and causing incomprehensible pain for parents, siblings, other family members, friends and even those who had been unaware of Newtown until the killings.
Stuff like that can drive some of us to distraction. Speaking of which, sports can serve as a distraction to the realities of life — and death. So maybe Sunday more and more folks — your humble correspondent included — will focus on football or some other diversion.
If things go according to plan (and they occasionally do around here), yours truly will not be viewing the Green Bay Packers-Chicago Bears game. Instead it will be in person for the Chicago Crave Bikini Basketball Association tryouts at noon at Lifetime Fitness in Orland Park. Ill.
Return to normalcy? Perhaps. Depending on he definition of “normalcy.”
To open “Saturday Night Live,” the New York Children’s Choir sang “Silent Night.”
For those accustomed to a daily dose of attractive females and other engaging videos, we will try to oblige:
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