The Earth Weeps

The following was on my Facebook Memories from one year ago. Chuck was gay.

If you have a friend that has always been a friend to you - even when it meant calling you out when you were spouting bullshit;

If you have a friend that has known you long and well enough to see the laughter behind your tears and the tears behind your laughter;

If you have a friend that you can go weeks, months, even years without talking to and 30 seconds into a conversation it is as though you were just together yesterday;

If you have such a friend cherish them -

love them -

call them -

support them -

hold on to them tightly.

Because when they leave for good,

when they are dead and gone and you are still here

It hurts like hell,

and that hurt may hide for weeks or months at a time, but it never ever goes away.

Trust me - 

I know.

Waxing nostalgic this hot afternoon, and missing Chuck Goodwin - how I wish I could hear him say "Roberta Ellen!" just one more time.

It is hot here today - not blistering but hot enough, and the air feels heavy. Right now, the sky is overcast, and I suppose it may rain at some point. I believe there was a 40% chance of thunderstorms earlier today, but it has dropped to 20% now. The television has been on MSNBC all afternoon. I fell asleep a little after one, and when I woke up from my nap, the parade of prognosticators, haters, and so-called analysts were well into their grandiose reactions we have come to expect after any horrific event. Too many guns! Not enough guns! It's the Muslims! It's the Gays! It's the Christians! It's Hillary! It's the Donald! Liberals are to blame! Conservatives are decimating this country! I have muted the sound on the TV, and all of the waving hands and flapping mouths are sort of comical, were it not for the "news" scroll and the graphics.

First, I want to address the "gay" aspect. This was a hate crime, carried out in a gay nightclub, during Gay Pride month. If you have known me for any length of time at all, you know I try my best to be a loyal and consistent advocate for the LGBT community. I have more than a couple of friends that identify within that glorious rainbow acronym, and love them dearly. People should never be targeted, killed, humiliated, denigrated for having the courage and fortitude to be who they are in the face of the amount of hate and derision that is directed towards LGBT men and women consistently in this country - I cannot speak globally, because all I know is the way it is in the good ol' USofA, and that is distressing enough.

Second, I want to address the "Muslim" aspect. I do not believe that all Muslims are terrorists, but I do believe there are Muslim terrorists. There are also Christian terrorists, Jewish terrorists, and terrorists -extremists - associated with a plethora of identifiers.

Our beliefs can bring us together, but they can also tear us apart.

What is the answer? I don't have one.

no guns, more guns 

elect a liberal, elect a conservative 

pass a law, repeal a law 

have the death penalty, abolish the death penalty

build a wall, welcome more

All positions have their proponents, and detractors.

I will tell you what I do know. 

Something, somehow has to change, and not just in America. There are issues across the globe, and people are dying for no reason other than that they are. 

men 

women 

children 

the elderly 

the weak 

the loud and proud 

the meek and acquiescent 

the rich 

the poor

No One is immune. No place is safe. There are no havens.

Something has to change. 

One person at a time.

The Earth is weeping tears of blood. 

We have to staunch the flow.

Not much of an artist, but I created this.