my congresswoman was shot today

[Desert Tortoise]

I listened to the press conference on the radio. It was very encouraging to hear the spokesperson surgeon talk, at length, about the mental care of not only the surviving patients but also of the family members and medical staff involved. He said it has also been very traumatic for the staff at the hospital and that there is more to healing than the physical wounds.

He also expressed his appreciation for the community's support and how that also helps with PTSD and such. I really liked how he linked physical care, mental care and support. They seem to get the big picture with respect to the trauma.

And thankfully they are so respectful of the patients' privacy and not releasing details before their time.

dt

[Crankin]

I haven't seen any negative portrayals of Tucson. It's more overall thoughts about AZ in general.
Personally, I realized too late that I should have been living in Tucson, instead of the Phoenix area! Of course, I did send son #2 to U of A, but I guess it was enough to send him off to enlist in the Marines!

[Biciclista]

when i think of Tucson (and i've visited there a couple times)I will always think of those 6 people who were killed. they look like they were good people, and I know a lot of nice folks that live there.

[azfiddle]

I believe that quite a few organizations, schools etc have been setting up crisis teams. The school I teach in encouraged us to let kids talk about things today, and observed the national moment of silence. One of my students knew the young staff-member who was killed.

[maillotpois]

She's a cyclist as well:

http://tucsonvelo.com/news/congressw...ds-talks-bikes

Beautiful bike.

[badgercat]

Maillotpois, I follow the blog you just linked, and I remember reading that story when it first posted. Thank you for finding the link, because I hadn't had a chance to dig it up yet.

I stopped by Gabby Giffords' office in Tucson today while out doing errands by bike. I snapped a quick picture but didn't want to get too involved with the photography out of respect for the smattering of people around who were in contemplation and in prayer. This really doesn't do the scene justice... the cards, flowers, signs, and candles extend beyond this frame, and there are dozens of messages chalked on the sidewalk.

It was a moving scene... especially the two school-aged boys I saw, each clutching a bouquet of flowers, along with their dad, who helped them read some of the signs out loud.

[lunacycles]

Yo Knotted Yet. Yes, absolutely. I am on FB and here's what a friend posted after reading about the heroism of gay latino Daniel Hernandez (and I couldn't agree more...):

So much for gays and latinos being subhuman devils (as per certain political leanings). This could not be more poignant. Arizona, pay attention. You are your own worst enemy.

It's like the hatred inevitably creates a love, and you can't deny the love that comes out of something like this, regardless of what that love looks like and how it "meshes" with your political beliefs.
over 'n out.
y'all take care!

[KnottedYet]

A group started after a mentally ill man inspired by Beck and O'Reilly went into a children's service at a church in order to kill religious liberals:

www.standingonthesideoflove.org

He succeeding in killing 2 people. One was a church usher, who placed his body in front of the crazed gunman in order to protect the children.

[Trek420]

Beautiful bike.

I was gonna say Jamis based on the colors but then saw her name on the top tube So I'm thinkin' custom. Lunacycles, one of yours?

I hope she recovers to ride again.

[maillotpois]

I was gonna say Jamis based on the colors but then saw her name on the top tube So I'm thinkin' custom. Lunacycles, one of yours?

I hope she recovers to ride again.

It's a Bohemian.

[Veronica]

It's a Bohemian.

Yep, and I just realized we took pictures of it when we picked up our Bohemian tandem in San Diego.







Dave Bohm actually talked with us a lot about how excited he was that someone in the government was actually riding a bike.

How sad. And that's not a word that adequately displays the depth of emotion.

Veronica

[KnottedYet]

I hope she recovers to ride again.

Honestly, I doubt that is a possibility.

Maybe she'll be able to walk again. I doubt she'll be able to speak fully. Probably won't be able to feed herself (but maybe could swallow if someone else feeds her). Likely will be in diapers for the rest of her life.

Unless she was extremely lucky, having a bullet go through her brain is pretty much the end of life as she knew it.

[emily_in_nc]

Unless she was extremely lucky, having a bullet go through her brain is pretty much the end of life as she knew it.

This incident serves to remind me how quickly everything in life can change in the blink of an eye. Gabrielle was such a beautiful, intelligent woman with so much to give and share, and it pisses me off to no end that ability was so callously stolen away from her without any warning. It reminds me that we all need to appreciate life's preciousness and to remember to tell those we love that we love them and to not waste time and life energy on trivial crap. The last time I felt this so strongly was when my dad died in an auto accident in 2005.

Just reading the last couple pages on this thread has me with tears in my eyes. It is very difficult to get my mind around the fact that there are people who kill others for no good reason, and simply impossible to grok that there are people, like the Westborough Baptist lunatics, who revel in such heinous acts.