Brian,

I live a mere 30 minutes away from VT. The school system I work in has a lot of dealings with VT and there are numerous personal ties here. With that said...I have seen exactly what you are refering to in the interviews...the nonchalantness of it all. It seems as though we have all been overexposed to such violent outbreaks that it doesn't even phase anyone anymore. Thankfully that isn't always the case. The town I live & work in is a small town...only approximately 14,000 in the entire county..but we send sooo many of our high school grads to VT that it's hard not to be effected. I haven't heard as of yet if anyone directly from our town has been involved, but they haven't released a solid list yet either.

The young man they have named, Ryan, was good friends with my sons Band Director at the high school...she will be interviewing with Inside Edition later today and I know a photo of she & Ryan was on the Today Show this morning. I'm only waiting to see what other ties may bind our community to this tradgedy.

This is one town I know is in shock and disbelief. Because things like that just don't happen around here. For heaven's sake, we still leave our doors unlocked when we leave the house. The crime rate in our area is practically non-existent ...then again...I have often said I live in a modern day Mayberry.

I truly hope and pray that the media will see the damage they are doing by airing so much of the numbness. Our nation as a whole will only continue this downward spiral if all that is ever aired are the negative vibes. It's a shame, really. As educators we try so hard to prepare kids for the "real world", to be productive, responsible citizens...only sometimes it feels as though with all the media hype they are exposed to, we are fighting a losing battle.

Bree

The ideal poet has a genius for making the things we see every day seem new. ~ Samuel Johnson

I write because I breathe, I breathe because I write. ~ Me

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