"You've got to be kind."

With tragedy comes healing. With our prayers, we keep asking questions and ask for answers. But when there are no replies, we pray even harder for those answers that may never come. Where there is healing, there is hope. Only love can heal the pain and bring hope. Being so physically distant from home during a historic and tragic event at a university, a so-called "safe haven" in small town America, I can't help but wonder..what ever happened to the basic fundamentals of life- like humanity, love, and compassion?

Putting aside all analysis and press coverage of critics calling "what ifs" and "they should haves," we should all take a step back and appreciate what we take for granted each and every day- our loved ones, our friends, our significant others, and life itself. And I thought the war in Iraq was tragic- let's not forget the thousands of wounded and dead Americans who are fighting a war overseas for a reason that is still, to this day, unclear. What are they fighting for? And how long will it last? How many men and women will die fighting a war that the majority of Americans do not support? Again, these are questions that may never be answered.

I can only summarize what I think of life through the words of the late Kurt Vonnegut, from his book "God Bless You, Mr. Rosenwater." Satirical, honest, and profound.

"Hello babies. Welcome to Earth. It's hot in the summer and cold in the winter. It's round and wet and crowded. At the outside, babies, you've got about a hundred years here. There's only one rule that I know of, babies- 'God damn it. You've got to be kind."

More upbeat post to come!