Beauty
This morning was much like any other Saturday--the first few hours were spent with Alexis gleefully watching Playhouse Disney. It was more than a little jarring to flip the channel and find that five Pittsburgh police officers had been shot in the line of duty. As Mr. Husband and I sat with heavy hearts watching the events unfold, Alexis was oblivious to the severity of the situation. When the news that three of the officers had died came over the airwaves, Alexis was singing Happy Birthday to one of her dolls.
Sometimes being a parent means living in two very different universes at one time. It's . . . uncomfortable.
As more details came to surface and the story of the shooter began to become a little clearer (and more disturbing), Mr. Husband and I decided it was time to go. Anywhere. We had to go find some of the beautiful in our city, so that we could forget a little of the ugly that started our day.
We wound up at the Zoo, which is certainly not my first thought when it comes to defining "beautiful" in Pittsburgh, but the Martian named Alexis really wanted to go there.
So, a few photos of Beautiful, as our hearts go out to those involved in today's tragedy.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Reader Comments (14)
Beautiful pictures, especially that last one. My heart goes out to those police officers and their families. So sad and senseless.
I honestly believe that things like elephants, children, and doll birthdays were meant to ease the pain of the rest of the world.
This weekend I went to visit my father about 90 miles north of Pgh.
We were watching TV when we came upon a national news station broadcasting live from Pittsburgh.
Watching in horror, everthing looked so familiar. When they mentioned the street my heart sank. I know 5 or six people on that street.
1016 Fairfield. I asked my father if he knew the address of my Uncles brother(his brother in law). He said 1015 Fairfield.
Three of the ten woman in my card club live on that street.
I called them all and they were all safe in their basement.The gunshots woke them up. They all had police officers upstairs. They were too close to be evacuated safely.
Aunt Joann was closest. Poor thing was hysterical. The police were shooting from her windows. The swat van was in her front yard and she had 3 dead policeman lying accross the street with no one able to get to them for 1 1/2 hrs.
Unbelievable.
All this happened in a neighborhood that was long considered the safest neighborbood in Pittsburgh.
When you went to the zoo you were only about 5 minutes away.
My heart goes out the the poor families.
I could watch the baby elephant for hours. Joy!
There seems to be a lot of ugly in our world the last couple days. Glad you were able to find some beauty outside.
Thank you for writing this post. I have been struggling lately with what to say to my children when I tell them that Daddy is at work and they ask me why. To make money and to help people is the obvious (and easy) answer, but at some point they are going to learn that Daddy is helping someone receive new organs . . . because someone else was careless, or suicidal, or didn't take care of themselves. It is a discussion I am not looking forward to. In the meantime, there are teaparties to be had, books to be read, and tickle fights to ensue - and for that I am thankful.
Lots of thoughts to your corner of the world today.
It still makes me so sad what happened yesterday. And I'm sure it will continue to for a long time.
Lovely photos--love the one of Alexis with the water behind her. Beautiful!
Police officers are heros. They put there life on the line every single day so that we can all be safe. God bless those men who were killed and all police officers at work protecting all of us.
The zoo always makes us feel better too, what great pictures, love the baby elephant!
Glad you got a bit of a break. My kids love the zoo too, even though we live so close to game reserves.
I didn't even know about the shootings... my condolences to the families.
the world truly has gone crazy.
fortunately, you DID find the beauty.
I did sat in a stunned silence on my couch Friday as a place very near my home town faced a similar horror. I know what you mean looking for beauty. Makes me hug the little ones tighter and count my blessings.
Thanks for sharing the beauty you found.
I absolutely cried when I heard the story about the officers. I had time, before it was made private, to leave a message of condolence on the blog of one of the wives. I can't imagine the pain those families are going through.
What beautiful pictures from the zoo.
Such a horrible, senseless tragedy.
I'm so sorry to hear about that tragedy in your city. That's just horrible.
I'm glad you made a good day of it and that baby elephant is adorable (as is your baby!)
It is really hard balancing those two worlds, isn't it? I remember when the VT tragedy struck reading the paper at home, only to realize there was an attention-grabbing headline and photo on the front page -- right in full view of my kids. Or the many times we'd turn on the TV only to find it accidentally tuned into a news station showing some horror from Iraq.
I guess we take it one day at a time and remember the good/beauty as you did on Saturday.
Hope you are well. And, don't worry - the snow will melt. It's Mother Nature's last hurrah, just like she does every year about this time!