Those of you who know me personally know that up until a few years ago, I used to call Blacksburg, VA my second home. I would go up there, on average, about once every other month to visit with friends and gaming buddies that I knew there. They were mostly students at Virginia Tech, a few alumni, and all really good people. Even though I haven’t been able to head up there in the last few years, and even though several of my old Blacksburg crew have graduated or otherwise moved on, I still have a great fondness for the area.

Yesterday, my heart was shattered into a million pieces when I saw that a student at Tech had snapped and gone on a shooting rampage, killing 33 people (including himself) in the worst schoolyard massacre in US history. I prayed that nobody I knew was involved, only to find out that friends of my friends had died.

Today I’m crying because my friends are crying. I’m hurting because a town I love is hurting.

Would lives have been saved if somebody in Norris Hall been packing heat? Maybe. Maybe not. Is banning guns going to put a stop to stuff like this? I don’t think so–and I say this as somebody who has no desire or wish to own a gun, ever.

But this isn’t the time or place for a gun control debate. Engaging in such talk right now is disrespectful to the dead and their kin.

Folks, please take a moment today and say a prayer to whatever power or powers you worship for the families that lost loved ones yesterday in Norris Hall and The AJ dorm. Send good thoughts to the wounded so that they can recover and go on to live good lives that will bring honor to the memory of their lost friends and classmates.

And please, whatever you do–if you’re a parent, please hug your children tonight and tell them you love them.

Hokie Hokie Hi.