can't stop thinking about them

 {source: google images}

i can't really stop thinking about everyone in newtown, connecticut. i cry whenever i read anything about it and sometimes even when i just start to think about the people.

i keep reading even though i feel like that perpetuates a news cycle that we might be better off without. the news industry is corrupt. (i feel that way even about the little newspaper i work for.) i keep reading because i feel that the least i can do is remember they lived and this happened to them. but maybe i shouldn't, because it sickens me to think about everyone in newtown having to deal with the media in their faces.

a woman from york wrote a poem that went viral and was read on the dr. phil show yesterday. (you can read her poem here or google cameo smith poem.) i was supposed to interview her and when she called me back today she said her phone has been ringing off the hook, and she hasn't been calling people back because she doesn't want publicity.

but she said she wanted to call me back.
i interrupted, "because we're local."
and she said, "well, that, and you just sounded really nice."

that made my day. a sweet reminder that it's okay that i'm not an aggressive reporter like i feel pressure to be. really a reminder to keep being myself and always trust God.

i have opinions about all the talk about tougher gun laws and the mental health care system. (and i probably shouldn't admit this, but i can easily be convinced of conspiracy theories too.) but when i get caught up in those i lose focus on what is more important: love and kindness. my friend sarah's boyfriend, aaron, summed it up so well with what he wrote on facebook:

"Everybody is all worked up about how to stop all the evil and hatred in the world. The answer is simple, it's LOVE! Love your kids, love your family, love your significant other, and better yet love a stranger. Make somebody smile, make a difference."