First I’d like to agree with Abby, yes the Amish are classy. Very respectable people and good citizens, they are good examples of the Christian ideals of forgiveness and love (over half the people at the killer’s funeral were local Amish people). I also think a tip of the hat is in order for the PA State Patrol, which not only helped the funeral processions by having officers leading it on horseback, but also blocking off the roads and two and a half miles of airspace to make certain the media would respect the wishes of the bereaved.
My daughter’s school suffered a horrible loss Friday. The kids were playing their homecoming football game; it was 40 to 15 in the 3rd quarter, the panthers winning. The center for the panthers, #63, Fermin Vialpando, called a huddle and started running toward the team and fell over. He got up and fell over again. In under a minute the Medical Doctor was at his side doing emergency first aid/CPR as well as all the way to the hospital in the ambulance, but to no avail. The young man had died of a previously unknown heart condition. No drugs were involved. The whole school buzzed all over Myspace and had organized a vigil with official sanction from the school. It was an amazing feat in my estimation. http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/4337382.html
So sad, but I have to say, I was truly impressed with the young people I saw there. I have been impressed with the school and the staff but the solidarity of the students was something that would give a person hope in the future generations. One of my daughter’s friends said, “I even hugged people I hate.” And while Abigail didn’t know the boy well she had seen him around school and she knew many of his friends and went to the vigil, not only to grieve the loss but to hug her friends. She spent a long time comforting her friends and finding the solace that only a release of shared tears can bring.
The Good Book Says, “There is no man that hath power over the spirit to retain the spirit; neither hath he power in the day of death: and there is no discharge in that war…”
