Virgina Tech tragedy strikes close to home

Tragedy among tragedies!! This is the best way I know to describe what happened this morning in Blacksburg, Va. about 100 miles from my home. When I think of Virginia Tech, a university those of us in this locale are quite familiar, the thought that it would ever be the site of this nation’s historically largest shooting would never occur to me.
A campus of 25,000 plus, Virginia Tech is a fine educational institute and is located idyllically in a small town nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains in western Virginia. It is less than twenty miles from the southern West Virginia border and a couple of hours drive from our home. While it is off the beaten path for our usual travels, we have visited that campus on a few occasions in the past. My first trip there, years ago, was on a recruiting trip for Union Carbide Corp. Blacksburg is a beautiful town.

Blacksburg is like many other towns that I can think of—State College, Pa., College Station, Tex. to name a couple—owes its entire existence to the school it carries in its bosom. Remove the school and the town disappears.
Over the years I have had the pleasure of knowing a number of “Hokie” graduates and have one as my neighbor. I also know some youths in this area who are currently students at Tech. Usually I find myself in friendly discussions of the next WVU-Tech football or basketball game and chiding the loser at the end of the game. We are good friends and sports enemies.
Now is not the time for that kind of banter as this fine school, and one of the best engineering schools in the nation, has taken a bitter hit. As I write this I am listening to the radio news that is reporting 32 or 33 dead and 25 to 29 injured. It truly is a tragedy among tragedies. By the time you read this the dead and injured count may be some different but not enough to make it less of a tragedy.
We are hearing of these events much too often in this country and particularly on our high school and college campuses. It has to stop. I wish I could pick up the phone and call the authorities and say “do this and the violence will stop.” Unfortunately I can’t and it appears others cannot either. How can we put an end to this and not give up our open social and governmental way of life? We have become a highly violent society while retaining our open and trusting system of living. My realist mind tells me we cannot stop this behavior if the shooter is willing to die for his actions. Our best will only keep these events to a minimum. I hope over the years my view is proven wrong.
This will never be forgotten at Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia or in many other areas of the country including the southeast portion of West Virginia. It is a sad day here and I yearn for the time when I can go back to chiding or being chided by my Virginia Tech friends over a football or basketball game.
Let is pray for Virginia Tech, the dead and wounded and the families of those impacted by these shootings. May it never happen again!
Such are the people, places and things that have touched my life in my West Virginia home!
Don Springer can be contacted at touchlife@worldnet.att.net.