Monday, April 20, 2009
Columbine, 10 years later
10 years later, the real story behind Columbine
When Columbine happened, Anya was 4 and Maya and Sage were 2. I watched the news all through the day, just not believing. This was happening right here in town, in a "good" school, in the district both Davin and I had graduated from.
(To make things weirder, I'd also attended the middle school right next door to Platte Canyon High School, so I turned on the TV not long ago and saw another school related to me being evacuated.)
Of all the horrible things that happened the day of the Columbine shootings, the one that pierced me the most was seeing all the parents waiting outside the school looking for their child throughout the day. The police were releasing the kids in waves, and as each group came out there would be a spate of happy reunions, then those parents would scoop up their kids and leave. Everyone else would wait for the next wave, hoping.
Late in the day, they said that no more kids would be coming out. All of the parents still standing outside KNEW there was no hope, and that there was nothing left to do but go home. Without their children.
That was the thought that nearly killed me. I couldn't imagine how it must feel to know your baby was not only dead, but had died afraid and confused, and you couldn't be there even after the fact.
As I said, I had already been thinking about homeschooling by then; Columbine merely helped me make up my mind.
I know that school shootings are mercifully rare. Besides, people get mowed down at McDonald's, which puts my family in grave danger (if the food doesn't kill us first!) My kids could be involved in a violent encounter anywhere, it doesn't have to be in a school.
But, I think that since I'm with my kids a far larger percentage of the time than if they were in school, we'd most likely face any danger together. Davin and I wouldn't be with those scared, hurting parents standing outside the building, wondering if our kids were coming out or not. That, among a million other blessings, make all the sacrifices involved with homeschooling worth it for me.
.*.*.
They weren't goths or loners.Over the years, a lot of people have asked me if I homeschool because of the attack at Columbine, and other school shootings. The answer is not that simple. We'd been considering homeschooling since before we even had any kids, but I have to admit that this event was a factor in our decision.
The two teenagers who killed 13 people and themselves at suburban Denver's Columbine High School 10 years ago next week weren't in the "Trenchcoat Mafia," disaffected videogamers who wore cowboy dusters. The killings ignited a national debate over bullying, but the record now shows Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold hadn't been bullied - in fact, they had bragged in diaries about picking on freshmen and "fags."
When Columbine happened, Anya was 4 and Maya and Sage were 2. I watched the news all through the day, just not believing. This was happening right here in town, in a "good" school, in the district both Davin and I had graduated from.
(To make things weirder, I'd also attended the middle school right next door to Platte Canyon High School, so I turned on the TV not long ago and saw another school related to me being evacuated.)
Of all the horrible things that happened the day of the Columbine shootings, the one that pierced me the most was seeing all the parents waiting outside the school looking for their child throughout the day. The police were releasing the kids in waves, and as each group came out there would be a spate of happy reunions, then those parents would scoop up their kids and leave. Everyone else would wait for the next wave, hoping.
Late in the day, they said that no more kids would be coming out. All of the parents still standing outside KNEW there was no hope, and that there was nothing left to do but go home. Without their children.
That was the thought that nearly killed me. I couldn't imagine how it must feel to know your baby was not only dead, but had died afraid and confused, and you couldn't be there even after the fact.
As I said, I had already been thinking about homeschooling by then; Columbine merely helped me make up my mind.
I know that school shootings are mercifully rare. Besides, people get mowed down at McDonald's, which puts my family in grave danger (if the food doesn't kill us first!) My kids could be involved in a violent encounter anywhere, it doesn't have to be in a school.
But, I think that since I'm with my kids a far larger percentage of the time than if they were in school, we'd most likely face any danger together. Davin and I wouldn't be with those scared, hurting parents standing outside the building, wondering if our kids were coming out or not. That, among a million other blessings, make all the sacrifices involved with homeschooling worth it for me.
Labels: crime, homeschooling, newsworthy
.*.*.
Friday, March 20, 2009
Trip to the Coroner's Office
The other day, Lori commented, wondering where Anya got her Wednesday-ish tendencies from. Really, I swear it wasn't all from me! A lot of what we do and study is because she and the other kids are interested, not because I'm leading them that way. But, I'm pretty open with helping them get where they want to go, and it doesn't hurt that I'm fascinated by true crime, etc, so I can generally answer their questions and find resources for them.
I didn't plan it this way, but the post the other day became and excellent segueway for this one! Yesterday was our homeschool group's trip to tour the County Coroner's office. It was amazingly cool! They were very good about answering the kids' questions respectfully without getting too scary or gross, but also without dumbing anything down.
They made sure we could come at a time when they weren't busy, and everything was all cleaned up. So, we didn't see any bodies; everyone was put away when we came through. We learned about what you need to learn to work there, and what happens when they get a call. We got to see the evidence room, and learned how long they keep stuff; 1 year for "naturals," 2 years for accidental and suicides, and they keep evidence from homicides forever.
We also got a new term that we hadn't heard before! Yay, vocabulary! And, because I love you all so much, I will share it with you.
Diener-From wikipedia-"The word Diener is German for servant. In English, it is generally used to describe the person, in the morgue, responsible for handling, moving, and cleaning the corpse (though, at some institutions dieners perform the entire dissection at autopsy). It is derived from the German word Leichendiener, which literally means corpse servant."
There you go, aren't you glad you stopped by today?
If this seems at all interesting to you, you should check with your county. Or, come visit me and I'll set you up! This was, hands down, one of the most interesting tours we've ever been on.
.*.*.
I didn't plan it this way, but the post the other day became and excellent segueway for this one! Yesterday was our homeschool group's trip to tour the County Coroner's office. It was amazingly cool! They were very good about answering the kids' questions respectfully without getting too scary or gross, but also without dumbing anything down.
They made sure we could come at a time when they weren't busy, and everything was all cleaned up. So, we didn't see any bodies; everyone was put away when we came through. We learned about what you need to learn to work there, and what happens when they get a call. We got to see the evidence room, and learned how long they keep stuff; 1 year for "naturals," 2 years for accidental and suicides, and they keep evidence from homicides forever.
We also got a new term that we hadn't heard before! Yay, vocabulary! And, because I love you all so much, I will share it with you.
Diener-From wikipedia-"The word Diener is German for servant. In English, it is generally used to describe the person, in the morgue, responsible for handling, moving, and cleaning the corpse (though, at some institutions dieners perform the entire dissection at autopsy). It is derived from the German word Leichendiener, which literally means corpse servant."
There you go, aren't you glad you stopped by today?
If this seems at all interesting to you, you should check with your county. Or, come visit me and I'll set you up! This was, hands down, one of the most interesting tours we've ever been on.
Labels: crime, homeschooling, kids
.*.*.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Wednesday
When Anya was little, among other things, we used to call her "Wednesday," after the creepy little girl on the Addams Family. Anya never had a regular lovie like her sisters (you can see Sage's Meowie here.) Instead, she carried around a rubber human skeleton as if it were her baby. For her 3rd birthday, she insisted on a skeleton costume, which I had to make because I couldn't find one in her size. She helped me to make it anatomically correct, because one of her pastimes was to drag out our ancient copy of Gray's Anatomy and make us read it to her. She really was an odd little kid.
She's still fairly Wendesday-ish, although as she gets older she can "pass" for normal more easily. But, if you ever want to be assured that she's still creepy on the inside, just ask her about anything dealing with death, including the processes of decomposition and how to identify human remains. That's been her latest passion.
I'm going to go hang with my Wednesday girl and the rest of the horde. Happy Wednesday, everyone!
Labels: crime, kids, television
.*.*.
Monday, January 26, 2009
I wonder...
When a person dies violently in a book or movie, they always describe him as "lying in a pool of blood."
Why a pool? Why not a "blood puddle?" Or, if it's been a while, why not say, "he was lying in a scab of blood..."
Just a random thing from my head.
.*.*.
Why a pool? Why not a "blood puddle?" Or, if it's been a while, why not say, "he was lying in a scab of blood..."
Just a random thing from my head.
Labels: crime, insomnia, random
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Friday, March 28, 2008
Happy Friday!
I've been away for a bit. So, it will be a longish post while I catch you all up.
First of all, I just have to say YAY about the newly announced X-Files sequel.
OK, back to my life.
We're over being sick, but it took far longer than I was expecting. I think the government should move their top-secret biochemical warfare labratories to Iowa, because they've obviously got some natural leg up in the supervirus production department. I can't remember the last time I've been so miserable! Even after the symptoms were gone, it sort of felt like the life had been sucked out of us for a while, hence no posts. Sorry about that, I did think about you all a lot!
Today we toured the Edgar Mine, up in Idaho Springs. It was great! I'm glad I was there with a group of friends, though, because I gave myself the giggles a few times. I just can't seem to take anything seriously, I'm such a juvenile. Stuff like when the tour guide was explaining how the ore was taken from the mine and sent to a "smelter," and I just knew there had to be a joke in there involving a "dealt-er" but I couldn't find it. I slay myself.
The other interesting thing that happened was that I think I had a panic attack. I mean, I definitely had a horrible panic moment, I just don't know if it would qualify as an attack or not. I've never felt like that before. During part of the tour I nearly lost control of myself. We were in a "refuge chamber," an area where the miners would gather behind a metal door if there were some sort of disaster in the mine. I was doing fine, cracking myself up with jokes like always, when suddenly I just HAD TO GET OUT! RIGHT NOW!
It is hard for me to understand, because on the one hand I wasn't worried about anything REAL, I knew there was plenty of air, I knew the mine wasn't going to collapse, I knew in my heart I was safe. But, at the same time, I felt a nearly paralyzing sense of fear. I started to tear up, and I couldn't catch my breath. I felt that if I couldn't calm down, there was a pretty good chance that I was going throw up and then make a run for it. It was as if I had two minds, one was rational, and one felt like I was going to literally die if I didn't do something. When the tour guide lifted the door I was fine again, in the space of seconds. What does all that add up to?
I have to say that I've been in lots of enclosed areas like this, including two other mines (Lackawanna and Argo) in the last few years with no ill effects. Weird.
Enough of that!
We've been learning American Sign Language for the last couple of weeks. That's been fascinating. If you've never looked into it, you should! Since it's relatively new, it does away with a lot of the hassles of other languages you might learn. Forming tenses is quite simple, and much of it is intuitive, so it tends to stick pretty well, even for the kids.
Of course, Tiernan, who has a few issues with appropriateness in elimination, has decided that he needs to learn how to say, "I would like to pee and poop in your toilet, which I will then drink out of." He'll have LOADS of friends in the deaf community, you can tell.
Oddly enough though, I can't seem to find how to say things like "pee" and "poop" in ASL. I finally found a sign for "toilet," but that doesn't allow me to convey the depth and subtlety of the process. Perhaps deaf people are just far more polite than my family? I supposed that's a given.
And, I can't wrap up the week thus far without letting you all know that my debit card was hacked and over $400 was taken from my account. No word yet on whether it will be put back, but I'm not holding my breath. You know, with a debit card, they can only get out however much money you have in your account, which 75% of the time would be a big fat zero. So, we've been victimized by the luckiest thieves ever, who happened to hit right after pay day. Figures.
Tomorrow I will be leading a discussion of the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for some of the adults in my homeschool group's co-op. If you've read the book and you're in Denver, email me and you can come hang out with us! Unless you're some kind of perverted axe murderer, that is. I've had quite enough drama this week.
.*.*.
First of all, I just have to say YAY about the newly announced X-Files sequel.
OK, back to my life.
We're over being sick, but it took far longer than I was expecting. I think the government should move their top-secret biochemical warfare labratories to Iowa, because they've obviously got some natural leg up in the supervirus production department. I can't remember the last time I've been so miserable! Even after the symptoms were gone, it sort of felt like the life had been sucked out of us for a while, hence no posts. Sorry about that, I did think about you all a lot!
Today we toured the Edgar Mine, up in Idaho Springs. It was great! I'm glad I was there with a group of friends, though, because I gave myself the giggles a few times. I just can't seem to take anything seriously, I'm such a juvenile. Stuff like when the tour guide was explaining how the ore was taken from the mine and sent to a "smelter," and I just knew there had to be a joke in there involving a "dealt-er" but I couldn't find it. I slay myself.
The other interesting thing that happened was that I think I had a panic attack. I mean, I definitely had a horrible panic moment, I just don't know if it would qualify as an attack or not. I've never felt like that before. During part of the tour I nearly lost control of myself. We were in a "refuge chamber," an area where the miners would gather behind a metal door if there were some sort of disaster in the mine. I was doing fine, cracking myself up with jokes like always, when suddenly I just HAD TO GET OUT! RIGHT NOW!
It is hard for me to understand, because on the one hand I wasn't worried about anything REAL, I knew there was plenty of air, I knew the mine wasn't going to collapse, I knew in my heart I was safe. But, at the same time, I felt a nearly paralyzing sense of fear. I started to tear up, and I couldn't catch my breath. I felt that if I couldn't calm down, there was a pretty good chance that I was going throw up and then make a run for it. It was as if I had two minds, one was rational, and one felt like I was going to literally die if I didn't do something. When the tour guide lifted the door I was fine again, in the space of seconds. What does all that add up to?
I have to say that I've been in lots of enclosed areas like this, including two other mines (Lackawanna and Argo) in the last few years with no ill effects. Weird.
Enough of that!
We've been learning American Sign Language for the last couple of weeks. That's been fascinating. If you've never looked into it, you should! Since it's relatively new, it does away with a lot of the hassles of other languages you might learn. Forming tenses is quite simple, and much of it is intuitive, so it tends to stick pretty well, even for the kids.
Of course, Tiernan, who has a few issues with appropriateness in elimination, has decided that he needs to learn how to say, "I would like to pee and poop in your toilet, which I will then drink out of." He'll have LOADS of friends in the deaf community, you can tell.
Oddly enough though, I can't seem to find how to say things like "pee" and "poop" in ASL. I finally found a sign for "toilet," but that doesn't allow me to convey the depth and subtlety of the process. Perhaps deaf people are just far more polite than my family? I supposed that's a given.
And, I can't wrap up the week thus far without letting you all know that my debit card was hacked and over $400 was taken from my account. No word yet on whether it will be put back, but I'm not holding my breath. You know, with a debit card, they can only get out however much money you have in your account, which 75% of the time would be a big fat zero. So, we've been victimized by the luckiest thieves ever, who happened to hit right after pay day. Figures.
Tomorrow I will be leading a discussion of the book One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest for some of the adults in my homeschool group's co-op. If you've read the book and you're in Denver, email me and you can come hang out with us! Unless you're some kind of perverted axe murderer, that is. I've had quite enough drama this week.
Labels: crime, homeschooling, newsworthy, sci fi
.*.*.
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Charles Manson is up for parole, again
He has a hearing scheduled for May 23. If you want to write to the parole board regarding his hearing, you can find the address here, but seriously, why would you want to?
It's been 37 years since the Tate-LaBianca murders were committed, and I have a hard time thinking he's improved with age. I may be totally wrong, but he just seems like a lost cause any time he appears in the media.
Now, I can see some of the women getting out and actually doing something useful with their lives.
What do you think about this?
Oh, and thanks to everyone who made me feel better about my brain damage yesterday. You guys are the best!
.*.*.
It's been 37 years since the Tate-LaBianca murders were committed, and I have a hard time thinking he's improved with age. I may be totally wrong, but he just seems like a lost cause any time he appears in the media.
Now, I can see some of the women getting out and actually doing something useful with their lives.
What do you think about this?
Oh, and thanks to everyone who made me feel better about my brain damage yesterday. You guys are the best!
.*.*.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Scale of Evil
I was watching some shows that had recorded on my DVR this week, during the whole cat trauma, etc. (Still no car, but the cats do seem to like me a LITTLE better now.)
I'd never seen the show Most Evil on the Discovery Channel before, but I'm going to keep an eye out for it now!
The show is based on forensic psychiatrist Michael Stone's Scale of Evil, where he ranks murderers into catagories based on the circumstances involved in their crimes. For instance, he ranks as 01 as "Those who kill in self-defense and do not show psychopathic tendencies" and then goes up to his highest ranking of 22, which he describes as "Psychopathic torture-murderers, with torture their primary motive." He gives familiar examples of these along the way.
Obviously it's a subjective list, there's no way to avoid that, but I think it's a worthy subject to delve into. Fascinating.
.*.*.
I'd never seen the show Most Evil on the Discovery Channel before, but I'm going to keep an eye out for it now!
The show is based on forensic psychiatrist Michael Stone's Scale of Evil, where he ranks murderers into catagories based on the circumstances involved in their crimes. For instance, he ranks as 01 as "Those who kill in self-defense and do not show psychopathic tendencies" and then goes up to his highest ranking of 22, which he describes as "Psychopathic torture-murderers, with torture their primary motive." He gives familiar examples of these along the way.
Obviously it's a subjective list, there's no way to avoid that, but I think it's a worthy subject to delve into. Fascinating.
Labels: crime
.*.*.
Monday, February 19, 2007
I guess if you're going to get shot in the face,
a hospital is one of the better places to be.
.*.*.
A 14-year-old boy chased down a 15-year-old boy and shot him in the face at the entrance to a hospital's emergency room, where the victim immediately sought treatment, authorities said Monday.Didn't a kid get shot IN the emergency room on ER? I'm thinking that I remember that it was a gang thing...
Labels: crime, newsworthy
.*.*.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Didn't see THAT coming!
Probe of possible connection between cannibal Dahmer and Adam Walsh pushed
Read the article to see who first called America's Most Wanted to say that he felt they needed to look at Jeffrey Dahmer for this murder. I don't know that I have the fortitude to do that, I hope I would, but I don't know. I wonder if Dahmer was alive when the call was made, that would probably make a difference for me.
.*.*.
The FBI agent assigned to investigate cannibal Jeffrey Dahmer's horrendous murders and other crimes believes a possible connection to the murder of Adam Walsh in 1981 should be re-examined...It doesn't really sound like they have too much to go on other than the idea that it's possible Dahmer was involved.
Six-year-old Adam vanished from a shopping mall in Hollywood on July 27th, 1981. His head was found in a drainage canal, two weeks later. His body was never found.
Dahmer was living in South Florida when the boy disappeared. And when the trail of Dahmer's notorious crimes unfolded in 1991, Hollywood police asked Milwaukee investigators to question Dahmer about the Walsh case.
Read the article to see who first called America's Most Wanted to say that he felt they needed to look at Jeffrey Dahmer for this murder. I don't know that I have the fortitude to do that, I hope I would, but I don't know. I wonder if Dahmer was alive when the call was made, that would probably make a difference for me.
Labels: crime, newsworthy
.*.*.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Bill Kurtis
Do you know who Bill Kurtis is? He hosts about a million of those crime documentaries I can't seem to stop watching, among other things...
I'm not sure how I surfed in to this article, but apparently in addition to his jobs hosting and producing TV shows I watch slavishly, he runs a working cattle ranch in Kansas.
I always wonder how can he sleep at night? The shows are always somewhat disturbing, and he must put a fair amount of time into each one, not to mention he's been doing this for years. I think after a while I'd have some sort of cumulative freak out, just from the sheer weight of all of the murders.
.*.*.
I'm not sure how I surfed in to this article, but apparently in addition to his jobs hosting and producing TV shows I watch slavishly, he runs a working cattle ranch in Kansas.
I always wonder how can he sleep at night? The shows are always somewhat disturbing, and he must put a fair amount of time into each one, not to mention he's been doing this for years. I think after a while I'd have some sort of cumulative freak out, just from the sheer weight of all of the murders.
Labels: crime, newsworthy
.*.*.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Scary
The latest news is that the gunman was sexually assaulting the hostages.
We've heard a lot of talk about how the schools are safer now that we've learned lessons from Columbine and other school shootings. But, school violence statistics aren't any lower than they were before, and apparently the new guidelines are not consistently enforced.
This man, a homeless person living in his car, not a known parent or affiliate of the school, walked right in and was not stopped or questioned by anyone. He didn't have to show ID or sign in, which is pretty standard practice in most schools post-Columbine. Furthermore, he himself was the first person to report the hostage situation, was the school still unaware at this point that this was happening in one of their classrooms? Then, according to a student's report all of the kids were routed inside the school, yes, INSIDE, you know, where the gunman was stating he had a bomb, to wait for 30 minutes before evacuation.
I understand that there is no way to keep a person out of a building if he has enough weaponry, planning and desire to cause damage to the people within. My concern is that it's apparently still awfully easy to attack students in our schools, regardless of what we want to believe about the safety of our children.
.*.*.
We've heard a lot of talk about how the schools are safer now that we've learned lessons from Columbine and other school shootings. But, school violence statistics aren't any lower than they were before, and apparently the new guidelines are not consistently enforced.
This man, a homeless person living in his car, not a known parent or affiliate of the school, walked right in and was not stopped or questioned by anyone. He didn't have to show ID or sign in, which is pretty standard practice in most schools post-Columbine. Furthermore, he himself was the first person to report the hostage situation, was the school still unaware at this point that this was happening in one of their classrooms? Then, according to a student's report all of the kids were routed inside the school, yes, INSIDE, you know, where the gunman was stating he had a bomb, to wait for 30 minutes before evacuation.
I understand that there is no way to keep a person out of a building if he has enough weaponry, planning and desire to cause damage to the people within. My concern is that it's apparently still awfully easy to attack students in our schools, regardless of what we want to believe about the safety of our children.
.*.*.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
What the hell is going on around here?
Nothing like turning on the TV and seeing your old middle school getting evacuated because of a hostage situation...
.*.*.
.*.*.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Hilarious Article!
John Mark Karr Gets Trip To France For Riots Confession
.*.*.
John Karr, the self-proclaimed killer of Jon Benet Ramsey has recanted his confession and now proclaims to have ignited the riots that plagued France last year. He also claims to know where more DaVinci clues are hidden in the Vatican. Are these just veiled attempts to get trips to exotic places? Probably, but that's the beauty of his schemes! Karr is said to be writing a travel guide on how anyone can see the country or city of his or her choice simply by lying.This just cracked me up, and I thought I'd pass it on. Then I need to skedaddle, because we're going out of town and I need to clean, pack and shop.
Labels: crime, newsworthy
.*.*.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
It's a "nothing much" kind of day...
Just hanging out and twiddling my thumbs waiting for the DNA to come back in the Ramsey case.
There are a lot of interesting theories flying around the JonBenet Ramsey board at Websleuths. Some of them are absolutely convinced that John Mark Karr did it, and others are equally convinced that he didn't. It's a good way to pass the time...
What do you all think?
.*.*.
There are a lot of interesting theories flying around the JonBenet Ramsey board at Websleuths. Some of them are absolutely convinced that John Mark Karr did it, and others are equally convinced that he didn't. It's a good way to pass the time...
What do you all think?
Labels: crime
.*.*.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Picking up my jaw...
Man arrested in death of JonBenet Ramsey
I was never a Ramsey hater, but to be totally truthful, I didn't really expect this, either. I hope they sort this out soon!
.*.*.
I was never a Ramsey hater, but to be totally truthful, I didn't really expect this, either. I hope they sort this out soon!
Labels: crime, newsworthy
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