In remembrance
On March 22, 2021, in Boulder, Colorado, a shooter killed 10 people at a local grocery store, and rocked a whole community. Five days after this horrible shooting, I was able to travel to Boulder and witness a community in mourning. One of the signs hung up on the fence outside caught my eye:
Rest in Peace My Friends
For over thirty years
I've come to this store
To get some groceries
and "Oh so much more"
Got to know the workers
and the customers though
some would come - some would go
We would say Hi, wave and smile.
Sometimes we would talk a while.
At 2:30 pm on 3/22/21
It all came undone
When evil brought a gun
Some had survived
But ten have died
Evil can't wait away memories of this store
I'm just glad I had seen them one more time
Just two hours before
LOVE > Evil
Times like this are a chilling reminder of the evil in this world and how fragile life is. I have read a few different stories of the survivors and how just prior to the shooting, they were hanging out with their coworkers and enjoying life. Then in a blink of an eye, evil came and took that all away and has left a country asking "WHY?"
Candles were lit in remembrance of those that lost their lives that day. It is hard to put into words the emotions that were felt in this place. People from all over the country had come to pay their respects.
So many lives were turned upside down on that day and the community is trying to find solace and to heal from this tragedy.
Every time something like this happens, it quickly turns into a political stunt here in the US. I am sick of how quickly both sides forget the lives that were lost and focus on the instrument that caused this destruction. As a gun owner, it makes me sick that we as a nation do not focus on the people affected by these tragedies, but instead fight a gun control battle that really has no way to win for either side.
I prefer to focus on what matters. The families that lost loved ones. The community that is mourning. The country that is broken and torn apart.
I have seen too much death and destruction in my life and I wish it would stop, but I know that there is true evil out there that no matter what policies are put in place, it will continue to ruin lives.
I love seeing a community come together after something like this and I wish that it didn't take tragedy to bring people together.
It is always hard to see signs like this one above, where I am pretty certain that the person that created it is a combat veteran that has been to war and seen some horrible things. This is not the type of stuff that we as combat veterans ever want to see in our community. Our job was to protect this type of stuff from ever coming to our communities.
The biggest thing this community can do is to never forget those that lost their lives that day.
WHY SING?
In honor of friends we lost here and others who experienced this.
To Remember
To Heal
I have 2 young adult children who have worked here since the beginning of the pandemic. Sophie should have been here but got the day off at the last minute. I am grateful she wasn't there. - Patty
So many lives cut short. Denny Stong was going to be a pilot. He was just 20 years old and is the youngest victim in this shooting. He was known as a bright and cheerful kid that was always trying to make those around him happy.
So where do we go from here?
The answer is forward. We continue moving forward. We never let evil win. We come together as a community and as a nation. We remember all of those that lost their lives that day.
Rest in Peace Boulder Police Officer Eric Talley, 51; store manager Rikki Olds, 25; store employee Denny Stong, 20; store employee Teri Leiker, 51; Neven Stanisic, 23; Tralona "Lonna" Bartkowiak, 49; Suzanne Fountain, 59; Kevin Mahoney, 61; Lynn Murray, 62; and Jody Waters, 65.source