Garrett

It's been a surreal week in our house, our neighborhood, and our community this week. Kailey spent yesterday evening with friends grieving the loss of a young man who went to her high school. His death is a senseless tragedy.

K only knew Garrett peripherally. He is a junior. She is a sophomore. Still, K has friends who knew him well, and one in particular who worked with him and is having a difficult time as each day passes.

Papa Brochowski is thinking of you C.

I remember my own senior year. A classmate who I really didn't know either was killed in a tragic car accident - playing games with his friends. I tried to be there for my friends who knew Tim, follow their lead, and support them in their time of grief. I never thought I would have to tell my child to do the same.

I really shouldn't have had to. While both deaths have similarities - a prank gone awry, the fact of the matter is that there was no intent to injure Tim. It truly was an accident.

Such was not the case with Garrett.

I've read numerous accounts of the weekend's events. It seems Garrett was a good kid, well liked, respectful if not a little mischievous. In other words - a typical teenager.

I wrote the other day about "the ever evolving to vanilla, politically correct, don't step on my neighbors toes, don't talk to my child, etc... and so on world we live in these days," and a part of me wonders why that world didn't protect Garrett.

The truth is, that world didn't stand a chance. How do you protect a child from an idiot with a gun?

I'm not condoning what Garrett and his friends were doing and I think his mother said it best when she said she would much rather have picked him from jail.

This all goes without saying.

As a parent who has lost a child I pray for Garrett's parents - that they may find peace. While they will never find reason, I pray they find justice.

As Papa Brochowski, "Coach B," "Mr. B" and even as Daddy - I pray for the kids of our community.

Last night when we went to pick K up from the vigil I saw kids of all kinds - black, white, latino, -geeks, athletes, emos (I think that's the right term), and barbies.

Please join me in taking a moment to look up, around, pause, bow in a corner - whatever you do and pray that those kids will stay together for one another, that their community will be stronger and that they will grow and build relationships with bonds that are tighter than drums.

Pray that they will remember their friend and that the world will treat them better than the idiot with the gun treated Garrett.