We were living in Bradenton, Florida for only a year when the Parkland school shooting occurred. The day after the mass murder of innocent children I started volunteering in a cancer research compontent connected to where I receive treatment for CLL.

That first day I was working along side a woman of about my age (being kind), so late 60s, and I remarked to her about the tragic shooting in south Florida. Her response always haunts me anytime there is another school shooting.

She said, ” I JUST WORRY ABOUT THE SECOND AMENDMENT! ( Caps and exclamation point are my own.)

I asked, “Are you worried about people worshiping false idols or taking the Lord’s name in vain?” That of course references the Second Commandment. I didn’t reply to her and I didn’t say another word to this poor excuse for a human.

Even the gutless right wing nuts catering to their gun lobby support at least offer their “THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS.”

I don’t pretend to know God personally or what his thoughts are on human behaviour, but I do believe He/She (Remember we are all made in God’s image or is it the other way around?)

Thoughts and prayers don’t seem to be working against automatic rifles but thoughts and prayers are the only things our cowardly law makers can offer to stop the murder of children.

Of course, the National Guard can reduce crime in our nation’s capital (well, not really) and federal agents can mask up and wear all sorts of body armor to arrest people hanging out at Home Depots just looking for work.

Why don’t we use all those thoughts and prayers in someting for which they have the best application. Say, combating hatred and racism. How about we offer all those offering thoughts and prayers a bounty for handing in all the weapons they have stockpiled? Pay them twice what they paid for these guns and we can fund it by cancelling the tax reduction for the billionaires.

It’s a terrible way to live when you have to worry about your children and grandchildren going off to school for the first time.

Boomers like me only had to worry about the Bomb, and, thankfully, we had leaders that made America great without going Nazi on us.