TRAGEDY: ONE YEAR AFTER

The anniversary of the Virginia Tech shooting is tomorrow, Wednesday the 16th. It is a sad day, and I cannot help remembering about the young lives that were lost, and feel sympathy for the families that loved them. Families who were torn apart in an instant. The Washington Post has a web page devoted to this tragedy. There you can see victim profiles, time lines, and related news.

This must be a difficult time for the school, and for the victims' loved ones. My thoughts and prayers are with them all.

One family who lost a son that day has grieved in seclusion, unable to reach out to other families--because their son, Seung Hui Cho, was the killer.

Think of how it felt for the Cho family on that day. Hearing about a maniac killer on campus with Seung. Frantic calls, text messages, and e-mails to see if Seung was all right. Worry turning into fear. Fear to panic. Then having your worst fears realized when FBI agents arrive to tell you that your child is dead.

Think of how it felt for Seung's sister, Sun Kyung, to translate the fateful words to her parents. To tell them that her beloved brother was dead.

How it felt for her to have to hear the next words, "There's more." How it felt for her to hear how her brother was the man who fatally shot 32 innocent people, and then killed himself.

Now think of how it felt for her to not only hear those words, but to have to be the one to tell her parents, Seung's parents, the awful truth.

Many people blamed them after the massacre, because there was no one else left to blame. Others offered sympathy to them, recognising that their lives, too, had been changed irrevocably. That they, also, lost a beloved child.

There is an article detailing the emotional and social struggle that this devastated family has gone through, and is continuing to go through.

This outpouring has, by all accounts, overwhelmed them. Let me add my sympathy to that stream of well-wishes. I hope they can eventually come back to the world, and learn to live again.

For all of the families who were devastated a year ago, please know that your loved ones are remembered. They are not forgotten. They are mourned. To all who have gone through this pain, I am humbled your strength and courage to go onward with your lives. I hope you find some measure of peace.

My thoughts and wishes are with you, now and always.