This was national news yesterday, but it was very local for me and my community: 6 people died in Seattle yesterday from gun violence. The cafe where the shooter shot 5 people (two dead on the scene) is 10 blocks from where I work. Another person was shot in the head downtown and died on the scene when she apparently tried to prevent the shooter from jacking her car -- about 10 blocks from where Mark works. The shooter was found and surrounded by the SWAT Team a mile or two away from where he dumped the car in West Seattle (which is my 'hood). He shot himself in the head. The shooter and two of the victims died later in the day at Harborview Medical Center where I used to work. The two men who were dead on the scene at the cafe were known and loved by people who I know and love. This really could happen to anyone -- not philosophically, but literally. For totally actually real. As a friend of mine said yesterday: "It's all 'us.' There is no 'them.'...
I won't be winning any prizes for today's run, but it's been many many many weeks since I did it at all. And many many many months since I've done it regularly. I hope to change that. I want to sleep well again. I want my body to feel right again. I want my mind to land in my skull on top of my body again. I ran. Not far, not hard, but I'll take it. Quick loop up Genesee Hill to overlook. Find more Run in Seattle, WA Find more Run in Seattle, WA
On an almost cellular level, I sincerely abhor the new catch-all catch-phrase when someone thinks they're making a clever point: "I'm just saying." Or - even worse - without the pronoun: "Just saying." Oh, really ? Is *that* what you're just doing? Saying? Well, I'm just punching you in the nose, you self-satisfied fuckwad. I despise it. It has this air of undeserved smug finality, as if god itself has made this person the mouthpiece of the final say in the matter. Always with the implied silence of an ellipsis, as if daring you to disagree with their obviously airtight summation. Oh, I see! If it's you that's saying, well - that's it, then! Case closed, everybody! He just said! Please don't just say, "Just saying." It's rude. Say what you want to say, and then, if it's a spirited discussion, maybe back it up with a few well-reasoned points. Then let others say. It totally works.
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