"A man's feet should be planted in his country, but his eyes should survey the world."

02 February, 2010

Violence Rocks Suburbia..... Again


I don't know how many of you know, but there has been a second violent outburst in my hometown of Westford, Mass., in a month now.....

The first time happened when I was moving back to school after Christmas break. Some guy was with his wife in his car when he shot her, then tried to set the car on fire, with himself in it.

The second time happened last night. A family was having marital/money issues so the dad shot and killed his daughter, shot his wife, then committed suicide. The wife is in critical condition and might not make it. His daughter, Olivia, was killed while she was on the phone with police. She was 17, a Senior at WA who was going to go to UVM next year..... It's that last part that really got me. (P.S.: Can read about it here)

I didn't know her, but she's a senior in high school. If there's any other time in a young person's life that is most geared towards the future, it's senior year. We've all been there, talking about schools we're going to attend, and options for majors, sports, extracurriculars and the like... And now she won't be able to go to a Catamount's game, see Battle for Burlington, trek around the city party hopping..... She doesn't even know what she's going to miss. Maybe that's why I'm so moved by this. It's not just a random act of violence, its a random act of violence that I can connect with. I was in her shoes once. All of the UVM class of 2014 is in her shoes now. All of them, except one....

R.I.P Olivia Marchand
Another Life Cut Too Short