(Originally posted December 16, 2012)
We were on our way to Penn State for a weekend of ice hockey when we learned of the horrific news in Newtown, CT on December 14th. A single candle started this small memorial on the steps of Old Main on Penn State’s University Park campus on Friday night with a note remembering the victims and asking passersby to relight the flame if it went out.
By the time we reached the memorial Saturday evening, it had grown a little bigger (image above). As I write this entry, there is a large candlelight vigil going on at this very spot, with at least a 400 people in attendance. It is a quiet and hauntingly beautiful scene – one of so much sadness as we remember those lost, and the hope that as a communities near and far we can come together and support each other when unspeakable tragedies strike.
Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone in Newtown as they try to find comfort during these times as they say farewell to 26 of their own – so many taken far, far too soon – and in the days ahead as they grapple with one simple question: “why?”.
-JC
