He's Not Going To Graduate

By all accounts he was a good student.  He was a nice kid.  But he's not going to graduate high school.   He's dead.

If you've read the news about the latest school shooting (although who knows if by the time I finish writing this and publish it if there will be another...or more), you know the name Kendrick Castillo.  He's being called a hero and this 18 year-old (only 4 years older than my own son) died when he was shot tackling the gunman.

I've heard his parents are proud of his actions.  I've also heard his father say that he wished he'd run away.  Can you blame him?  Their only child is dead.  I cannot imagine the pain they are in.  I cannot ALLOW myself to imagine it.  He died a "heroic" death, but he's DEAD.  HE IS DEAD.  He was just days away from graduation and now he's dead.

He did the "right" thing.  His actions certainly saved others’ lives.  But he's DEAD.  DEAD before he even had the chance to graduate and get that piece of paper that celebrates all the hard work he had done for year. 

Of course, in a day or two, the name Kendrick Castillo will disappear from our memory.  This boy (I know, he was legally an adult, but he was still a boy in my mind; he hadn't even graduated yet) will be forgotten by the general public.  And sadly, within a couple of months or weeks or even days (!) his name will be replaced by someone else who will die trying to do the right thing.

Kendrick Castillo is DEAD.

When will WE do the right thing?  When will WE make changes to gun laws?  When will WE address the mental health crisis in our world?  When will WE no longer accept that children are dying in schools?  When will WE demand that this stop?


Maybe it will stop when WE START caring about this.  ALL OF US.  When we ALL say no more and start working TOGETHER.  When we are courageous enough to talk to each other and work with each other and find some answers.  When we drop the hatred and yelling and start TALKING.  When we START to care...about our children, about our neighbors, about people we don't even know.

Kendrick Castillo is dead. I won't forget his name.  Will you?




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

We Have Taken America Back

Image
Back to a time when all men (and women) are not created equal.  Where women's healthcare is determined by men's laws and not by medical professionals. Where education tells only the "winning" side of the story and truth does not matter.  Where banning and burning books is a social event.  Where people who are "different" than those in power can be mocked, shunned and hurt with no real consequences. Where lies are acceptable and integrity is  just a word on a page We have moved into a time where rage is the rage.  Where hate is not just normal, but accepted and even cheered. Where leaders can ask to have their "enemies" killed and no one will bat an eye.  Where it's "funny" to see someone struggle.  Where felony is applauded. Where compassion is not shown and caring for others is looked down upon. We have taken America back to a time of pain and suffering for many.  Back to when the "haves" can have and the have nots don'...
Read more

It's Not About Starbucks (or is it)?

Image
  About a block and a half from my home in a major intersection.  At the southeast corner (which is nearest to me), is an empty building.  Back in 1995 it was a Bank of NY (I remember this because they didn't shovel/de-ice their parking lot well and my husband fell and broke his ankle one Monday morning.  I recall this clearly because we were not yet married and it was the first day of a new job for me.  I had gotten on the bus to work and he was catching a later one; only he never got there.  Instead he ended up laying on the ground until an employee came to open up the bank.  Then he had them call an ambulance AND my mother who took control of the situation until I arrived home that night blissfully unaware of what had happened that day.)  It eventually became a Chase Bank; the second one in my small little town.  It eventually closed.  I'm not sure when but it's been empty for quite a long time.  (I do know that it was open in 20...
Read more

As Is

Image
  Today I want to discuss what I think it is a relatively simple concept, but may be difficult for some, even an attorney who might have once, over a decade ago won a  prestigious award  for young lawyers .  That term is "AS IS." As you may know, I volunteer in a thrift shop.  Everything we sell, from all the donations we receive, is "as is."  The items are not brand new.  They are not perfect.  That doesn't mean they aren't any good or worth something. They are sold "as is."  Buyers should go in knowing that. (After all you are shopping in a thrift shop!)  In some cases, particularly when we are offering higher end products, we will actually write on the price tag, "as is." Such is the case of two designer purses that I purchased from there this summer.  (I'm a purse-aholic!  Don't look in my closet.)  They were reasonably priced (especially when you consider the name brand), but each had an "as is" clearly marked o...
Read more