Fifty Days of Gratitude: Day Ten

Today I learned that yesterday's eclipse passed over Uvalde, Texas, site of the mass shooting of 19 fourth grade students and two of their teachers almost two years ago.

I saw a photo (re-posted below) in the Washington Post of a child looking at the eclipse and I wondered what else that child, or other children in that community might have witnessed in their young lives. At a minimum, they have borne witness to collective pain, outrage, grief, and injustice.

This is my reminder that high capacity weapons and ammunition have no reasonable use in the civilian population. None. They should be banned outside of the military.

May their names be ever before us:

Nevaeh Alyssa Bravo, 10 Jacklyn Jaylen Cazares, 9 Makenna Lee Elrod, 10

Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10 Eliahna Amyah Garcia, 9 Uziyah Sergio Garcia, 10

Amerie Jo Garza, 10 Xavier James Lopez, 10 Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10

Tess Marie Mata, 10 Maranda Gail Mathis, 11 Alithia Haven Ramirez, 10

Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, 10 Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, 10

Alexandria Aniyah Rubio, 10 Layla Marie Salazar, 11 Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10

Eliahna Cruz Torres, 10 Rojelio Fernandez Torres, 10

Irma Linda Garcia, 48 Eva Mireles, 44

My gratitude for this day is that some awe and wonder might have found its way into this community yesterday. And for these lives. And for all who work for justice and an end to this senseless and far too often repeated violence.