March 20: Another School Shooting, Alex Schachter, "Life is like a roller coaster"

There was another school shooting today.  This time in Maryland.  One girl was shot and is in critical condition.  One boy was shot and is in stable condition.  The shooter, a 17-year-old student at the school, was shot and killed by the school resource officer.

The United States has a terrible problem.  A month ago, it was a Florida school and 17 dead.  Before that, it was a Benton, Kentucky school--14 wounded, two people dead.  The list is long and bloody.  I get tired of writing blog posts about senseless violence.  And I get equally tired of politicians who do absolutely nothing about it.

It's a complex issue, but the solution is pretty simple:  restrict guns.  It's worked in other countries, regardless of what propaganda the National Rifle Association and gun lobby would have you believe.  I'm done voting for anyone--Republican or Democrat--who I see holding a gun in campaign photos and commercials.

I have a poem tonight from a 14-year-old boy who was shot and killed in Parkland, Florida, on Valentine's Day.  You read this poem, look at his face, and try to tell me that guns aren't the problem.

Saint Marty will tell you that you're full of shit.

Life is like a roller coaster

by:  Alex Schachter

Life is like a roller coaster

it has some ups and downs

Sometimes you can take it slow or very fast

It maybe hard to breath at times

but you have to push yourself and keep going

Your bar is your safety

it's like your family and friends

You hold on tight and you don't let go

But sometimes you might throw your hands up

Because your friends and family will always be with you

Just like that bar keeping you safe at all times

It maybe too much for you at times -- the twists, the turns, the upside downs

But you get back up

you keep chugging along

eventually it comes to a stop

you won't know when or how

but you will know that'll be time to get off and start anew

Life is like a roller coaster