Boulder 3.22.21

Sudden death tears us apart. A father of 7 got up way before dark yesterday, brushed his teeth and shaved. He then helped everyone get ready for the day. Eggs for 9 is almost two cartons. Toast for those eggs is at least 4 toaster’s full. How much coffee and juice gets drunk in a household of 9 each morning? Or maybe on school days it is just cereal. That would be easier. I am sure there were clean clothes for everyone and they all got dressed. Hopefully no one skipped on kisses and hugs. No one knew those hugs were goodbyes.

When we are living our daily lives we cannot think much about how precious it all is. How fragile. We walk on solid ground and don’t plan on falling. We trust that our body is strong and resilient and will serve us until old age. We have stuff to do. Our kids need us and we are there for them. Our wives and partners -the greatest pleasure of all - we cannot imagine ever leaving them. Then we need to fix up the house. We need to work. The bills need paid. The car needs gas. We need groceries.

"For all the victims who were killed at King Soopers, these were people going about their day, doing their food shopping, and their lives were cut abruptly and tragically short by the shooter, who is now in custody," District Attorney Dougherty added.

And still...still...the sun came up this morning. It did not come up on it’s own. The whole town of Boulder had to meet just out past the Table Mesa shopping center in South Boulder where there are a bunch of windmills, ruins of a nuclear manufacturing facility and a lot of open land leading up to the mountains. Being Boulder, some rode their bikes, some hiked or ran, and everyone else drove. The town gathered where the sun was hiding. The sun was afraid to come up. The sun did not want to shine on the pain from when it went down last night. The sun needed help. The whole town carefully put their hands together under the sun, knowing it was fragile and they carefully raised it up into the sky. “There” they said, "at least we have the sun.” Then they could look at everything illuminated and see what was lost in the darkness.”

Officer Eric Talley was 51 and the father of seven children. He went to work yesterday just like it was a normal day and will never come home. For Eric it was judgement day. For his family, just the deepest heartache one can imagine. They need the sun to come up today. And they need their neighbors to help them on this sad morning.

In the end, all we have is the sun and each other.