Sadness

This is a sad day. I opened the Times to find a front page article on the slaying of five students by a former graduate student at Northern Illinois University, who then turned his gun on himself. The first reaction was a "my g-d," the second a "I hope this never happens here," and the third was "typical."

I don't mean to sound cold with that last reaction - I feel for all the students who lost a friend, for all those who lost a son or daughter, brother or sister. But the reality is that these shootings are becoming all too common. There's no rhyme or reason behind the deed; the shooter was a top student apparently respected by colleagues and faculty alike. I just wish that suicides where you take others with you - who had nothing to do with you - were not as "trendy" as they apparently are.