A Shooting Hits Too Close To Home

If you are a long time reader you know that the travails of my teenage son have driven me to distraction over the past 18 months.  Pretty much he has been in fail mode for the whole of this time and I am at the point where nothing would surprise me any more - I thought.....

So, Friday night he and his friends all decided to go out on a group date.  What?!?!?!? My son is going to do something right for a change?  Yes, indeed, it seems he is starting to think about past failures and actually changing behavior to what that "grumpy old man" told him was the way to do things.

But, the night did not go too well.  Since I already have heard this on the international news services, in all likelihood, you have heard about this already, as well.  You also probably saw his last ex-girlfriend being interviewed!  ( I miss her she is a sweet kid....)

So, son comes home from having watched, The Tower Heist, with his coed group of friends and is pretty chipper.  He roams off to play video games - I retire to my continued codeine haze for the past two weeks.

A little past two in the morning, he is on the phone with one of the "hotties" of the group when she is killed by a hail of bullets.

Seems she went over to a local parking area, down by the water, nice area actually.  But, still what was she doing there at 2am?  Yeah.  In any event. two gangs got into a shouting match and one group decides to teach the other a lesson and pump some rounds into the cars in the parking lot.  No one apparently knew the girl was in the car - she took four rounds.  Loud mouth from the unarmed group caught one round when he dove behind the car.  Shooters take off, unarmed group calls the paramedics and the police, then they find the girl.

I am hoping son sees this as a wake up call - that trash talking others can have dire consequences.  At least I hope he learns a lesson from this.....  And like so many kids around here, she really could have used a relationship with Jesus.  Sigh.

As for the kids around here, they are all in a bit of shock.  Many knew her, heavens, even I had run into her several times in the past few months.  I was really surprised when I saw her picture on the news yesterday - I did not know her name, she was just a nice, normal kid.

Simply amazing.