A year ago today

I remember watching Price is Right, working from home with a hurt back a few days after my accident, trying to watch our boy Donnie win his grandfather clock when they kept interrupting with coverage from Tech. For most of the hour it was something like "one dead, two injured," then "one dead, three injured" and "two dead, three injured," like that. A shame and all, but it's a big campus and they did have that one gunman on campus at the beginning of the school year. Then towards noon then latest update. 22. Dead. And nothing was ever the same after that.

 

You're more than welcome, Hillary.

Love your suit, babe..........

 

I remember skipping class that day to keep up with the coverage on TV. I pretty much sat in stunned silence for most of the day, wondering if any of the athletes I used to cover -- or anyone else I knew at Tech -- were injured. Or worse.

I also remember proudly wearing a VT t-shirt to class and work the next day, occasionally drawing a comment from someone. Over the next few days, I was surprised at how many people were wearing VT gear some 700 miles from Blacksburg.

RIP to the 32.

 

I remember completely being blindsided by this event until very late in the day. I first heard about this at 6pm or so and my eyes were locked on the updated news for the rest of the evening.

The full scope of this didn't hit me until I heard about a leaked song from the band 12 Stones called "World So Cold" which someone got a hold of and set to a visual memorial of the victims. I still can't listen to that song today without getting chills.

 

A few days after the shootings, I went to a local Sports Authority and asked one of the guys who worked there if they had any college stuff because I couldn't find anything related to Virginia Tech. He immediately said, "Virginia Tech?" I said, "yeah." They were completely sold out.

I ended up wearing a maroon T-shirt under an orange polo shirt on "National Wear Orange and Maroon Day."

RIP to the 32 victims.

 

Even though it is a small thing, but one thing I learned from this is that you can reach someone with a text message much easier than trying to call them on a cell phone.

Just something to remember when a tragedy like this happens again, and all you get is a busy signal on your cell phone when trying to reach someone.

 

I feel the same way about "Overcome" by Live. Every time I hear that song on my iTunes, I flash back to that video MTV or VH-1 made to the song that showed some of the scenes from the World Trade Center. I also feel the same way about "Half Your Angels" by Crosby and Nash (or Crosby, Stills and Nash when they performed it on The Tonight Show).

 

I was at work, watching on TV.

 

I just know that the closest I got to it was through Moddy, and I'm just very thankful that his kids were safe and sound.

 

I was visiting a relative to help her while her husband had minor surgery that morning. It was a very hectic day for us and I remembered how disconnected I felt being away from a TV or computer most of the day. I was able to keep up with the news by reading SportsJournalists.com (so thanks to everyone who posted news that day). A very sad day. It was unusually cold and a rainy day where I was. Just a bad day all around. RIP.

 

I heard about the shootings initially, but didn't learn the gravity of the incident until I logged on to SportsJournalists.com.