Always remember…

The stuffed animals caught my eye.

Spilling out from Renee Nicole Good’s glove compartment the morning she got shot, they told the story of a little boy who had just been made an orphan.

The trauma we witness ripples through generations.

I imagine parents yanked from carpool lines and summarily deported leave behind stuffed animals and the children who love them, too.

Law enforcement officers have children and I bet those little people hug their stuffed animals every time their parent goes to work, hoping they’ll return safely.

We live in a world of such painful extremes — the beauty and light of human kindness, the horror of mortal confrontation.

I hope in the coming days that, as we stand for our convictions, we do so with integrity.

My nephew Traveain picked my name this year, and he gave me a couple of really great presents, including Charlie Mackesy’s latest treasure, Always Remember.

The book gave me both comfort and hope as I paged through it these past few unsettling days.

I offer a few pages here, in an effort to offer you the same.