Apr 19, 2007

VT



So, if you are a very astute reader of our site you may have caught our tribute article that was written for the VT this morning. However, I removed it. It’s a struggle to justify writing a “tribute” post for the people of VT and not have it sound like some internal justification for the sorrow you are feeling.

Its tough, you want to say the right things, you want to express your sorrow to the students and families, but, how?

What can you say that hasn’t already been said a million times by a million other people?

Nothing really.

That’s what makes it worse, the words are there and the sentiments are real, but, on paper or on a computer they come out as hollow.

We don’t want that.

But, what really made the original post and what is making this one, is that speech above by the VT professor. The last two minutes pretty much sums up what we feel. You can sense the anger and frustration and venerability in every word she spoke.

It comes across so strong.

These poor souls didn’t deserve this, they didn’t ask for it, and only god knows why they were choosen.

The collegiate world is such a unique place in every persons life, there is such a tight bond of community within your campus. It doesn’t matter that you don’t know the person walking next to you on the way to class, you are part of something bigger then yourself. Oh sure, you are there to get a degree and better your lot in life, but, you can’t tell me that on vacation, or at a job or anywhere else that if you ran into someone and you both went to the same school you wouldn’t swap a couple stories, a few drinks or a few lies about the girls you hooked up with or the beers you drank.

There is a bond that exists for everyone who ever went to a school with everyone else who went there.

We all know this in our little waterski world, you feel part of something. Its silly sometimes sure, but, you are part of something.

That’s why I think this tragedy resonates with us all, it’s a shot right to the core of that community. Its right there in your face, someone taking your most prized possession, in your most venerable and exciting part of life and smashing it right there in front of you.

That’s the pain we can share with the students and the families.

For these poor souls who lives were ended so abruptly, they didn’t do anything wrong, they had their entire lives ahead of them. Families to raise, jobs to go to, friends to have fun with….there was so much more for them to do.

One of our favorite sites…ok, our fav, is the Dugout, which is run by three dudes, one of which goes to school at VT. Nick has written the last week or so some pretty moving posts for the AOL fanhouse blog, basically detailing what the community is going through, their feeling and frustrations.

But, in the wake of Cory Lidles death a few months ago they had a post and in it explained how heaven is basically a really big hotel / airport sort of thing. It was by far the most insightful and touching thing that I have read concerning someone’s death.

It was so silly, but, so good at the same time. But, I hope that there is a place like that for these poor souls. In fact, I am pretty sure there is, and they are probably up there chilling out at the hotel bar knocking back a beer or 20 and doing what they can to ease the pain that their families and friends are going through.

God knows that’s the only sane explanation for something like this. People want to believe that God always has a plan for our lives, why ours revolve around waterskiing is beyond me, but, that there is a plan.

Maybe God swung by there room to impart some words of wisdom and maybe give them a bottle of Jack or something, who knows?

But, part of that post was that everyone is responsible for prayer duty, they all have to answer the phone and prayers are routed to them. If that’s the case, send yours to them. Maybe they will hear it.

Its to Dang Cold!

Enjoy this weather you hot piece of ass! Dispatch from the CRB weather desk Guess what???  ITS COLDER THEN A WELL DIGGERS ASS OUT THERE KIDS...