Steve’s Ramblings: Hug The Ones You Love Tighter Today

by Steve Dunford

I woke up around 4:00 a.m. this morning.  It was probably a quarter till five that was online for the first time this morning.

One of the first things that I do when I get on line in the morning is go to Facebook and Twitter.  I have nearly a hundred news sources in my feed.

I began to see reports of the tragedy in Las Vegas this morning.  I went to their local paper to provide a link.  I don’t remember what the national media outlets told what the death toll was but they were reporting 20 people dead and 100 injured.

This picture really moved me today. This girl I assumed was a teenager was hugging either a dog or a stuffed animal after the tragedy last night. (John Locker, AP Photo)

Fox News has been on in the background all day.  I had to shut it off for a few minutes and I turned it back on.   We as a nation are facing the biggest tragedy since 9/11.  At the last count fifty-eight people did not come back to their loved ones.  At this time there are 515 injured.

At this time, no one has any motive why the  sniper Stephen Paddock to snap.  There have been claims and even an AP report the hideous action was caused by terrorism.  There are reports that he is squeaky clean.  No matter the motive, it will not bring back lives.

It takes months and even years to get a Suite in the Mandalay Bay Hotel.  It blows my mind how someone could take several lives like that.

With every tragedy, you hear acts of heroism.  One that stick out is from the LA Paramedic that was treating individuals, the off duty cops who came to the rescue and individuals who stepped up to help.  There were police that lost their lives serving as human shields.  There was a man from Tennessee who shielded his wife and took bullets for her.

These passages of  scripture came to my mind today:

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.  (John 15:13)

Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. (James 4:17)

There were people who laid down their lives that did not know the individuals they died for.  In the parable of the Good Samaritan,  our neighbor is everyone.

I did not know anyone who was injured who lost their life last night.  I have all kinds of emotions from sadness to anger.

I watched a news story about an hour ago.  It was from a District Attorney from a county in Nevada.  He was in the VIP section of the concert.

He was talking about his escape and how life was flashing before his eyes, thinking about his girls.  He was saying just five minutes before there were police that were joking and kidding with them all.  He said seeing them go into action in short time was great to see.

This is a time in this country we put our political feelings aside.

We never know what tomorrow brings.  I am sure that all of those that went to the concert, it was the last thing they thought would happen.  That is why we need to tell our love ones that we love them, and hug them tight tonight.  In addition, we need to live every day to the fullest.