A Little Peeved

I don't usually make it a habit to bash anyone or any organization, but I just have to vent. I read the news....all.the.time. It is like an addiction. It is also an interest of mine that dates back to high school. I was the editor of the high school newspaper, and I spent endless hours of my senior year writing and editing and reading. Since then, I rarely have read a novel (although Rachel did get me hooked on Twilight). I mostly read magazines, a lot of magazines. I like the short reads and the ability to start and finish a topic in realitively good time. I love the newspaper. I read it all...well, maybe not the part about stocks and such, but otherwise it is all interesting and fascinating to me. I read cnn.com every day, sometimes msnbc.com, almost always read the St. Joe paper online. I have learned so much over the years, and I like being updated on life and the happenings of the world.

But today I came across something that brought about some different emotions. I had a few minutes break today when my kids were out at recess and I checked the St. Joseph Newspress online. It seems a dead body (as opposed to a live body, I guess) was found by a trash collector in the parking lot behind a service station right at a busy intersection just before 7 this morning. He had been shot. A school nearby was also locked down...not sure if that is connected to the shooting. So I checked back during my planning period to see if there were any developments, and the front page had a huge picture of this poor dead guy on the front. The ONLY part of him that wasn't showing was his head, as the picture was taken strategically with him behind a vehicle, which was blocking that part. He was covered with a white sheet. I could tell the color and type of shoe, I could see the color of his shirt. His hands had paper bags over them and tied or bound somehow around the wrist, obviously to protect any evidence. I was in shock! What utter disrespect for the family. And seriously, he was found shortly before 6:50 a.m. and this picture was up sometime after 10 a.m. Can that possibly be enough time for even family to know yet? I thought it was in total distaste, and the more I think about it, it was disgusting. It wasn't so much about seeing a dead guy, as it was about respecting him. The news often shows a dead body on the side of the road, covered in a white sheet. We saw over and over again, Michael Jackson's body being transported to the medical examiner, also covered in some type of body bag. But come on, this guy had identifiable clothing and shoes showing. This guy's hands were in paper bags. I am not disgusted that I was subjected to that, only just saddened that our society has come to the point of being so unempathetic that this seemed ok to just put up for anyone to see. I wasn't the only one who thought that, and I'm guessing from the comments below the picture that the newspress must have decided that a) it was indeed out of line; or b) they might get sued; or c) they would have to hire someone to keep things under control from angry protestors; or d) their newspaper sales would go down because of the negative coverage; or e) someone at the paper realized it was one of their own family members, and started crying inconsolably. Let's hope it was option A.

I read another widow's blog this morning talking about being at the cemetery and how her feelings about cemeteries had changed from a feeling of being scared and creeped out to one of memorializing loved ones. I thought that today...someone will weep over this man's death. Someone will have to bury him and sort his things, and someone, probably several someones, will miss him.

Last night when we were there, I had to remind Tye that if he has to pee outside and we are at the cemetery, he either has to pee on the gravel road, over in the bean field beside the cemetery, or somewhere near Daddy's grave (because I know he wouldn't care) and not anywhere near anyone else's. Sheesh. On the way out of the cemetery the other day, Tye stopped at a freshly covered grave right by the drive.

Tye: Whoa, who is buried here? (This grave is right where we usually park, so there was no missing it).

So I walked over to it.

Me: It is so and so, he is a little boy who was killed in a car wreck.

Tye: What does that mean?

Me: He was in a car that had a wreck, and he got hurt so bad that they couldn't fix him.

Tye: Hmm. I bet his mom and dad are sad.

Me: I am sure they are. (I was thinking that I am sure I could never express to Tye just how sad they really are).

Tye: So what part of his body wasn't working?

Me: I don't know, I didn't know him so I'm not sure.

Tye: What part of my dad's body wasn't working?

Me: Well, it started in his leg, and then went to the inside of his body around his tummy. Then it went to his brain and that's when he started getting really sick.

Tye scooted some dirt back onto the little boy's grave.

Me: Maybe we should say a prayer for him.

So we prayed a special prayer for little Kaden and his mommy and daddy and sister before we left.

I would much rather have a normal conversation about dinosaurs or baseball. But we talk about what is meaningful in life, and our life is beyond normal.