This is basically an upbeat and unofficial guide to the area. But today I must take pause to mourn a family that has lost their lives in this community. I do not know them, nor am sure if I ever met them, but I feel a loss so great that I want to help. I do not know what I can do for now, except hugs my kids a little closer and volunteer my time at their school.

Last night an estranged husband took the life of a mother, and one of his 3 children while wounding another. There is no sense, no resolve, no bringing them back. I just visited a school where children have been damaged forever. You see, the children who were taken and the ones who survived, all attended the same school as my children. I just dropped off lunch for children and did some classroom volunteering, only to realize that the school was in mourning. A huge flow of counselors was on hand to help those grieve, adults and children both. The children attended Kinder, first & second grade.

cross-posted at NOLA.com
Red eyes were many in both students and staff. I may cry later, I may not. But today, this community mourns another senseless loss of lives.