Random Violence

My heart is heavy this morning as I sit here watching the news and drinking my coffee. I feel so helpless as I hear the circumstances surrounding TaJanay Bailey, the 3-year-old angel who's life was cut absurdly short by her parents. It seems so senseless. I try to come to terms with this violence and I'm not sure how. I'm sure you feel the same. As I look at my own little girl sleeping safely in her bed, I hurt for all the children who are victims of abuse and neglect. It doesn't help knowing that, at any given moment, I can turn on the news and hear of any number of cases of children who are victimized. I worry that our society will continue to become desensitized to these reports when instead, we should continue our quest to become educated and take ownership of our community, to question and challenge, to hopefully make a difference to at least one victim.

There are also the random acts of violence like the shooting that occurred up in the Geist neighborhood yesterday. Lavon Boyd, 25, decided to take a gun from his families home and visit the local Speedway station. When he arrived, a beautiful stay-at-home mother caught his eye.

Holly Corey, 49, stopped to get gas on her way to pick up her son from school. Boyd decided to shoot her while she was swiping her credit card at the pump. After shooting her, he decided to fire his weapon at an off duty secret service officer who happened to be at the station. He missed his target. Boyd's next bullet found his own head as he took his life a few feet away from the destruction he left behind. Holly never made it to pick up her son. Holly will never make her family another dinner. Holly died at the hospital.

It was coincidental that the parties involved ended up at the Speedway gas station at the exact same moment. Could anything have been done to prevent this senseless tragedy? There were so many factors playing a role in this with mental illness being a major contributor. Regardless, there are two families in mourning. There are friends, relatives and neighbors in mourning. Everyone wants to ask Why???

I do not have the answers. I do know that we cannot throw up our hands and resign ourselves to the fact that we have to accepting violence that seems so prevalent in our society.

This morning, I am grateful for my little house on 3rd street. I am safe here and it is because of our community. It is because of our public safety officials. It is because of people like you who care enough to get involved and stay involved. It is because I know we are pulling together as a group, one person at a time, to make Beech Grove safe for our children and the residents that call this community home.

I leave you with this: There is a story about a little boy walking the beach. During his daily walk, he would see hundreds of starfish that had washed upon the shore. He would take the time to throw them back into the ocean. A man saw the little boy diligently throwing the starfish back into the ocean, but with every wave, more starfish would wash back upon the shore.

The man approached the boy and asked him why he was wasting his time. The man told the boy that he could never make a difference. It was just too large of a task to overtake. The boy picked up another starfish and threw it with all his might back into the ocean. The little boy smiled at the man and said "I made a difference to that one".

We can make a difference. One starfish at a time!

Be safe and give your kids and spouse a hug today!

Kim