What's Wrong/Right with People?

What motivates a person to set a bomb off? Or to start a fire, shoot innocent children, send poison through the mail, rape? Do we all start out okay, and somewhere along the line, certain people go off the rails of normal human behavior? Or, do some people just start with a pre-disposition to hate? I don't have the answer to those questions/ponderings. Unfortunately nobody does.

Thank goodness there are more decent people than bad people. And then there are the heroes. The ones I hear about and think "Whoa! What a thing they've done." or "That person exemplifies all that is right in this world - I want to be more like her/him." CBS news often has stories on their Friday night news about people like that. NBC does it too. People who feed the hungry in their towns, or start music programs from nothing. Those stories inspire me.

Photo from the Vail website

There was a story on NBC about the Adaptive programs in Vail, where my sis lives and works for Vail Resorts. Vail Veterans ProgramsThe program is set up to help injured veterans do the things they loved prior to their injuries. I saw another story about a similar program run by a vet running a biking program.

I have seen stories about amputees visiting the Boston bombing victims who have lost limbs. Their message is one of encouragement. One young man was a double leg amputee - he walked into the hospital room of victims. Another young girl lost a leg in an accident - her friend drove into her, crushing her leg. She too visited victims. A soccer player before her accident - she switched to the goalie position and still plays the game. I love that spirit!

I don't know how I'd react if I was faced with the trauma those people have been. And why? Because evil young men just felt like it - because of hate. And it all took place in a matter of seconds - fate and destiny. I'm sure the victims feel a great deal of anger, sadness and loss. Why them? Others who were nearby may be wondering  - why wasn't it me? Life is so random. And unfair - there's no doubt about it.

Speaking of good peeps, we ran into our longtime friend Jane Ertl's guy, Ken Root at Court Avenue Brewing Thursday night. We were there for a gathering with Paul's work group - mostly retirees from his agency. Ken told us (and he was kinda giddy) he's moving east to Dyersville this week. Yay! He's a radio guy and can ply his trade from any location. Though this means we won't see Jane in DSM anymore, unless her business brings her here - I guess we'll have to head that way to see them. We'll take our kayaks and our bikes!

Jane and Ken