Thunderous quiet
NASA Langley is actually rather pretty in many spots… away from the streets of the base, you get tree-lined walks punctuated with sculpture, providing lotsa good places to sit and eat lunch when the weather’s good.
One of those areas was colored purple and orange for an hour today as the base held a small ceremony for the Tech victims. I’m no good at counting crowds, but easily a hundred of the people here came out for the memorial. I exchanged small talk with Lloyd Eldred, and saw many of my Desktop Support co-workers as well. Some disturbance floated over from the Air Force base, where Joint Strike Fighters were practicing for next week’s air show, but we forged ahead.
Forging ahead – that was my epiphany during the ceremony. To hell with Cho Seung-hui. If the best legacy he can leave the world is the death of some innocent bystanders – if all he ever wanted was to remembered as a homicidal cretin – then he’s got it. The rest of us will mourn, and hurt, and then get on with our lives despite him.
There are folks out there who are already turning his sickness into works of art; turning his ugliness into beauty, and togetherness, and hope. We can always defeat these random acts of destructiveness as long as we’re willing to take a deep breath, straighten our shoulders, and forge ahead.
Tags: philosophy, work
