Kathryn Mayer • Writing Out Loud
I write stuff down. writer • humorist • activist
Originally written on December 17, 2012. The media is suffocating, clogging the roads and parking lots with bright lights and satellite dishes and polished professionals putting on too much makeup in their caravans before venturing out to stick a camera in our weary faces. But I don’t want them to go away. Because as hard as it is to see my quiet sleepy town on the 24 hour news cycle,
It’s taking me a while to figure all this out, and I still don’t know what to do or how to do it. There is no handbook for the aftermath of … after. what will people say? what if someone gets hurt? i have a responsibility. protect my friends. promote change. advocate. advocate. keep private. speak up. be quiet. protest. go home. talk about it. say nothing. hug. hide. what will
So today my family waited in line for hours and hours to pay our respects to a young boy who died too soon. Again. We went went to the calling hours with hundreds and hundreds of Newtown friends, students, teachers, families, coaches and neighbors for a 13 year old boy from my kid’s 7th grade class who died “unexpectedly” at home. 13. Just 13. Thirteen. 7th grade. Pollywogs and skateboards.
Sorry for the absence, but I’ve been busy. Driving carpool, cooking casseroles, writing letters, making phone calls, crying, attending meetings, losing friends, working, making friends, mending broken hearts, lobbying congress, watching sports, writing more letters, crying, joining groups, quitting groups, hugging kids, visiting colleges, working, momming, driving. Trying my best to be a worthy ambassador for Newtown every single day. Trying to figure out what to do next. What we can possibly
The media is suffocating, clogging the roads and parking lots with bright lights and satellite dishes and polished professionals putting on too much makeup in their caravans before venturing out to stick a camera in our weary faces.But I don’t want them to go away. Because as hard as it is to see my quiet sleepy town on the 24 hour news cycle, it is far far worse to turn
My town is grieving. Again. We lost one of the good guys. The really, really good guys who makes you want to be a better person every single day. You know those dads. The ones that don’t seem to have a job? They’re everywhere: coaching, open house, clinics, dance recitals. Football fields, lacrosse games, art shows. They not only have time for their own kids, but they make time for
An irreverent storyteller with a foul mouth and big heart, Kathryn Mayer (aka Kathy and/or Kate) is a writer, humorist, and (former) activist writing out loud with humor and grace about little life moments with big ripples, including the space between parenting and aging parents, social issues, angsty reflections of midlife, and, sigh, gun humpers. Still. Sometimes a big deal, sometimes not Mayer is a national award-winning columnist, according to the National Society of Newspaper Columnists, and her essays have been recognized as Voice of … Read More Here...
kate[at]kathrynmayer[dot]com
xo Kate