Orlando

Here we are in Florida, the gulf side, near Tampa.  Jesse (8), Anna, Chris (my nephew who is also 15) and us, the stalwart keepers.  We arrived Saturday afternoon and only left the beach to eat or sleep.  My biggest fear as we settled in to the mini vacation was sharks.  It is now day 4, our unbitten bodies varying in color from coconut to pink.  We were watching TV on a couch that I was sure was dirty but forgot to care.  Because Orlando.  I'm stunned.  I almost hate to comment as words, any words fail me in the face of this tragedy.

For Jesse I'm going with Mr. Rogers and long walks on the beach.

The older kids, I am encouraging them to watch how this all unfolds.  I mean we are in Florida, maybe we should pay our respects somehow in person.  I'm working this through when I see the shooter's dad come on.  It was just a snippet, but apparently this parent of the year is in complete denial or a fantastic liar.  

He said he was just as surprised as we were.  He said if he had any idea his kid would do this he would've called the FBI himself.  He says he was raised in a loving home.  He said all of this with dry eyes.  I'm calling bullshit on this.  What did he think his kid was up to when he cheered during 9/11 while his classmates cried?  What did he think his kid was doing to get investigated by the FBI?  Be on a watchlist?!  I'm saying 100% bull crap because, as a parent, you know.  He knew.

My kid once got accused of tearing letters off a door and breaking perfume bottles in a bathroom at a party we attended as a family.  Not only did we leave before the Jaeger came out, my son had a new girl friend with whom he texted 500 times that evening.  500 times.  When I say you know your kid, I mean had they said, "Hey, someone left a blunt..."  I would have looked at my kid immediately.  Breaking bottles of perfume and baby letter's was not his thing.  Luckily, because of the 500 texts and the investigative skills of his dad, our kid was absolved of this crime.  Although, had he done it, we would not have closed our eyes.

My point here is you know your kid.  I do not believe this dad.  I do not believe he had no idea what his son's political views were.  Nor do I believe he was raised in a loving home.  I believe he was taught this kind of hate.  This dad claims he was blind sided by the behavior of his kid is only lying to himself, I'm not buying it.  He knew his son's derision towards gays, women, blacks, and hispanics -that is a lot of hate.  This father failed his child.

Get your kids people.

“Sharks have everything a scientist dreams of. They're beautiful―God, how beautiful they are! They're like an impossibly perfect piece of machinery. They're as graceful as any bird. They're as mysterious as any animal on earth. No one knows for sure how long they live or what impulses―except for hunger―they respond to. There are more than two hundred and fifty species of shark, and everyone is different from every other one.” 
― Peter Benchley, Jaws