Sandy Hook Elementary School: A Candlelight Vigil

The world was introduced to a small New England Community of Newtown, Connecticut this past week as an act of violence took 27 lives, 18 of which were children, in an elementary school. Holyoke Mass, a community I am a part of had a candle light vigil this past evening. When Mayor Alex Morse began reading the names of those who lost their lives, they went from victims to people. Real people with real names. Until that point I had not heard the names of those who were killed, they became not just a number, but a person. My uncle is a volunteer fire fighter in a town just around the corner from there. Through the degrees of separation, it could be a small margin in which I might have a connection to the people of Newtown. The community of Holyoke came out in the cold, held candles and each other. Sang in song and paid respects to the people of Newtown. If we can shed tears for people whom we do not know, we are more human than we thought. My camera is a device of preserving the memorial and the light of the candles that put out an ambient glow of memory.

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