Sadly, I can’t name any of the victims of the Columbine High School tragedy . . . but I remember the names of the cowards who committed that heinous atrocity. . .

I can’t name any of the victims of the Oklahoma City Bombing . . . but I remember the name of the cowardly monster convicted and put to death for that almost unspeakable act . . .

Other than David Koresch, I can’t remember the names of the victims of the Waco, Texas massacre . . . but I remember the name of the attorney general who approved that attack . . .

I applaud FoxNews and other mainstream media outlets who have decided to stop airing the rantings of the cowardly murderer who shall not be named on this blog. It’s time to differentiate between the ramblings of a madman and a manifesto. I only hope that the airing of his vile “poop” hasn’t inspired other troubled, mentally ill, loner, sun-glass wearing, picked-on in high school, losers to follow suit. His meaningless opinions mean nothing to me. I would much rather be hearing the opinions, hopes, dreams and plans of the people he took from us . . . they matter . . . he does not.

Now is the time for healing: A grieving family, friends and community knows no politics. They only know that suddenly there is a giant hole in the place where their hearts used to be . . life as they knew it, as recently as this past Sunday, will never be the same. To them, it doesn’t matter if the cowardly murderer who will not be named on this blog was influenced by the far left, the far right or far away space aliens. It simply does not matter.

Yesterday, at the convocation at Virginia Tech, Governor Kaine reminded us of what sets Virginia apart from other states - we are not just lines on a map, we are a commonwealth, a community. That is so very evident here in Martinsville. If I wasn’t still reeling from the shock of this tragedy, I’d swear there was a VT football game being held here. Everywhere you go you see old men in VT baseball hats, kids in VT t-shirts and hoodies - even some car flags!  I guess scenes like this are being played out all over our commonwealth.  If any good can be drawn from this horrific event, I hope that it can be a continued spirit of unity.

Certainly bickering over blogrolls at a time like this is not only petty, it’s absurd.

My Yoda sent me this message after she paid her respects on the drill field at Tech today:

Today was sad and yet hopeful. I was not the only alumnus there. I saw people that graduated 30 years ago and just as recently as last May. One girl standing next to me by the big VT erected by on the edge of the Drill Field. She graduated last year and we both exchanged smiles and tears and shock. Many alumnus brought their children. I am grateful to the person that erected this VT. It gives all of us Hokies a place to focus the pain.

Maybe I am sounding selfish when I say this (or naive) but I still can’t understand…Blacksburg? On a campus where ROTC, hippies and frat kids can exist peacefully for all these years (one friend of mine a few years ago mentioned “one nation, under the Hokie Bird.”)? And the guy was an English major! Those were the most laid back people I knew (except for their OCD belief in correct spelling…BAH!). Of course, after seeing the video tape, for an English major he did not seem to speak or write very well.

This is sad…and it sounds like to me after all this latest news that the system at VT for tracking issues like this needs to be updated. And hopefully other schools will learn a lesson from this. Of course, weren’t schools supposed to learn something after Columbine?

I, like so many others, keep wavering between anger, sorrow, and hope…

I write that the day was hopeful not only because of the sun that was shining but I saw so many people reaching out to help. As I said earlier other alumni were there…to heal wounds and to just listen. Ivan asked me “Is it normal for all of these people to wear the school colors like this every day?” By the looks of it, until you got to the Drill Field you would have believed it was football Saturday. There is a pride there that I can’t fully explain. So many students stayed as if defiant against this aggression…this is our school and we are not leaving!

I have never felt more proud to be a Hokie.

This unity may be tested in the days to come as Scott has heard “distant rumblings” that a nasty hate group might try to spread their venom at the funerals of our fallen:

I have heard some rumblings throughout some law enforcement circles and others that Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church hate group (www.godhatesfags.org) are planning to disrupt as many Virgina Tech funerals as possible with protests.

This is the group, that has in the past, disrupted funerals of fallen service members from Afghanistan and Iraq as well as other conflicts.

I have contacted the Patriot Guard Riders, and although this is outside of their charter, I am hoping they can shed some light on the rumor and if true, position some Riders to shield the families.

Legally, there is very little law enforcement would be able to do as long as the protesters did not interfere with the funeral or create a disturbance.

If you hear of something like this please let me know.

To them I say, “Bring it on!” We’ve only just begun to unite and you ain’t seen nothin’ yet . . .

Today and in the coming days of healing,

WE ARE ALL HOKIES.

Godspeed.

Editor’s note: I am one of the 12,000 people without electricity in the Martinsville/Henry Co. area. When it’s restored, you best believe I have a lot to say about this tragedy.