Back in the middle of this past May, Sally and I went full swing into some of the summer activities we had planned, praying all the while that Mother Nature would be kind to us, as many of the things we wanted to do involved being outdoors. Our journey really started with the start of baseball season, but the games we attended in April were in temperatures somewhere between 30 and 40. May’s weather didn’t start much better and the first big trip we planned was in Mid-May and it was Cleveland, to Canton, to Portland, TN and back home, so we hoped we’d get some warmer weather, and maybe a little sunshine too. It wasn’t too bad, though the baseball games in Cleveland were played in some colder temps than you’d like to feel at a baseball game. Canton was amazing. It was great and our first visit to the Pro Football Hall of Fame was a huge thrill. The traveling weather to Tennessee was great, as was traffic too, as it was a very smooth ride with virtually no construction to deal with and no delays or jams. While in Tennessee, we were lucky to have been spared by severe storms and possible tornados, which did hit, but north of where we were, but we escaped any danger.

While in Tennessee, at times we needed to recharge our batteries, and aching muscles resulting from playing with two little girls (Itzy 4 and Bell 5) and their brother, eight-year-old Xavier, who just started his first year of baseball (guess what he and Great-Grandpa did in the backyard?), so we needed some recharge periods to build up some new energy. We stayed with our daughter, Chasity, and she didn’t have network TV, so I got to resort to one of my most favorite things to do, that being channel surfing on the streaming channels of which Chas was a subscriber. I do the same thing at Jon’s in Virginia, and usually end up with two favorite shows, one being The Odd Couple, and the other, The West Wing. So, I had somewhere to start and lo and behold, I found both of those.

While watching The West Wing, and getting into Season 4, Martin Sheen’s character, President Josiah Bartlett, delivered a speech after a mass shooting resulting in the deaths of multiple people, many of them young people. I truly believe (my opinion) The West Wing was one of the top five programs ever on television. It had an amazing cast ensemble, fantastic writers, it was extremely educational while also being very entertaining, and I love watching episode after episode when I get the chance to do so.

The speech referred to in the last paragraph said and says a lot of what is happening in our world today, and in our country today. Though the West Wing is fictious, the scenario, the actions, and the outcomes on The West Wing were definitely based on reality and happens, have happened, and sadly will probably happen again. The speech read…

“…More than any time in recent history America’s destiny is not of our own choosing. We did not seek, nor did we provoke an assault on our freedom and our way of life. We did not expect, nor did we invite a confrontation with evil. Yet the true measure of a people’s strength is how they rise to master that moment when it does arrive. Forty-four people were killed a couple of hours ago at Kinnesan State University. Three swimmers from the men’s team were killed, two others are in critical condition. When, after having heard the explosion from their practice facility, they ran into the fire to help get people out. Ran INTO the fire… The streets of Heaven are too crowded with Angels tonight. They’re our students and our teachers and our parents and our friends. The streets of Heaven are too crowded with Angels. But every time we think we have measured our capacity to meet a challenge, we look, and we are reminded that capacity may well be limitless. This is a time for American heroes. We will do what is hard. We will achieve what is great. This is a time for American heroes, and we reach for the stars. God bless their memory and God bless you all. And God bless the United States of America.”

Yes, we need heroes today. We need strong leaders to encourage us to lead other people in our own country and our world to end this senseless violence, hatred, and death, but first we need to learn to get along with each other. We need to lock arms with other Americans, not Political Party Americans, not religious sect Americans, not Americans of a particular race, creed, color, life preference, or any other outer or inner difference we may have. Instead, we need to lock arms with all “just plain” Americans, to work with each other, and not against each other, and live in a tolerant, accepting, kind America, and show the rest of the world we are not the people who live by the words on Facebook, or on politically biased news networks, or in riot groups building their own armies to promote and influence their own slighted agendas.

Maybe if we can do this, we won’t have to talk about the overcrowded streets of Heaven, as much as we have had to do these past 20 to 30 years or so. Food for thought?