Thursday, June 16, 2016

To Orlando, With Love

Orlando, it's been a really rough week hasn't it?  I've sat down to write this so many times, but I couldn't seem to find the words to describe the events of the past few days.

Heartbroken.  I think that's the only word that really matters.

We heard about the shooting of Voice signer Christina Grimmie when Sara and Elissa were watching the news one night.  We later found out she passed away from those wounds.  I couldn't imagine how someone could end the life of someone so talented.  I don't watch the Voice and I didn't follow Christina, but I was still saddened and upset by the loss of a young person with so much more potential and more dreams to fulfill.

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Unfortunately, the sad news didn't end there.  I was the first one of us to learn of the Orlando nightclub shooting since I woke up really early Sunday morning.  I started playing on my phone when I saw the news on Facebook.  A few hours later, the death toll climbed from 20 to 49.  I was sickened at the very thought.  Honestly, I still can't wrap my head around it.  49 people died for no reason.  49 lives were cut short.  49 stories ended abruptly.  How could this happen?  What's happened to humanity?

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I think of Orlando as the home of my happy place.  To me, Walt Disney World has always been a place filled with laughter, fun, happy memories and most importantly, love.  I spent our last day at Disneyland with my heart, thoughts and prayers over in Orlando.  Our little "Disney bubble" had shattered a bit.  We might be across the country, but you could still feel the sadness and sorrow.

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A few days later, as I was slowly trying to come to terms with what happened at the nightclub, a two year old boy lost his life to an alligator at my happy place.  Walt Disney World turned into a place of nightmares as rescuers did everything they could to try to find him.  The story did not have a happy ending; although, I am incredibly thankful that rescuers were able to find his body so the family can have some closure.

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My heart aches for the parents and sister of the little boy.  I'm also heartbroken for Christina Grimmie's family, friends and fans.  My heart breaks for the family and friends of the victims of the nightclub shooting, as well as the entire LGBT community.

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Sometimes, I really wonder about humanity and where our world is headed.  Things like this make me question humanity as a whole.  But there are always good stories to come out of the bad ones.  I still believe that good will always outnumber evil.  "When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me 'Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.'" -Fred Rogers

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Orlando has pulled together just as Paris, Boston, New York, and other communities have in the aftermath of horrific events.  I'm especially impressed with the theme park industry.  This must be an incredibly hard time for them.  Still, the staff, cast members, performers and characters have all banded together in a show of love and support.

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And I think that's what life's all about.  Kindness, love and laughter create happily ever after.  The world already has too much hate in it.  I think we need to spread more love.

Stay strong Orlando.  Know that my thoughts and prayers are with all of you.

"How do you spell love?" -Piglet  
"You don't spell it... you feel it." -Pooh (-A.A. Milne)  °o°

(Note: The Disney cast member photos were all shared here.  They're from different people but they've been shared so much I couldn't find all of the original sources.)

2 comments:

  1. Amen....

    Well said

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    Replies
    1. Thank you. I struggled with putting words to it, but I finally found them.

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