April 17....here or there...not a very good day.

As I left the house around 8:00 this morning and was gone until early evening, I didn't hear the news that came from Virginia until late this afternoon. What a tragedy. And one that will probably never be completely explained.
I first heard about it when I went into the small grocery store that I have been going to for the past 10 years....three or four people stopped me to comment on the situation...but, since that was the first time to hear of it, I wasn't sure that I was hearing correctly. I could understand the main details and then the comments of how America is such a dangerous place...all the guns..."abunai" ("danger").
I think that, when something like this happens (think the Oklahoma bombings, Columbine, 9-11, any shopping center/random shooting, just to name a few) the American government should give us 'ex-patriots' a stipend for our "damage control" that we do. I found myself, once again, defending the United States, saying that it really isn't that dangerous, there ARE very safe places to go....etc. etc. etc.
Then...tonight...around 8:00...as he was returning to his campaign headquarters, the Mayor of Nagasaki was shot...two times, in the back...and is now, as I write this, still in critical condition.
Mr. Iccho Itoh, is running for his fourth term as our Mayor....he has devoted so much of his time to the cause of getting rid of all nuclear weapons...but, as Kiyoshi reminded me...not everyone agrees with him everytime he talks. Seems as if, the shooter was someone with a grudge with the city over an accident...but also has yakuza ties. Other stories, true or not I don't know, are coming out....but still....the fact is...people were hurt today and people died...not a good day.
I pray for those in Virginia...and for Mr. Itoh and his family....