Well done, Charles.

wow

"It lays its eggs in his eyes."

I think Layne might have appreciated your writing here. This was good, Charles, thanks.

Nothing scarier than dying alone and no one even knowing.

Wow. I'm speechless.

The Times report that what "refugees experienced in Cambodia still haunt them and can exacerbate underlying mental-health problems" be a whole book, and it's nice to consider the idea in this article.
Every time I walk by the apartment across from Jackson Park golf course where the murderer and his brother lived in 2006, that loner who meet some teenagers at a rave, nvited to an afterparty, sprayed the afterparty with bullets and then kills himself, seven dead. I've always wondered what mental health issue precipitated that when I walk by with my dog.
News is just who died, your writing is why someone might be remembered. Great writing engages the reader, as yours does.

@4 - We all die alone. What's scary is living alone and no one even knowing.

Well I didn't hate that article .

Nicely done, Charles. Thanks.

"Victory Grocery, a business that two months from now will be robbed by three armed men in dark clothes."

There but for the lack of a hyphen is a wonderful mutant crime spree.

The survivors of that West Seattle shooting need your help. Read this and then donate.

==========================================
Dear Friend,

I'd like to share with you and experience that I just had. At 11:00 this morning, I met with the surviving members of the family that was massacred in West Seattle. If you need a the background story, I enclosed two article links below. To summarize, the grandmother of the Phan/Harm family, who lived through the genocidal Khmer Rouge attacks of Cambodia PTSD, went off of her medication that helped her deal with her PTSD and fatally shot five members of her family in West Seattle. Her youngest grandchild, Nivia, age 7, was home from school day with a 101 degree fever and witnessed the killings of her father, two sisters(one of whom was pregnant) and the shooting of her mother,Thyda. Grandmother then tried to shoot Nivia, but she ran out of bullets and while she was reloading, Nivia's 17 year old brother, Kevin, grabbed Nivia and threw her out the window, he then fled himself. As this was happening, grandfather was coming home and heard the final shots as he opened the door, he saw the grandmother take her own life.

They were here at the agency today because they need help. They need counseling, community, love and financial support.

Please join me in contributing what you can; the family is in desperate need of $1800 to pay for the repairs that their landlord is charging them for the damages. Because most of their furniture was bloodstained, or worse, they need furniture and mattresses. The missed shots destroyed many household items as well, so glasses, pots, pillows, etc. would be greatly appreciated too.

The mother is still healing from her gunshot wounds and cannot work. The surviving family is in great need of emotional support, which they will receive from counselors at SWYFS, but they need the basics taken care of, including the $1800 debt, in order to start the healing process, so please if you can donate any money, do. If you would rather support the family with a Safeway or Albertson's gift card, they greatly need money for food as well. Or, if you have any gently used household items, they would be appreciated as well.

The Phan/Harm family are currently living in temporary housing, but we are working with them to find permanent housing near the children's schools.

I was able to spend time with Nivia today and we were able to talk about some of her favorite things; stuffed animals, Barbie, movies and books. She would very much like to read the The Magic Treehouse series and is going to be a cat for Halloween. I looked into her eyes and saw joy there; she is very resilient. She was even able to laugh a bit, but told me she can not sleep because she has nightmares; and wasn't at school today because when she is able to sleep it is on the floor and that that is very uncomfortable and her mother wanted her to get her rest today.

Please keep her and her family in your prayers or thoughts.

Below is a link where you can make a donation. My goal is to raise/have pledges for the whole $1800 by end of day tomorrow. Please work with me so that this can happen for the family. Feel free to call me with questions, or come by the agency to drop off any donations. If you would like to send in a check, a gift card to the grocery store or a letter of encouragement/support, please mail it to:

SWYFS

Attention: Phan/Harm family support

4555 Delridge Way SW

Seattle, WA 98106

Many thanks for rallying with us for the Phan/Harm Family.

Yours,

Cara

For your records, our tax ID # is:911-17862

Donate here link: http://swyfs.org/support_us/
======================================

West Seattle shooting needs help

http://westseattleblog.com/2010/10/famil…

thanks fnart, just saw your post, you beat me to it

WOW I didn't know about the 'Rock Star' story
thanks Charles - I might go stare at the condo on Halloween night

"Then the gun jammed—an act of God."

Charles, you should know better than to manufacture drama where drama already exists.

God does not "jam" pistols.

@19: Charles doesn't believe in God. The phrase, to him, means the same thing as "through fortunate happenstance."

Charles, this is a beautifully poetic article. Philosophies, understandings, misunderstandings of death and dying. Thank you for writing it.

Fnarf, thanks for moving us from the philosophical towards the practical. Both are needed in the face of great tragedy.

great article. envoked thoughts about this I hadn't thought of before. very well done.