Monday, April 09, 2018
A Long Ways to Go
Marjory
Stoneman Douglas was an American pioneer who grew up in Florida. She
became an author, a journalist, and a devout conservationist. One of
her chief life ambitions was to preserve “The Everglades”.
Throughout her life she fought efforts to drain the Everglades to
reclaim land for development. Many of the modern Floridian cities
were forged from reclaimed land, swamp land essentially, when the
mangroves were torn up and the canals routed to the nearest rivers
and oceans. As a tribute to her success, a school was named after her
in Parkland, Florida, just north of Fort Lauderdale and Miami, on the
East Coast. Marjorie Stoneman died when she was 108.
There are
thousand of schools named after good citizens who contributed much to
their local communities. It is a fine way to recognize those who have
shown good community spirit. Most of those schools remain unknown,
nationally and internationally. Tragically, the school named after
Marjory Stoneman has become infamous.
Last
Valentine's Day, as students were preparing to head home from school,
a lone gunman raced down the halls, and open fired on the crowds with
an attack weapon. He killed 17 students and teachers, and wounded 17
others. It left a community in despair, and a nation in shock.
One graduate
of the school who was deeply troubled by the massacre is Anthony
Rizzo. Rizzo now plays for the Chicago Cubs. It just so happened that
more than a year ago, the Cubs had been slated to open their 2018
season in Miami. Rizzo remembers his high school days fondly, as do
most of us. In a nutshell, he said, that's “where I grew up”.
The day
after the shootings, Rizzo delivered an emotional speech at the vigil
for the victims. Understandable, he was deeply affected by the
horror. Several other athletes and their families were also affected
by the events. The Florida Panthers practise hockey in an arena not
far from the school, and many players and team personnel live in
gated communities in the area.
Rizzo was
expected to attend university after high school, but chose to sign
with the Red Sox. In 2009, he began moving up the chain, with stints
in Salem, and the Florida Gulf Coast Red Sox. He was traded to the
Padres on June 9, 2011. He made his Major League debut a year later
on June 6, 2012.
Rizzo stands
at 6' 3” and tips the scales at 240. The rangy first baseman really
hit his stride after he was traded to the Cubs. He was an all star in
2014, 2015, and 2016, and won the Gold Glove Award in 216. He was one
of the key ingredients in the Cubbies World Series victory in 2016.
He has averaged almost 100 runs batted in, 30 home runs, and a .267
batting average with the Cubs.
All of the
uniforms of the Cubs and the Marlins had a “MSD” badge front and
centre. Rightfully so. As we have seen, the world has changed because
of the events of that day. There has been great discussion about gun
laws, with some legislative changes. The enormous power of the
National Rifle Association has been challenged. Students from the
school have taken to the podia of the world to spread the message
that this should never happen again, anywhere.
There has
been an enormous outpouring of sympathy for the community, and the
students. Politicians are now pondering the rights and wrongs of
possession of assault weapons, for citizens. This is not the first
time that such a tragic event has occurred. Sadly, it will not be the
last. Not only do these things happen in America. Man has shown
inhumanity world-wide. It is up to the rest of us to work hard to
reduce the chances of it ever happening again.
I would
venture to say that Anthony Rizzo feels the same way.
James Hurst
April 2,
2018
# posted by James Hurst @ 7:42 AM 
