Perhaps I am Still Dreaming

This ongoing public debate and quarreling over gun rights and gun control is causing me hair loss and beginning to affect my sleep; let me explain: My wife keeps telling me to stop rubbing my head because my hair appears to be thinning. Unfortunately, I cannot stop scratching my head due to the bizarre logic advanced by some folks suggesting that 'more guns' will reduce violence. The sleep deprivation is even a more problematic fall-out (pun intended) than the hair particles!

Okay, I wish to preface this disturbing dream before I give details. (I taught and coached in public high schools for 39-years. Late in my career, I was known to stay out of the teachers' lounge where I found too many educators complaining about kids and I would also often skip those long-winded boring teachers' meetings where administrators explained some new innovation, which meant we would all be spending more time shuffling papers back and forth and less time doing instructional things for students).

Okay, now my dream...

The dream begins as I hear the school's intercom click-on and a P. A. voice begins to explain how students are reminded to 'lock their guns in P. E. lockers before going to the gym for class.' (Holy crap, I did not attend that teachers' meeting notifying us that kids now have guns at school). Later, my dream unfolds in a hallway of the school where Billy is talking to his girlfriend Mary. Bob comes up to the couple and pushes Billy. Billy quickly reaches into his back pack and Bob pulls out his gun and shoots Billy. As Billy falls to the floor he is holding his cell phone, which he retrieved from the back pack not a gun, which Bob thought he had.

 Billy dies in that North hallway. I use my Walkie-Talkie to contact the main office to inform them of the incident. I assured them that the custodians were prompt removing the body and cleaning up before the passing bell rang because I just new that would be a concern of School Board members who just approved money for purchasing new carpeting. I then posed my question for the administration, "Am I responsible for notifying the authorities and Billy's parents or is that an administrative duty?"

I awakened from this nightmare and after fighting to return to sleep, I got out of bed and watched a previously recorded Sean Hannity Fox News program. Hannity was interviewing Senator Lindsey Graham who was explaining how teachers and theater ushers armed with guns could have returned the gun-fire and subsequently reduced the total numbers killed by madmen. Really? This is our 2013, solution to a problem we once 'solved' settling the Western frontier nearly 200 years ago???