Shot In The Head

So that title might be alarming, but that kind of stuff really happens. Sure, there’s not a high probability that YOU might be shot in the head (unless you work or live around repeated gunfire, I suppose), but it CAN happen.

It happened to a dry cleaner employee, Heather Brammer, in South Carolina just last month (August 22, 2008) and she’s lucky to be alive. She was shot in the back of her head, after the robber told her to lay on the floor, face down.

My point in this posting though isn’t the gruesome crime; you’d think it’d be, but it’s not.

What happened after she told her story on the Ellen Degeneres show yesterday (maybe today, I had it DVR’d so I can’t remember which day specifically) is what I’m worried about. Ellen gifted her with a 7-day all-expenses paid trip with her husband to Greece (a place she’s dreamed of going).

That’s still not my point (but it’s getting close).

I cried for her like a baby. A big, fat, boob. A blubbering idiot (I can say that if it’s about myself, can’t I?) Why in the world would I need to emit tears of joy for a complete stranger because she’s GOING TO GREECE?!? I dunno. But it’s irritating, to say the least. Crying at the drop of a hat isn’t admirable, unless it’s for an acting scene and the crew wants to be done with the day.

For instance, I was at a charity breakfast this morning (eeearly, mind you) for a local medically-fragile children’s facility, Children’s Country Home.

I didn’t cry!

However, I should explain that I certainly WANTED to cry and I really FELT LIKE crying, but I worked very hard to keep my composure and (I suppose) save the blubbering for the privacy of my own home. “Hmm, look at that strawberry and it’s colorings,” I thought as I took a deep breath and pushed the emotions down (which might be considered unhealthy, we should just let it all out, but I wasn’t ready). “There are some seeds and patches of yellow where it should be juicy red,” I thought as I got ready to look back up at the speaker.

“What were you doing at this breakfast,” you ask?

Well, last week at the Edmond’s Art Walk, I met artist and optician Lisa Norrgard who was visiting my artist friend, Jennifer Culp, who was displaying her work at the Edmonds John L Scott. Lisa and her husband’s optical store is 1/2 glasses and 1/2 artwork from local artists. Instead of charging a commission to show and sell art, they ask that the artist donate at least 20% of their sales to Children’s Country Home. At their fundraiser in December they donated $12,000.

Anywho, Jennifer and I were discussing the lack of notable art galleries in the Woodinville area and she thought Lisa and I might be able to brainstorm ways to change that. As we talked about that, CCH came up and she invited me to the fundraising breakfast at the Bear Creek Country Club. I’m a sucker for a free meal.

The presentations were terrific and the way the director of CCH, Diane Kolb, explained the importance of such a home couldn’t help but tug at everyones heart.

She talked about children who have been there since birth and others that came after sustaining a dangerous accident. One little girl’s entire immediate family perished in a car accident that left her paralyzed from the neck down and dependent upon 24-hour medical care.

A school teacher told the story of Britanny, who needed round-the-clock medical assistance that was difficult to arrange outside of the hospital because the lack of staff availability. Because she wasn’t able to come to school without a nurse aide (that wasn’t available) she had to stay at the hospital, away from her school friends and the classroom that brought her joy.

I guess starting my day off with stories of children who struggle got me more emotional than usual for the rest of the day. Although, I have been known to cry for the silliest of things… like a woman getting a vacation to Greece.

Guess it’s better to feel something than to feel nothing at all.

P.S. I get a lump in my throat when I see a person in military attire too. But, that’s normal, isn’t it?