Another Service for Newtown

via washingtonpost.com

What more is there left for me to say?

On Tuesday night, I covered another vigil. Planned quickly in Coventry, the service had a decent turnout at the high school.

I knew what to expect, but I was completely unaware of just how sad this one was going to be.

In my head, I was anticipating something a bit more cheerful and full of hope. I envisioned local legislators and town officials calling for time to heal and to slowly start the process of moving forward.

I was wrong. I almost lost it a few times that night.

Walking into the auditorium, you saw 26 electric candles with 26 names in front of them. I had to stop and catch myself before I started talking to people. That alone set the tone for the rest of the night. It ended up being a great story.

And again, I didn’t talk to any person who was crying. I just can’t bring myself to do it.

Almost everyone who spoke was overcome with emotions. I really can’t blame them. It’s been gut-wrenching to cover these and I have another tonight in Lebanon. It’s getting both easier and harder to write these. Easier because I know what my editors are looking for and harder because it’s like I’m reliving last Friday all over again.

I’m not dreading tonight’s service, but I have my guard up.

I think I’m going to do a post next week as a roundup on the three vigils. It won’t be a summary, but rather a reflection of what I’ve learned about myself and the communities that we cover. It’ll be another tough one to write, but it’s important to get that on here. It’s one thing for me to give some insight, but its another to really get into what I’m learning and doing, while on the job.

At least this week is almost over.

Jonathan