To the heartbroken people of Lewiston, Maine:
I wrap my arms around you all and ever so lovingly and gently welcome you all into “The Club” that you never wanted to join. We all wish it didn’t exist and none of us wanted to be in it. Pathetically, it is not in the least exclusive or selective, it takes any and there are no requirements or tests to pass.
My dad was the first member of our family to be in “The Club.” He was born and raised in Chardon, Ohio.
Mass shooting, 2012.
In his 40’s dad married mom and he moved to her hometown in the east to raise a family; the children all went to the grade school that he helped build in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.
Another shooting, 2012.
Their first grandchild went to college in Lewiston, Maine.
Yet another, 2023.
Our folks, and far too many others, are embracing your loved ones above. And sadly, you, like me, are here and will forever be asking: “How did I get into this club”?
Forever and regrettably changed, like you,
Susan Osborne White, Newtown, Connecticut
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