Not to put a damper on this day made for expressions of love, but evil unfolds as it wishes regardless of special dates on a calendar. Eleven years ago today, Valentine’s Day, my daughter was in her final semester at Northern Illinois University. I happened to be on the phone with her discussing car issues when her roommate frantically called from a building next to another where a mass shooting suddenly was in motion. It was surreal. All other issues vanished. People were being killed randomly blocks away from my daughter, as we spoke, and a stone’s throw away from her terrified roommate. Horrible day. As you’d imagine, I was just grateful to know my daughter was safe before news of the tragedy even broke.

To state the obvious, school shootings need to end. Even more obvious, that’s no easy task. Bad stuff always slips through the cracks. More and more bad stuff too often seems like the new norm. As evidenced by today’s also being the one-year anniversary of the Parkland School Massacre.

Each new school shooting dulls memories of previous ones. Then there’s the passage of time. But all victims and their families need remembering, and honoring. Their sacrifices have been unimaginable.