VT

Yesterday, about one o'clock in the afternoon, I became filled with the need to hear my son's voice.

All morning long I had been watching the massacre at Virginia Tech unfold. VT is a school Andrew and I visited during his college search. We spent the day touring the campus, talking to professors, and looking in dorms. I liked Tech. The curriculum was strong, the area scenic, and its football team on the upswing. He could go there and I would be happy. But for reasons that elude me now, VT didn't figure into Andrew's plans. Maybe Blacksburg was too small, too country, or too far away. But for whatever reason, Andrew declined the 300-mile, 5-hour drive to VT. He opted for Maryland.

Despite its distance, however, Virginia Tech draws many Maryland students. I know four Howard County families with children there and know of a few more. Several of Andrew's high school friends go there. VT has become one of the schools talented Maryland students naturally consider when they are looking for universities. In this sense, Virginia Tech is not "far away."

Right after lunch, when the CNN body count ticked upward yet again, a small twinge of concern flicked through me. "Let's just give Andrew a call and see how he's doing," I thought. It wasn't rational. I knew he was safe. But I wanted to talk to him nonetheless.

He sounded very glum on the phone. I think he was a little freaked-out despite his tendency - the tendency of many young people - to separate from unpleasant things. But he couldn't make this unpleasant thing be something else, be something different, be something far away. He's in college; this is a college. He's an engineer; they were engineers. His close high school friends - Mike and Steve and Ivy - could be hurt or worse. "Yeah, I heard about it" was about all he said. I think he knew if a murderous rampage could occur in Blacksburg, it could occur in College Park or Charlottesville or Winston-Salem or Clemson. He realized that Virginia Tech was a lot closer than he thought. It wasn't "far away."

Not far away at all.
K-