We Can Try

Be Brave Friday: Lockdowns at the high school.

Today, someone called in a threat to our high school.

It was a hoax.

I know that in so many places and homes violence isn’t a hoax, right?

But even when it’s not real, when there isn’t a guy outside the school with a gun threatening the people inside, which is what the phone call said, it creates fear and anxiety in a lot of people.

When the call came through, Jack the Dog was at the vet. And I was like, “Shaun! You need to leave! Get the camera. Tell them we’ll pay them later! Go!”

This isn’t because we were worried about our own high-school aged kid who we knew was personally safe. It’s because we knew that we need to try to convey as much accurate, verified information as possible so that other people knew what was going on.

That’s meant to be a main point of the press.

So, we dropped everything and he went. Shaun saw people scared for their kids. He took photos. He relayed information that the police chief and others wanted us to get out there.

I tried to put out the best, accurate information I could—not to be first, not for clicks, but because I knew people in our community would be scared.

That’s what matters, right?

We need to remember that’s what matters. Information. Kindness. Support. Community.

When Shaun was there, a woman tried to move through the woods to get up to the high school, which is nestled there. Because the law enforcement officers were making sure no one was lurking in the woods, this was pretty dangerous, but totally understandable thing that she was trying to do, but it was dangerous for her

So, a park ranger/law enforcement officer stopped her. She was upset. He ended up kneeling, on her level, to try to comfort her and explain. He didn’t have to be kind. He chose it.

We all have that choice. We aren’t going to make that choice perfectly every day or week. I certainly fail all the time. But we can try.

We can try.

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All photos are Shaun Farrar.

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QUICK NOTE.

This blog/newsletter/Substack/whatever will always be free to read (except for Saturday’s writing posts, but it’s also how I pay my bills. If a paid subscription is way too big an ask, I’m always thankful for help buying dog treats. Or, honestly, just sharing that this Substack exists is cool.

I usually send these emails twice a week.

*My WRITE BETTER NOW posts also come twice a week if you sign up for them, too, which you should.

And COMFORTING is where I just have no filter at all and am totally schmaltzy is here. That’s once a week.

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