Unless you’ve been meditating at a silent retreat in the last week, you’re likely aware of the school shootings in Perry, Iowa.
Until my brother reminded me, I did not grasp the personal connection: the principal, Dan Marburger, and his wife, Elizabeth, graduated high school with my sister. In a small school district, everyone knows everyone to some degree: elementary kids love call you by name when you walked by.
[Update: Dan Marburger died Jan 14, 2024 @ 8am.]
The Grapevine Kicks Into High Gear
More so than I, my sister stays connected with her high school classmates and, once she realized who might be involved, she reached out to whomever and then shared what she learned with me and my brother. The grapevine was very active: she knew that Dan was shot and the severity of his injuries before it was officially acknowledged. Very scary, very sad, this is not what teachers should be worried about.
I subsequently shared with my classmates who are no longer in the midwest, thinking they also might not have connected the dots. S1 – ironically, also a school administrator – appreciated the updates because his contacts had nothing. J1 hadn’t yet heard and, I believe, is close to Dan’s extended family. Shocked, sad, both looking for anything positive (which, for now, is that we believe Dan is alive).
And Then There Was S2
I’ve only recently reconnected with S2: two phone conversations, catching up after 40 years, nothing very deep. She even thought I should meet her son, that we were similar and would hit it off, though I have no idea how she reached this conclusion.
So I thought nothing of sharing what I had learned with her, and then this diatribe came through:
That poor man. And now the lefties come out calling for gun control- again! Let’s call for tranny control. That’s the real problem no one wants to talk about. No amount of cross dressing, make up, hormones or surgery will ever change a person’s chromosomes. You’re either XY or XX. Mental illness is real
Where the fuck did this come from? How tone-deaf are you? Espousing political views instead of focusing on the victims? And is transgender rights even part of the narrative? And, if it is, still not appropriate. Utterly dumbfounded, shocked, disgusted.
But here’s the kicker: S2 was the next door neighbor of Elizabeth and her family. Was in marching band, choir, school musicals, etc., with Elizabeth and her sister. S2 was a football cheerleader, perhaps for games that Dan played in. And she’s spouting this drivel? Please, say this to the family, in person, see what their response is. Perhaps she’s stupid enough, extreme enough, to do so.
Blocked and Forgotten
Needless to say, I won’t be catching up with S2, now or anytime in the future. After responding with a few choice words of my own, I blocked her and don’t expect her to attempt anything from her end. What a disappointment….
