Programs such as the National Endowment for the Arts have been practically dismantled. Bah mitzvahs, first communions, skating parties, jam-packed swimming pools, tree houses, recess, crushes, dances, first dates, camping trips, bicycle rides. Heavy metallic objects shining black or silver that take two hands to hold. A faint odor of oil and power waft up to still-growing noses. Hands not yet fully grown struggle to open the chamber and pull back the cocking mechanism.
Fingers cramp as the trigger is pulled in rapid succession.
Small fingers fumble to pick up the surprisingly heavy bullets. Colo. One foot is red, one is white as if the boy is wearing mis-matched sneakers. SWAT team members pull him down to safety across shards of glass still stuck in the windowsill. That red sneaker leaves a trail of rust-red on the wall. In his third speech in less than two days, Clinton spoke of the need for parents to tell their children that violence in any form is wrong.