"Did you hear about what happened in Crandon?" My dad asked me. "A police officer killed a bunch of kids. It's all over the news." Crandon? The town only 30 minutes away from own? What? I grabbed my cell phone and called my friend, Kelsey, to ask her if her friends from there were okay. She hadn't heard about the shooting. She called me two hours later, her friends knew the kids who had died pretty well. She had even met some of them. But her friends were okay. I was happy for her. But as the story unfolded, I was shocked.
If you don't know what happened you can find the story online. Just search "crandon shooting" but i can't retell it. I just finished a fundraising project to tear the house down where it happened. Kids in my school were effected by this one person's actions.
It's so weird to think these kids were doing the same thing I was that night. They went to the dance and then came home and chilled out with their friends. Other kids who were there earlier and than left feel the guilt too...nto that I can blame them at all for feeling that way. When I saw the story on the National news that night, I knew it was bad...but it was hard to think about. Our school did what we could to help...but we had no idea what they were going through. Before a sporting event the opposing school often did something special to show they supported Crandon.
People in my town often make fun of people from Crandon and now...almost five months later...I haven't heard the jokes. It won't ever be the same. I'm glad the communities came together to support another town in need. It gives me hope for people. They care. The kids in Crandon know we're there for them.
With prom right around the corner...these thoughts are in my head again....how Lindsey, only a freshmen, won't get to experience prom....I never met them...but I miss them....
Rest in Peace Jordanne, Katrina, Bradley, Lindsey, Aaron, and Lianna
Keep Fighting Charlie.
