Respects and Tears

Our Deerfield Beach stay in Florida was quite close to Parkland, so we made a pilgrimage to pay our respects to those beloved children slain at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School on February 14.  

Schools were closed this week for spring break; the only people there were guards allowing vendors in and out of gated areas, and others paying their respects like us.

There were banners of sympathy and encouragement hanging on long stretches of fences around parking lots.

The berm around the school has been visited by so many that the grass was long gone, as were floral tributes. Note the sheriff's portable observation post. There was also a police porta-office alongside the road.

It was easy to cry.

Our dear friends in Coral Gables live right off Calle Oche, the road over which the pedestrian bridge collapsed a few weeks ago. We went through the area on our way to the Keys. The #FIU Strong refers to the bridge being a part of the Florida International University campus.

This is all that's left of this tragic story.