We All Need to Read This

Being an avid movie fan in my spare time, I was sickened to read of the early morning mass shooting at a midnight screening of The Dark Knight Rises  in Colorado that left 12 dead and 38 injured, some of them critically. My heart sincerely goes out to the friends and families of all the victims, as this tragedy is utterly, utterly senseless. I'm not going to name the sick and deranged person who carried out the shooting, because I figure his family is going through enough hell right now, and I'm not going to add to that.

But I would like to single out one of the 12 if I could. Jessica Ghawi, an aspiring sportscaster who wrote and tweeted about hockey in Colorado under the name Jessica Redfield. In an eerie coincidence, Jessica narrowly avoided a similar tragedy during a visit to Toronto's Eaton Centre in June. Courtesy of The Daily Brew, here is her last post on her personal website (color choice mine):

"I can't get this odd feeling out of my chest. This empty, almost sickening feeling won't go away. I noticed this feeling when I was in the Eaton Center in Toronto just seconds before someone opened fire in the food court. An odd feeling which led me to go outside and unknowingly out of harm's way. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around how a weird feeling saved me from being in the middle of a deadly shooting.
What started off as a trip to the mall to get sushi and shop, ended up as a day that has forever changed my life. I was on a mission to eat sushi that day, and when I'm on a mission, nothing will deter me. When I arrived at the Eaton Center mall, I walked down to the food court and spotted a sushi restaurant. Instead of walking in, sitting down and enjoying sushi, I changed my mind, which is very unlike me, and decided that a greasy burger and poutine would do the trick. I rushed through my dinner. I found out after seeing a map of the scene, that minutes later a man was standing in the same spot I just ate at and opened fire in the food court full of people. Had I had sushi, I would've been in the same place where one of the victims was found.
My receipt shows my purchase was made at 6:20 pm. After that purchase I said I felt funny. It wasn't the kind of funny you feel after spending money you know you shouldn't have spent. It was almost a panicky feeling that left my chest feeling like something was missing. A feeling that was overwhelming enough to lead me to head outside in the rain to get fresh air instead of continuing back into the food court to go shopping at SportChek. The gunshots rung out at 6:23. Had I not gone outside, I would've been in the midst of gunfire.
I was shown how fragile life was on Saturday. I saw the terror on bystanders' faces. I saw the victims of a senseless crime. I saw lives change. I was reminded that we don't know when or where our time on Earth will end. When or where we will breathe our last breath. For one man, it was in the middle of a busy food court on a Saturday evening.
I say all the time that every moment we have to live our life is a blessing. So often I have found myself taking it for granted. Every hug from a family member. Every laugh we share with friends. Even the times of solitude are all blessings. Every second of every day is a gift. After Saturday evening, I know I truly understand how blessed I am for each second I am given.
I feel like I am overreacting about what I experienced. But I can't help but be thankful for whatever caused me to make the choices that I made that day. My mind keeps replaying what I saw over in my head. I hope the victims make a full recovery. I wish I could shake this odd feeling from my chest. The feeling that's reminding me how blessed I am. The same feeling that made me leave the Eaton Center. The feeling that may have potentially saved my life."

You weren't overreacting, Jessica. Your soul and spirit knew what needed to be said, and exactly when it needed to be said, even if it was just a nagging feeling on a conscious level. But by writing this Jessica, you have enriched many lives today, including mine. So though I am sickened by the way you and the other eleven people had to die, with these words you left us, a tiny sliver of good has come out of this senseless tragedy.

I salute you, Jessica Ghawi.

May you and the other eleven rest in peace.

Let's appreciate life today.

Your Partner in Life