Article May 14, 2007 Issue

'EVIDENCE OF LOVE' IS THE OTHER HEADLINE OF THE DAY

BY STEPHANIE S. JOHNSON

MANY OF MY SON'S FRIENDS , who have been in and out of our house over the years, are students at Virginia Tech. I bow my head in gratitude that they are safe, and wrap them each in the love that fills my heart at this time. I also reach out with love and compassion to the families and friends of those who were injured or killed. Each of those students is precious and loved.

Irresistibly, my thought cherishes mental snapshots of these young friends. One drove a snowplow through snowy nights while still in high school, another liked to invent crazy contraptions, and others were in theater. Before my son, Daniel, and one of those friends, David, could drive I took these two fellows on the camping trips they wanted to experience.

On one of those trips it rained so hard that nearly everything we had with us became soaked, including the two boys and myself. That night we crawled into our truck to try to keep warm. (No, we never discussed going home. We were on an adventure.)