I used this photo in a post about my new home state a few weeks ago, explaining both that I love my new little corner of Colorado and even more, I can’t believe how well AG’s lungs are adapting to the colder, drier air and the higher altitude after living in Florida.
What I didn’t explain is that this popular and widely used Denver area park, our favorite one so far, contains more than just that lake, that view of the foothills, and the playgrounds and trails you can’t see in the picture. If you could step into this photo and turn to your left, away from the foothills, back in the distance you’d see a low curving brick wall topped by a small hill. You might even see a couple of people lingering there.
You’d be looking at the Columbine Memorial.
And just over the hill – Columbine High School. Today, it’s been 10 years since the horrifying shootings there. The community held a candlelight vigil at the memorial last night, the school itself is closed today, and a service will take place in that park this evening.
Just last week, I attended a district-wide event at Columbine High School. Walking through its halls and seeing it through a newcomer’s eyes, what struck me most is that you’d never guess what happened there a decade ago if you didn’t already know. Seeing the cafeteria I remembered from the news footage was a little unsettling, but Columbine looks like any other American high school and its students look and act like any other high school students. Its concert choir sings beautifully.
And yet.
There are people in this community whose lives changed abruptly, tragically, irrevocably after the shootings. I haven’t met anyone directly affected since moving here in February, but I’m thinking of them today.
Denver Post coverage:
Columbine: 10 Years Later
