I love this time of year because while we are all working, it just goes without saying that we all shift a bit of our attention to pure family time. As our kids enjoy the carefree days of summer, our goal is that they stay safe morning to night.
The Harris County Office of Homeland Security & Emergency Management (HCOHSEM) says that most Texans along the coast have learned to take hurricanes seriously and prepare ahead of time; however, some of the more than a million people that have moved into our area more recently, may not understand how tropical weather systems can affect their communities.
Doesn’t it seem like the last few weeks have been overwhelmingly sad? We’ve dealt with an active shooter in Houston; the details of a horrific rape at Stanford; the tragic killing of rising star and The Voice alum Christina Grimmie; and woke up last Sunday morning to the devastating news out of Orlando that claimed the lives of 50 and injured 50 more. In between, there were other stories that shook us, hurt us and left us shaking our heads wondering what was going on with our world and our society?
According to the Journal of Adolescent Health, nearly one in five college women were victims of rape or attempted rape during their freshman year, with the most falling prey during the “red zone” or the first three months on campus. A Brown professor’s study led her to conclude that “rape is a common experience among college-aged women.”
Here’s the problem. We think it can never happen here. We see the news, follow the headlines and shake our heads when we read about it elsewhere, but deep inside, we think it just could not happen here. Sadly, mass shootings are the new phenomenon and this week, one took place in our backyard, on a beautiful Sunday, in a great part of town, in a busy part of the city. We lost an innocent victim, Gene Linscomb, a well-loved community member from Memorial, father to a recent fifth grade graduate from Frostwood Elementary School. Additionally, six others were directly injured but, thankfully, are expected to survive.