MOMents

MOMents – Getting Uncomfortable

Sometimes it is the only way to get comfortable again.

  When something happens so horrifically tragic like the Sandy Hook killings, no one knows what to do, but everyone wants to do something, blame someone and solve it quickly. That’s a normal reaction, but it’s too complicated. There is nothing simple that leads to a human being feeling the need to shoot out an elementary school. There is nothing simple about preventing it from happening again or even understanding it. There is no easy way to heal. There is no way to speed up the process and no amount of grief counseling that will make it like it was before. It will be a long and winding road. But, the conversations are important. We need to really picture the whole scene, to try to understand, to the best of our ability, how such things …

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Swampscott Patch Joins in Moment of Silence for Newtown, Conn., Shooting Victims

The company-wide blackout is to honor the memory of those killed last Friday in Connecticut.

This morning at 9:30, Swampscott Patch will join AOL in a company-wide blackout as "moment of silence" to honor the victims of the elementary school shooting in Newtown, Conn., last week. According to Techcrunch, the campaign was inspired by Connecticut's governor, who called for a moment of silence. Web companies Causes and SV Angel spearheaded the idea in the tech sector. It follows a coalition of tech leaders calling for more gun control. Other companies likely taking part in the "Web Moment of Silence" include Adobe, Duke University, Salesforce and WillCall. How will you participate in the moment of silence? Tell us in the comments.

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Ray DePaula

9:29 am on Friday, December 21, 2012

Our town had a candle light vigial Wednesday night. I never cried that mucb in my life. Rev. Steele gave a heart felt surmon.   more ›

Swampscott Stories

Snowflakes for Sandy Hook in Swampscott

The effort asks residents and employees to make paper snowflakes for giving support and, hopefully, some comfort, to the children of Sandy Hook Elementary School.

  A town employee is asking residents and fellow town employees to join the Snowflakes for Sandy Hook initiative. The effort was designed by the Connecticut Parent Teacher Student Association and asks people to make paper snowflakes for children of Sandy Hook Elementary School, said Swampscott Treasurer and Information Technology Director Denise Dembkoski. "The hope is when these children go back to school in a few weeks, to offer them an escape from the horror of Friday, December 14th by transforming the new facility into a winter wonderland with snowflakes from all over the world," said the IT director. The director had been seeking a way to lend emotional support to the school children when she came upon the Connecticut school group's …

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Is Now the Time to Talk Gun Control?

Does the massacre at Newtown, Conn., signal the need for a political debate on gun regulations?

Before officials had even held their first press conference Friday, Facebook was abuzz with status updates about the Newtown, Conn., massacre. The statuses were split between those sending their condolences and those asking if the country would finally deal with the issue of gun control. Some fought back, asking for "respect" and mourning before political debate began. Others remained fierce in their belief that stricter gun control regulations would have prevented such a mass killing, saying the victims were shot multiple times and with semi-automatic weapons, according to Fox News. The guns were not illegal and were, in fact, owned by the shooter's mother. Among them were a semi-automatic .223 caliber Bushmaster rifle and two handguns. …

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