Sandy Hook - 10 Years Later

December 14, 2022. 

Ten years since the horrific events in Newtown, Connecticut at Sandy Hook Elementary School. 

Twenty-six lives lost. Twenty elementary age children. Six adults.  

Awful. 

Horrific. 

We all have stories of where we were and how the day went. 

For me, it was senior year of high school. In a high school 27 miles away. 

That day, I was on a field trip for a business class. We are at the Bridgeport Courthouse. 

We were taken on a tour of the courthouse where we were allowed. I remember we were sitting in the back of a courtroom where a case was going on.

One of the attorney's (I think the prosecution attorney) asked to talk to the judge. They went in the judge's chambers and talked and came out shortly after. The court proceedings ended for the day as the attorney had a child in nearby Monroe, and they were on lockdown. 

That was basically all we knew at that point. 

I don't remember what else we did at the courthouse, but I remember as we got back on the bus, we were getting information on our phones (at least I was) from various news outlets and other sources about what was going on in Newtown. 

We then went to Archie Moore's for lunch. (I think the statute of limitations is up and none of the teachers who were on the trip work at Ludlowe anymore, so I can say this.)

At Archie's, were were getting more information on our phones and from the TV in the restaurant. 

When we got back to school, classes were still happening and we weren't on lockdown, but there was in increased security and police presence. 

The school day ended and then there were decisions about sports to be made, 

As it was a Friday night, it was supposed to be a night of high school boys basketball. There was then the question of if we were going to play or not. 

For Ludlowe basketball, we were supposed to play St. Joseph in Trumbull. 

As the team manager, I remember getting messages from players, coaches and athletic dept. about what would go on. 

It was decided, that most games around the state, including ours, would be postponed, out of respect for the victims. We would practice, but it felt like it was more just because we felt we needed to be together. Teams are families and even though we weren't impacted directly, everyone was hurting but felt it was the right thing to do. 

I still feel like the right decisions were made, in my opinion. 

Yes, sports help with healing, but it's also about being respectful and realizing what is important. On that night, it was not sports. It was about spending time with family. 

We would play St. Joseph on Monday and honor the victims by wearing green (the color of Sandy Hook Elementary) as well as blue and yellow (the colors of Newtown), The players wore blue and yellow ribbons on their warmups and the staffs worse them on their shirts/jackets. 

I've definitely made this way to much about me when it didn't directly impact me, but we all have stories about this day and days like this. 

We remember those lost. The names. The stories. We honor those lost. We honor the survivors, We support the grievers. We make changes to keep people safe. We need to do more. We never forget.