Over the weekend, two young ladies, ages 28 and 29, were killed when a vehicle crossed into their lane and hit them head on (driver survived). One lady was pregnant, the other getting married in a week. This happened locally.

I didn't know the victims, yet I grieve deeply over the tragedy. Not only are the women dead, their lives cut short, but their families are stricken with grief. The whole community is affected.

I do not deal with these kind of stories at all well. I avoid reading about such events. I do not watch television programs or movies that make me feel sad or angry or disgusted. They can't all be avoided. One 60 Minute feature on last night's program made me cry (about a Holocaust surviver). Crime, hate, ugliness, even suspense, raise my stress and anxiety level. Depression strikes me down. These types of TV shows (and news) upset me. I honestly don't understand why they are so popular.

As a nonbeliever (in a god), I find no solace in explanations or rationalizations that victims of tragedy are going to "a better place", etc. I fail to understand how if "His eye is on the sparrow", why wasn't it on the Buffalo airplane that killed 50 humans? If a tornado wipes out 100 people in a trailer court, but a baby survives, why is it a miracle from god? Did his eye miss the other hundred?

Hate crimes trouble me because they reflect a debased human quality. Accidents and natural catastrophes sadden me because innocent lives are lost. I remain powerless to do anything about either. Praying won't solve tragedies. Perhaps the power of prayer is making one feel better, and that's not all bad.