“Bring a pumpkin to the park.” The Friends of Spring Valley Park invited the public to place a pumpkin somewhere in the park, just for fun, a cheerful thing to do. It is a beautiful park tucked away in Clinton Township near Saxonburg.

On Monday morning I woke to the news of another senseless slaughter of innocent people, this time in Las Vegas. Like many others, I found it difficult to go through the routines of the day, numb, drained of ambition, helpless.

My final routine was to close the park. When I went there to lock up for the night, I found two very small pumpkins placed near a park bench. Children had cheerfully decorated them with magic markers. They printed their names on them: Capri and Carter.

Thank you.