Just when I thought I had all the demons of the past year under control, a troubled high school kid drops another one on the pile.

I haven’t been to Uvalde in many years and probably don’t know any of the shooting victims or their families. But I have long ties to that beautiful little community. My uncle was the vetinarian to all the local ranchers for many years and my cousins still live there. My family would visit occasionally while on vacation. I spent one glorious summer there. My cousin, Mike and I roamed all over the town and surrounding countryside on bicycles. After my father died, we were invited to spend Thanksgiving there and my brother shot his first deer. My aunt Mable was a painter of local fame. I have one of her works hanging on the wall.

After graduating college, I went to work for Central Power & Light in Corpus Christi. CPL had offices in Uvalde and I grew to know many co-workers who lived there. Later my job responsibilities included supervision of part of the western portion of CPL service territory. When visiting the area, I tried to end my day in Uvalde. The Holiday Inn served a great breakfast.

I loved that little town and once considered retiring there or in the hill country to the north. The fact that evil visited my piece of paradise is most depressing. And for families of the victims, it will always be a piece of Hell.