Saturday, November 6, 2021

Tragedy in A Small City

I am in mourning today, for a town in Iowa I haven't been to in almost twenty years, for a high school that three of my first cousins went to, and for a teacher I never met.

Last night, we turned on the 6:30 pm national news and one of the headlines was about a murder in Iowa.  When I saw a picture of a park entrance I knew exactly where it was.

My heart sank.  I used to have family in that city of about 9,700 people.   I lived there for a brief time and had walked in that park with my uncle several times, back in the 1970's.

A 66 year old Spanish teacher at the high school in Fairfield, Iowa, had been reported as missing on Wednesday morning. She had taught in that school since 2012.   Her body was then found, later that day, in a local park where she loved to walk in the afternoons.  Now, two high school students, both 16, are being charged in her death.

Apparently, they had discussed her murder on social media.  They are being charged as adults.

A couple posts I've written about Fairfield.

My introduction to Fairfield

Why I Didn't Become a Librarian 

The Fairfield I remember was - how can I put it? Different?  Original?   I don't remember it as a place where you had to be afraid.

People think of Iowa as a flat place with miles of cornfields and nothing much.  That's far from the truth, although there is lots of corn grown in Iowa and some parts are flat.  But there are also a lot of surprises in Iowa.  And, yes, hidden gems.

In our pandemic times, there is an upsurge of violence, including an upsurge of violence against teachers.  So much doesn't get reported, but this tragedy made the national news.  

Last night, there was a vigil for this teacher, with hundreds attending.

I can't bring myself to even start to understand.

 

12 comments:

  1. No, it's not possible to understand. Just 16 and their lives (as they envisioned them) are over. I read they are looking into it being a hate crime, which would be even worse, if something could be worse.

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  2. ...violence is a part of American life!

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  3. A few minutes ago, this was just a sad story I saw on the internet. Now it’s something more.

    It’s always worse when we have a personal connection to a tragedy.

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  4. Some behavior I just shake my head in disbelief.
    Coffee is on and stay safe

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  5. This is truly heartbreaking. What could they possibly be thinking? That they would get away with it? That no one would care? Absolute insanity.

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  6. Ah, that's the age. There's rage there. Very sad story.

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  7. I'm sorry your former home has been through such a terrible event. There are no words.

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  8. You can't understand it because there is no logic. So very sad.

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