December 14, 2012, twenty first graders, the school principal, and five other adults were massacred at Sandy Hook Elementary School. On that date, I was president of the school board at a large suburban school district, and I was devastated. I knew I couldn’t bear such a tragedy if it were to happen in one of our schools. On May 24, 2022 nineteen children and two adults were massacred at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. Armed with an AR-15 rifle, the murderer rendered his victims unidentifiable. One little girl was only identifiable by her new green tennis shoes. Now as many of you know, this is not my first blog about green tennis shoes and why my nail tech has painted my nails green for the last 3+ years.

On Wednesday, October 14, my dentist had just completed my crown preparation, and I walked to the reception desk to pay my bill.

“Oh, Sue, I love the color of your nails.”

“Thank you, but you wouldn’t if I told you why.”

All three office folk looked at me and said in unison, “Why?”

I told my Ulvade story, and added, “My nails will remain green, until we put an end to killing children in schools!”

Their eyes teared up. They nodded in agreement. And one said, “Thank you for sharing. I agree. My children weren’t afraid to go to school. My children didn’t have to practice shooter drills. We need some form of gun control and more mental health services.”

“Hopefully, the next time you see me, I can change my nail color. Sorry, if my story ruined your day.”

Then, Thursday, October 15 in Bend, Oregon at Silver Rail Elementary School, three children and one teacher murdered.

And so, my nail polish remains green. Amen.