It Happened in Boise; Dealing With the Aftermath of the State Street Stabbing

My fiance's on vacation this week so when I said good by to him this morning, I know darn well that he's not getting out of bed before noon or maybe even the time I get out of work. He did manage to be coherent enough to ask me that question on my way out the door on Monday morning.  I shrugged. "I guess so."

The truth is, I just can't shake the heavy feeling I have in my heart after what happened at the Wiley Street Station apartments on Saturday night.  My co-workers will tell you that's a different reaction than what they're used to seeing from me in times of tragedy.  When I was in college I had to take extensive hours worth of broadcast journalism classes, served as the news director at the school and lent a hand whenever I could in the newsroom at the commercial radio cluster I worked at until I graduated.  Because of that journalism background, I'm usually able to desensitize myself enough to get facts across without getting choked up when things like a bombing at an Ariana Grande concert happens or there's another school shooting.

...but those things didn't happen in my backyard.  This happened in Boise, a city where people are so nice that they stop to let geese cross the road even if it means messing up traffic for five minutes.  The comments I saw repeated over and over again on social media this weekend were things like "This doesn't happen in Boise" and "This isn't the Boise I know."  And you know what? Those statements are entirely TRUE. Saturday's stabbing isn't OUR Boise.  It was the result of the actions of a deranged coward who came to our community from another state and targeted children during his attack.

It breaks my heart that these families brought their children to Boise in hopes of creating a better life and escape the violence in their home countries and this is the kind of "welcome" they get in the Treasure Valley. Like so many of you, I want to fix it. I want to change that perception, but I can't fix what happened over the weekend.

By all means, continue sending prayers, thoughts and good vibes to these victims throughout their recovery. We've got an important opportunity now.  We have the opportunity to keep Boise the safe, welcoming city we love...by being a good neighbor. That's my challenge to you today.  As our community continues to heal from this unspeakable act of violence, show your neighbors that Boise is still full of kind-hearted, good people by doing a random act of kindness.  Yesterday, I left behind enough money for someone else to enjoy their drink for free at my neighborhood coffee shop.  It doesn't fix what happened, but if I made one of my neighbors smile and realized that their presence in the community is appreciated, then I feel like I did something right.

What will YOU do to be a good neighbor today?