Promises Unfulfilled

This is my older cousin, Wa-Wa Meng, in the backyard of her home in White Plains, NY. In my book, I describe how close we were growing up and how rich my childhood was being in her company - piggyback rides in the backyard, creating tsunamis in the bathtub, racing to see who could find the most ladybugs on those hot summer nights....she earned her moniker: the Inventor of Fun.

She, being five years older than me, was my Pied Piper.

Little did I know how easy guns were to procure back in the early 1970's. I still have no idea how she, at the age of 19 years old, was able to get her hands on a shotgun even though she was then a minor and under psychiatric care. And I was not prepared for the news that she inserted the barrel of the shotgun into her mouth and pulled the trigger.

I keep this photo of this little girl on my desk to remind me of the unfulfilled promise and potential that her life held. Much can be said about the other young children and adults who were denied a full life due to easy access to guns and now - assault weapons of war. This has guided me to become an avid proponent of background checks and gun control laws.

I honor organizations such as Sandy Hook Promise and others who are doing such noble work to spare additional parental agony and to provide healing grace to those as they move through their unspeakable grief.