Like many of you, I was devastated by what happened in Connecticut Friday.

All those children and educators slaughtered by a sick person who had easy access to weaponry  in which we are awash and make it easier to get than a driver’s license. As a long-time educator who trained teachers and worked in and around schools (in Connecticut no less), and being married to a person who has spent much of her life doing the same, and is now managing a CDC program on school health and wellness for our state, this was particularly awful. Oh, and every time I saw a photo from the scene I thought of our grand children, Ada and Theo, who are exactly the ages of the children murdered. Why should watching this, and thinking this, be so increasingly common in America?

Having spent a fair amount of time writing letters to politicians asking them to show some bravery on the weapons access and control issue --- my feelings being expressed, incidentally, by Nick Kristof in Saturday’s NY Times.

I decided to get out of the house and walk off my anger. This took me up to a place where I often let off steam, the wonderful Tower Hill Botanical Garden in Boylston. Immediately, my camera became quite happy and I got caught up in the vibes (technology can be smarter than people!). Was it a cure for the blues? No, but it reminded me that we don’t have to become victims any more than we need to. And there are millions of Americans who do believe in the basic peaceful tenets of the great religions, especially at this time of year.

All the photos of Tower Hill were, for photographers reading this, taken with my Olympus 510 dslr and several different lenses. Though many of the photos were taken inside, no flash was used thanks to the camera’s image stabilization system.

If you haven’t been up to Tower Hill just drive on out Church Street and go up there. The Christmas tree show is on until the end of the month, there is a very nice restaurant, and like me, you may decide to make it an important part of your life.

I have added two photos, one taken on Crawford Street a couple of years ago, and another at the Northborough tree lighting at about the same time. As my card suggests we wish you all wonderful holidays. We ask you think of the victims and the families of victims in Connecticut, and that you give thanks for the fantastic public servants who had to endure the horrific scene there. And, sadly will have to endure more I'm afraid.