It's Happened Again

      It's happened again.
      In April, 2007, it happened again. April, the month of rebirth and renewal, should be anticipated, prized and protected perhaps like no other month.
      And yet, it isn't. April, instead, must be feared. She is, of course, the cruelest month.
      In April of 1865 American poet Walt Whitman mourned the death of his "Captain," Abraham Lincoln, assassinated on April 14 by bedeviled Southerner John Wilkes Booth, even as Lincoln was again finding joy in life following the end of the harrowing Civil War. Whitman's tribute poem, "When Lilacs Last in Dooryard Bloom'd," captures his grief at Lincoln's death in the midst of budding beauty.
      T.S. Eliot in 1922 responded to Whitman's verse in "The Wasteland," in which he penned the now famous phrase, "April is the cruelest month."
      And she is.
      As a child I held a childlike fondness for the month of new leaves, calves, and outdoor adventures. I vowed to marry in that lovely month, and did. The smell of the first cleansing rain of April still makes me breathe deeply and smile. And yet...
      I fear April. Modern Aprils have paralyzed us with horrific, unthinkable events.
      1993: Federal agents surround the compound of the Branch Davidian cult and its manic leader David Koresh in Waco, Texas; 82 die in the frenzy which follows the 51-day siege.
      1995: Timothy McVeigh plants a truck bomb which shatters the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City; 168 people, 19 of them children, are killed. Many more are badly injured. McVeigh is executed for the crime in 2001.
      1999: Students Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold launch at attack on Columbine High School near Littleton, Colorado, resulting in 15 deaths, including their own.
      2007: Cho Seung-Hui guns down students and faculty members at Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia. He then kills himself.
      And some other April tragedies to add: the deadliest volcanic eruptions ever, in 1793 and 1815; the Frank Slide landslide in Alberta, Canada, in 1903; the 1906 San Francisco earthquake; the 1912 sinking of the luxury liner Titanic; the assassination of Martin Luther King in 1968; the record number of same-day tornadoes in 1974; the Chernobyl nuclear accident in 1986; the Rodney King riots in 1992; the 30 tornadoes which hit Illinois in 1996; and the Erfurt, Germany shooting rampage in 2002.
      Our American Revolution began in April of 1775, and our Civil War began and ended in Aprils 1861 and 1865. The Bosnian war began in 1992. Rwandan genocide began in 1994.
      Eerie, isn't it? Yes, I know tragedies happen all of the time, but it seems April has a definite edge in the horrific and unimaginable. April is the only month for which on-line encyclopedia Wikipedia presents a list of "tragic events."
      Is there a sane explanation? Probably not. Is it all just coincidence? Perhaps.
      In order to help understand the modern man-caused madness, one might factor in the April birth and April death of Nazi leader Adolf Hitler, whose very life many may name as a tragedy in itself. The evil actions and brutal death of such a man tend to fuel the fires of minds already tormented, to give them impetus to repeat in some way the acts of a man whose actions were atrocities. April then presents itself as a time during which to pay homage to the memory of a demon.
      And then the rampage continues, follower upon follower. "Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh's anger at the federal government was fueled by a government raid on a religious compound in Waco, Texas, two years earlier," says writer Simone Sebastian in the April 29, 2007, Columbus Dispatch. She continues, "And Cho Seung-Hui, the gunman at Virginia Tech, cited Columbine killers Dylan Klebold and Eric Harris as 'martyrs'."
      And so we stand, openmouthed and stunned, at tragic news stories which highlight yet another shocking "breaking headline." We're a bit drawn to the weird and ghastly, perhaps because our own lives lack drama, perhaps in sympathy, perhaps in relief that it didn't touch us-this time. Almost in spite of ourselves, we watch as CNN weaves a web of intrigue and passion designed to reel in viewers and boost ratings. Shock sells.
      Some psychologists point to April's stirring rebirth as a cause in itself. During the darkness and dormancy of winter, troubled minds may brood in silent turmoil. April then brings back light and energy, and the brooding bursts into rage, triggering fevered reaction. Randy Nelson, professor of psychology and neuroscience at Ohio State University says that spring, like medication, can bring them out of winter's depression. "They've had bad thoughts for a long time and being affected by the seasonal change could make them do something," he says.
      The Bible says in 1st Peter 5:8, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." The beauty of spring certainly is not lost on the devil, who surely must delight even more in generating mayhem when he can bring unexpected suffering to happy, carefree, April-focused mankind.
      Can tragedy ever turn itself around and become triumph? Another tragedy in time, often celebrated in April, would have to be Good Friday, a day unparalleled in Christian sorrow, yet a day whose sorrows were necessary in order for the joy of Easter to take place. Christ's suffering became our salvation. Tragedy turned to triumph.
      Following the Titanic disaster, the International Ice Patrol was formed, promoting better charting, communication, and safety at sea. Building codes now demand earthquake resistant structures. Advances in technology now provide better early warning for severe weather situations. Our country's intelligence gathering has ratcheted up, and increased attention to troubled youth and better safety procedures are in place in many schools. Study of earlier tragedies may help deter some future catastrophes. We've paid a steep price to bring about change.
      I enjoyed reading the words of blogger "kane" on the Huffington Post blog on April 17, 2007. "I love the month of April; it always seems to be a carefree and whimsical month. April brings to mind the colors of the rainbow, of newly opened blossoms wet with dew. The scent of flowers fills the air and the sound of a bat hitting a baseball can be heard. April is the taste of a shared cup of tea. April is first kisses, and new loves walking hand in hand. April is shared vows. April is little babies and the laughter of children. April is a name of shy sweet girls. April is soft rains and poetry read aloud."
      I heartily agree. Ah, April. Please return next year with only your innocent promise. Be cruel to us no more. 

Virginia Anderson