A couple years ago a friend gifted me with a small plastic penguin with a solar panel on its stomach. When the penguin was placed in the light, it danced. A few weeks ago I noticed that even though the penguin had not been moved from its place in front of the south-facing window in my kitchen, it was no longer dancing.

I was reflecting today on the events of the past few weeks in the Boston area – the bombs that were planted at the end of the Boston Marathon route; the resulting devastation; the destruction of life and limbs. The trauma and amazement created by reports of the catastrophe on TV. Daily words of the on-going investigation; the car chase, the shoot-out; one suspect dead and the other on the run, then found hiding in a boat in someone’s back yard; the continuing revelation of a larger ring…