Stephanie Morrill

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Thinking of those lost on Mt. Hood

17 December 2009

Before I get down to bloggy business, just want to remind everybody that the contest from yesterday is still open. Leave a comment to win a copy of Roseanna White’s biblical fiction release, A Stray Drop of Blood.

Okay, onto actual stuff. I normally try to keep things light hearted on here. Or, if I do go deep, to have some kind of “light at the end of the tunnel” kind of moment. Today I couldn’t quite get there.

I think watching the news is a funny thing.

Not watching it, but the fact that when I watch it, I’m often emotionally “unmoved.” I mean, they list horrific tales one right after the other, and yet I shut off the TV and go about my day.

Yesterday, I had the news on for quite a while. It’s not something I often do, but it was just one of those days where I felt like hearing other adult voices. It was a typical news day: sick puppies were intercepted at the border, a daycare center was accused of drugging kids, etc. I watched these with nothing more than a shake of my head.

And then the anchors began talking about two hikers who have been lost since Friday on Mt. Hood, and my stomach pitched.

A year ago, this would have been another tragedy I shrugged off, but since my husband spent 4-days and 3-nights in the Colorado wilderness this summer, I couldn’t turn away. Particularly when they showed the shot of 24-year-old Anthony Vietti, with his pack and trekking poles that could have belonged to my husband. He’s missing along with 29-year-old Katie Nolan. There was a third member in their party, 26-year-old Luke Gullberg, but he’s already been found dead.

They were all experienced climbers but … something happened. We don’t know what, and it’s possible we’ll never know.

Thinking about their families hurts my heart, because I can see all too clearly what it would have been like it Ben, my brother-in-law, and our friend were supposed to come home and never showed up at the pick up point.

I’m praying for a miracle for Katie and Anthony and their families, just like I know people would be for us if Ben, Chris, and Justin went missing.

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