The End of

There are many signs of aging, and few of us are unaware of them.

However, in the little red book where I maintain records, I will list the month of May, 2022 as when I grew old.

However, I choose not to believe the date is applicable only for me.

It is when America emerged from the cocoon of political correctness, titillating enjoyment of highly publicized lurid sexual trials and yes, watching flagrant narcissistic celebrities unrobed publicly constantly being viewed by impressionable youth.

As odd as it may seem, for most of my life I have been addicted to horror stories, Shirley, Jackson, Edgar Allen, Poe, and of course Stephen King.

M. Night Shyamalan‘s creativity has been an inspiration,

Their fantasies helped me to unwind, as did renowned British authors, Agatha Christie and Josephine Tey both in print and on tv.

That was until the month of May, 2022,

I cannot recall how often I rode the NY subway system, both alone and with friends or family.

In childhood I often visited family in Queens; made pilgrimages to Brighton Beach, and yes, in later years I traveled crosstown to Grand Central Terminal and Katie Gibbs.

When attending evening classes in St Johns University I routinely took a BMT train from Schemerhorn Street to Columbus Circle at 10 pm.

I was totally without fear and never had a disturbing encounter when riding the rattling and virtually empty subway car.

A decade or so later. I routinely brought four rambunctious youngsters to visit their Grandmother in upper Manhattan, once again via the subway.

Ironically, I recall believing (as a novice driver,) it was a safer choice than battling rush hour traffic.

Although a protective and admittedly slightly neurotic parent I had no fear for either my youngsters or myself. My vivid imagination could not conceive of the current horror being recorded daily

Earlier this month on a New York subway an innocent man was assassinated. He had never met his killer and was optomistically en route to a festive brunch

The killer has given no reason for taking another human’s life.

When I read the highly publicized story both in print and on TV, the reality seemed lost as the screen flickered onward. It had none of the impact of my once beloved stories.

However, yesterday I watched another real life horror story that will forever change my addiction to fictional tales.

18 beautiful youngsters were killed by a madman. I cannot believe this was a decision the young assailant made that morning after breakfast before shooting his Grandmother.

Once again, there is no explanation.

Of course, there could be none to justify either recent horrendous event

I believe yesterday was when our country reached a pivotal time in civilization,

Now the political discussions must end and focus is on the true horror of current tragedies. Recognition must be given to the senseless evil that is permeating everyday lives of innocent victims.

What happened in this beautiful month of May cannot be filed away to dwell on later. It is a flagrant warning that the fictional horrors of imagination have been released and evil has infiltrated our world, our lives and our families.

In both cases floodgates to unimaginable tragedy opened when flagrant warnings and alerts were ignored,

The symptoms were visible in both instances and allowed unimagined evil to change humanity forever.

Why?

America wake up. We all grew old this month,