Guest JC, you're not alone- I too am sitting here crying. The sadness and the strength of the people come through so clearly.

The funny thing is that for most of my life I very seldom teared up- having four brothers may have had something to do with that - I know I grew up knowing that letting one's emotional guard down was dangerous.

I think the breakthrough out of my desert came for me at about age 35 in a restaurant one evening when the friend of a friend joined us at our table. There was a local tragedy that was in the papers; a father had killed his wife and then had killed himself. This friend of a friend was a emergency-care foster parent and she told us of the stunned-silent children. I was embarrassed that I couldn't hold back the tears, and then I suddenly realized that, for God's sake, weeping was appropriate.

But the older I get the weepier I get. Another 10 years- whew.