All day I've been thinking about these children,  an hour's drive from here, killed by an 18-year-old with a machine gun.  

These fourth graders are all somebody's Elena, somebody's Makken.  Beloved children whose parents have taken them to school and dance lessons and Little League, have reminded them to brush their teeth, do their homework, and follow the traditions and rules of their family. 

Ten year olds, like Elena and Makken, have already imagined their future careers. They want to be veterinarians, dancers, teachers, doctors, astronauts. 

They love what they truly love:  horseback riding, sports, cars, books, writing stories, cooking, making paintings, animals.  

Ten years olds love birthday parties.  They laugh when the pinata breaks and candy spills out all over the ground.  They have best friends.  They love magic tricks and jokes and silly riddles, pies and puddles and painting. 

Jan and I, grandmothers to Makken and Elena, can barely stand to see the pictures of the nineteen children now dead.  Tears flow when you imagine the forever broken hearts of these children's grandparents.  We say, all of us, over and over, "The world of our grandchildren is such a different world from the one we knew at their age!"

These children trust grown ups.  Their teachers and other adults will take care of them.  

While our spineless Texas governor sends "thoughts and prayers," he  records a pro-gun video for the NRA convention.  He blames mental illness, refusing to name the real problem: the easy availability of AR-15s to 18-year-old boys.  (Our governor said this killer had no history of mental illness--but stands by his mental illness talking points.)

One man from England, now an American citizen, said that his family and friends in England ask him, "What's wrong with America?  How can they let boys buy these terrible weapons on their 18th birthday?"

I don't know yet if Elena and Makken know what happened in Uvalde two days ago.  I can't imagine how parents explain this horror to innocent 10-year-olds.  I can't imagine having Bad Man Drills at school.

Just a few minutes ago, they believed in Santa Clause! Now they have to believe in Bad Men barging into their schools with assault weapons?   I can't believe that there are men who--like Ted Cruz, Greg Abbott, and Donald Trump--don't give a damn about ten-year-olds. 

Greg Abbott, you actually had the audacity to say you couldn't make it in person to the NRA "because you're busy healing the hearts of the people of Uvalde."  Your healing powers are worthless.  Nobody wants your thoughts and prayers.  What the world wants is a truly strong man who has the courage to do something to stop this uniquely American madness!