Apr 17, 2007 - Thirty-three dead and 15 injured is the report from Virginia Tech yesterday. Another tragedy and yet it seems worse than the last tragedy that touched the nation. We always look for answers and find ways to cope.

We run for many reasons. Thousands celebrated Lawrence on Sunday; a dozen raced Boston on Monday. Running was recreational fun for many at Haskell Stadium; other sought glory. Sometimes, it's for bereavement. It can be the lone run, for yourself, letting your mind wander and go through emotions evoked by recent events and from long ago.

Jenny had left again and his mother passed away. In the movie, Forrest Gump wept and in his sorrow took to the roads. His symbolic run was as long as it took. There was no destination, no plan, but the run concluded in the expanse of Utah.

I was in Evanston a few year's ago to attend my younger brother's funeral. We talked about the memorial plans at Alice Millar Chapel, the burial plot, arranging photos for after funeral reception. In my faith's scriptures. the shortest verse is "he wept." I got out on the streets of Glenview for a morning run, enjoying the sunshine, mind going back to Don's childhood, his wife and son, the good times around Chicago, his roles in "Fiddler" at Stanford. . . On the return leg, it just hit.

He wept.

- Gene Wee.