Dark Side of the Virginia Moon
Virginia Tech
Listening to Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon for the first time in a while, and reading one of my sources for my next episode (or so), on the Virginia Tech massacre. “Brain Damage” queued up just as I finished the introduction and started the recounting of that day, April 6, 2007, when 32 were killed and 26 were injured, just down the road from me. The synchronicity is uncanny. As I often say, everything is connected.
“The lunatic is on the grass
The lunatic is on the grass
Remembering games
And daisy chains and laughs
Got to keep the loonies on the path
The lunatic is in the hall
The lunatics are in my hall
The paper holds their folded faces to the floor
And every day the paper boy brings more
And if the dam breaks open many years too soon
And if there is no room upon the hill
And if your head explodes with dark forebodings too
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon
The lunatic is in my head
The lunatic is in my head
You raise the blade
You make the change
You rearrange me 'till I'm sane
You lock the door
And throw away the key
And there's someone in my head, but it's not me
And if the cloud bursts thunder in your ear
You shout and no one seems to hear
And if the band you're in starts playing different tunes
I'll see you on the dark side of the moon
I can't think of anything to say
I think it's marvellous
(Spoken softly: there is no dark side of the moon)”
Thinking of the beautiful pathways and hills of the campus, and the hallways of the second floor of Norris Hall...the thundering gunshots...
Poet and professor Nikki Giovanni warned the university that the shooter, who was in her English class, was disruptive, making other students uncomfortable, and might be of serious concern; she no longer wanted to teach him. She was not listened to beyond his removal from her class.
This first source is No Right to Remain Silent by Lucinda Roy, a professor at Tech who also knew the shooter. It’s already engrossing. https://app.thestorygraph.com/books/96efb920-fe30-406b-9dc9-fcb9e29ae95a
Stay safe, my cupcakes, and let me know what you have been reading.
Carla