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As undoubtedly everyone’s heard last night a cowardly, despicable and evil act of terror was perpetrated against concert goers out for an evening of fun and music at the Ariana Grande concert. As of this morning 22 people have been reported deceased including an eight-year-old girl, and 120 injured. Among the 59 casualties taken to area hospitals were 12 children under the age of 16. In addition there are 15 people listed as missing. While not confirmed, unsurprisingly ISIS has claimed responsibility, boasting that more than 100 “crusaders” were killed or wounded at the “shameless” concert. Really? An arena filled with children, teens and families deserved this? Against this one act of evil though there were stories of taxi drivers (including Muslims) heading to the Arena to offer free rides to survivors, and hotels and Manchester residents offering rooms. You see, this is what the majority of people do in the face of adversity. We open our hearts and do what we can to help. For every evil act there will always be countless ones of courage, generosity, and compassion. As with so many people around the world, my thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families, as well as with Manchester and England as a whole. I’m going finish this post by sharing a quote that really jumped out at me.

The terrible thing about terrorism is that it ultimately destroys those who practice it. Slowly but surely, as they try to extinguish life in others, the light within them dies.

~ Terry Waite ~

*Update: Thanks to https://theorangutanlibrarian.wordpress.com for providing the link to the confounding site that’s been set up to help victims and their families. If you’d like to donate please visit

http://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/westandtogethermanchester