This time it was not a monster that killed elementary age students….but a monster of a storm.

The painful memories of the shooting by an evil gunman at an elementary school in Newtown Connecticut are still fresh after only a few months…

And now this.  A school is leveled by a huge and deadly tornado and dozens of elementary age students are killed or injured.

The cause of each of these tragedies may be different but they are similar in an important way.

And the headline in U-T San Diego said it best:  It read “Thoughts and prayers pouring in for Oklahoma.”

There were similar headlines after the mass killings in Connecticut.

When tragedy strikes, especially when kids are involved, yes, we respond with help, support and donations.

But just as importantly, we respond with thoughts and prayers.

And no doubt a lot of people from everywhere are having thoughts about their own kids…and are praying for the children and their families in Oklahoma. 

This time it was not a monster that left elementary age students dead….but a monster of a storm.

The painful memories of the shooting by an evil gunman at an elementary school in Newtown Connecticut are still fresh after only a few months…

And now this.  A school is leveled by a huge and deadly tornado and dozens of elementary age students are killed or injured.

The cause of each of these tragedies may be different but they are similar in an important way.

And the headline in the San Diego U-T said it best:  It read “Thoughts and prayers pouring in for Oklahoma.”

There were similar headlines after the mass killings in Connecticut.

When tragedy strikes, especially when kids are involved, yes, we respond with help, support and donations.

But just as importantly, we respond with thoughts and prayers.

And no doubt a lot of people from everywhere are having thoughts about their own kids…and are praying for the children and their families in Oklahoma.

So is Yoga a religion or just a form of exercise?  That’s the question that goes to court today in San Diego County.

The answer could determine what kids can or cannot do, what teachers can and cannot teach and what parents can and cannot do about it.

The Encinitas Union School District is believed to be the first in the country to have full-time yoga teachers at every one of its schools. The yoga lessons for all the kids are paid for by a 500-thousand-dollar grant from a nonprofit group that promotes Ashtanga yoga.

But some parents in the district filed suit to stop the yoga classes, saying yoga is a form of religion that promotes Hindusim and other beliefs and not just a form of exercise.

Their attorney says the 30-minute yoga classes are a violation of the separation of church and state and if a kid just opts out, then they can’t meet their physical education requirements.

So while teachers say the yoga classes have made students calmer, the opposing parents’ are anything but relaxed.

And until a judge meditates on all this and comes up with a ruling, a lot of people are going to be stressing out.

They are everywhere and I met some of them this week.

They can spend hours every day doing what they do…and can spend years of their lives doing what they do.

What they do can be hard work at times and they don’t get paid for what they do and they may not even get a thank you.

Who are they?  “They” are people who volunteer.

I had a chance this week to meet some volunteers in San Diego County, from a high school kid who cleans up after nurses and patients at a hospital…to a volunteer firefighter who’s been
raising money to help treat the sick and injured for decades.

These volunteers, and others, who were honored an event for the Grossmont Healthcare District all have one thing in common.

They don’t care if they work hard and or if they don’t get paid. And they don’t even care if they get a thank you.

They do it because they have an overwhelming desire to help others.

With the news filled with all the bad things people can do, these people are welcome reminders of the good that people can do.

Those hot days we had this week were unusual for the month of May, but coupled with a few smaller brush fires, it was all a reminder of what’s ahead: the real fire season. 

And having been at the scene of that brush fire in Lakeside on Mother’s Day that destroyed two mobile homes and threatened dozens of single family homes, it is easy to be encouraged that residents are ready. 

Watching so many homeowners working together that Sunday afternoon to wet down the trees on their slopes…and having seen how many of them knew what to do and how many of them had at some point earlier had cleared their property of grass and brush around their homes…it was a sign that we seem to be more prepared for big fires than maybe we were a few years ago.

And having watched firefighters and how they fought that Lakeside fire and the way they effectively used air drops from a helicopter to douse the flames quickly…before they could spread, it’s a sign that first responders are more ready now too.

So if you live in one of those fire prone areas, make sure you’re ready and it will be a much happier summer and fall.