National Day of Mourning

In honor of those souls lost in the downing of flight MH17, flags were flown at half mast today.  It was an official day of mourning, and a minute of silence was held at 4:00PM as the first remains arrived in the Netherlands.  This is a small country.  It's been noted that most people here knew someone on that flight.  It's hard to convey the deep devastation that everyone feels, and how close to home it seems--even for me, an ex pat.  One of the leading AIDS researchers killed last week must have lived near Abby and Reese's day camp as a makeshift memorial has sprouted up along our bike route.  It's all heartbreakingly sad.

This Hilton is near our home, and addition to the flag at half-mast, I was struck by the adjacency of a reproduction of Rodin's "The Thinker" in front of the hotel.  I've passed this sculpture four times a day for over a year, taking the kids to and from school.  The Thinker has always been one of my favorites, but today it moved me to tears.  A human figure--calm, but serious.  Powerful, but non-threatening.  It's how I'd like to imagine the victims of Flight MH17 in the face of violence and terrorism.