It’s a typical day at work; talking with a person at my office and another on the phone, as I check my email and messages on Facebook.

It is with a heavy heart that I share Oliver passed away

I keep my composure as I mind moves from work to grief.

Oliver was the grandson of one of my college classmates. I have been following his struggles though my friend’s Facebook status updates and praying for him and his family. I post about Oliver’s passing and send out a few emails.

My office is a co-working space and there is a big project going on at the conference table. I overhear one of my co-workers ask about the airstrikes in Iraq. I glance at my newsfeed.

U.S. launches second wave of airstrikes in Iraq

I glance up at the raw ceiling of the workspace. My eldest daughter was five months old when the first Gulf War started. I was working for a financial services firm. In the evening, we watched the late night news of the airstrikes from our third floor walkup in Manhattan. I connected with my computer via dialup lines to the trading system where I could get more news and see how the markets responded.

I watched the airstrikes in Afghanistan in 2001 hours after my youngest daughter was born

Yesterday, a child came out to wonder

That’s how I started my blog post about Fiona’s birth at the start of that war. Today’s airstrike comes after Oliver has passed away.

I glance at Twitter. One person has posted,

Round up Obama &every liberal n America & drop them off right n the middle of Iraq, let them do a 2 min gay pride parade for the last time!

It is the sort of extremism that is indistinguishable from Al Qaeda which brings about so more hatred, war and suffering. I pray for the person who tweeted it, and then retweet Pope Francis.

Please take a moment today to pray for all those who have been forced from their homes in Iraq. #PrayForPeace

My coworkers have been preparing for National Health Center Week, putting together goodie bags. There are boxes all over the place and one of them comments that it looks a lot like Christmas.

Dar Williams’ song, “The Christians and The Pagans” comes to mind.

So the Christians and the Pagans sat together at the table,
Finding faith and common ground the best that they were able,
And just before the meal was served, hands were held and prayers were said,
Sending hope for peace on earth to all their gods and goddesses.

How do I pull all of this together? Oliver’s passing, the airstrikes in Iraq, the hatred by extremists, here and in Iraq, the prayers of The Pope and of the characters in Dar’s song?

The final words of “Lord of the Flies” comes to mind:

Ralph wept for the end of innocence, the darkness of man's heart, and the fall through the air of the true, wise friend called Piggy.