Loulou's views

Last week, a terrible thing happened in Ottawa that affected us all. In the span of a week, we tragically lost two soldiers, one of whom was shot down as he stood sentry at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, at Ottawa's War Memorial. It was an incredibly difficult day , and week. However, through darkness, comes light. And as Canadians, and residents of this amazing capital city, we came together in beautiful ways. We went back to work the next day, in the downtown core. We payed respect by leaving flowers, notes, and stuffed animals at the War Memorial. We wore red, and we put on our poppies a little earlier. We saluted our fallen soldier on the Highway of Heroes. We mourned the loss of a young man, because of all he represented; life, joy, youth, and a proud love for his country. He was a also a single father, and now, he's left behind a young child, a little boy who will always know what a brave man his father was. My mom, artist Katerina Mertikas,  quickly got to work ...

Today is an exceptionally hard and difficult day in Ottawa.  There are a few days which stand out to me as turning points in our loss of security and innocence; of course, 9/11, of course the school shootings at Columbine and Connecticut. Those wounds are still not healed. Today, I believe this city lost its innocence, too. This wonderful city—the capital of Canada—usually a safe, beautiful city where nothing bad happens... We leave our homes unlocked, we bike to work, we walk to school, we go out at night not having to worry about gun violence, for the most part. Today things changed and I'm sure many of us are still in shock over the shootings that happened at Parliament Hill, the War Memorial, and in the downtown core. Gunmen on the loose. Lockdowns in all downtown buildings. Stores locked up. Lockdowns, even, in schools. We feel helpless. Sad. Emotional. So much love to everyone in Ottawa today, especially to the family of the soldier who was killed at the War Memorial....