Dozens of cars plummeted into the river more than 60 feet!  Right now, at least 79 people have been injured and four have died.

Two days ago, I was working out on an elliptical.  With sweat falling from my brow and Tom Petty’s Free Fallin’ blaring in the background, I caught an article in Home and Garden (March 2007 issue) about a photographer named Neeta Madahar.  The writer, Caroline Cunningham, highlighted Madahar’s new series called Falling.  It’s a beautiful collection of different seeds falling, for example, maple seeds unpredictably spinning to the ground. 

I started to think about all the ways we use "fall"” to describe good and bad: falling in (or out of) love, falling into (or out of) luck, fall apart, fall back (spring forward), fall asleep, fall down, fall behind, fall to our knees, fall out of bed...

We are there right now.  We know a lot, but not enough.  How could this happen?  Are other bridges safe?  Do we want to drive over a bridge again?  How do we talk about this with kids? 

We work so hard to not fall, to not fail.  So much fell yesterday and not just concrete and steel: our confidence in our public safety, our sense of control, our sense of security, our innocence...the list goes on.  

At the same time, we know that in the face of tragedy, heroes rise up to serve others.