Reply #11: With every number, my heart aches more... [View All]

I have a pin I made. It has little wooden interchangeable beads with numbers on them. Unfortunately, I have to change the numbers daily, to reflect the loss of lives. I remember when I first made the pin. The number in the thousands place was a one. Then it was a two, and it will soon be a four.
What upsets me so much, is the fact that even among the few who have any idea how many of our "children" have been lost, is the fact that so many have no idea that the number is so large, and of those that do realize the number, I wonder do they really appreciate that these are not just numbers, but real people. I figure for every number, your need to multiply it by a minimum of twenty, just to take into account the number of people it personally affects.
The pin is a great conversation starter. The most common comment is about how they had no idea there were so many. My 4th graders took notice, and have commented on the changes they see.