Quick Personal Note on the 35W Bridge Collapse

Thank you to everyone who emailed inquiring about the safety of my family following last week's tragic collapse of the 35W bridge here in Minneapolis. Thankfully, my family and I are safe, as are our close friends and relatives in the area.

Still, it is amazing and a bit frightening how close to home a disaster like this can hit, even in a large metropolitan area. Two of those listed as "missing and presumed drowned" are just two degrees removed from me professionally. And two of the confirmed dead were neighbors.

Patrick Holmes, a young father of two and a baseball and soccer coach, lived just four blocks to the north of us. Paul Eickstadt, the driver of the truck so horrifically engulfed in flames in the initial videos of the collapse, lived just a few houses down. A couple of years ago, when our little dog went missing and my kids were frantically scouring the neighborhood on their bikes searching for her, it was Paul who found her and returned her safe and sound.

We all respond differently to tragedies. If you feel compelled to take action, one of the best things you can do is to contribute money or give blood to the American Red Cross or its Minnesota affiliate.

God bless you, and be careful.

*****

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