Lenore is puzzled by Rose. Doesn’t quite get the herding thing.

Big stories generate famous photographs, and one of those is making the rounds of photographer’s websites a week after the ugly riots that followed a hockey game in Vancouver, Canada.

It’s called “The Riot Kiss” and is quite striking. A Canadian woman and her young Australian companion were trapped between rioters and police at the height of the riots, and she fell to the ground. He fell on top of her, expecting both of them to be injured or beaten and he kissed her to reassure her. A photographer camptured the amazing image, now rocketing around the world. The photo touched me and I wanted to share it with you.

The Simon story has opened up the idea of mercy, pity and compassion for me. And some ideas about it are being clarified for me. Fear, anger and judgment are often the enemy of compassion and mercy. Somebody wrote me an e-mail last week saying she admire the fact that I have tried to keep on loving no matter what. That is so. I have not always succeeded, but I have always tried. Simon is an opportunity for me to learn about love and compassion, and to write about it. That is quite a gift.