From someone who's been down this road before, I offer this: Wherever humanity exists, something like this is going to happen, and the people who caused these things to happen are the only ones who can be held accountable. We can ask ourselves, what could we have done differently?

But in all truth, these were things that were outside everybody's control except for the people who decided to do the acts at hand. No doubt those cowards could have made better decisions about how to handle themselves, but the people who committed the horrific events of this past week did what they did, and there's nothing any of us could have done to prevent either action.

They had their minds made up, and it took them seconds to decide how to do it, which is why I consider the human brain the ultimate computer (because of how fast it alone can make decisions).

My advice to anyone who reads this letter: Hold fast to your faith. It will sustain you, no matter how tough life's events may become. And don't worry about other people's actions because ultimately, as much as we may try to convince others not to do something stupid, we have no control over what they do.

The only thing you can do is worry about the decisions you make for yourself and your families, because that's really the only thing you have control over.

This has been a tough week for everybody, but hold fast, stay together and keep the faith. That's what will always get us through. What happened is in the past, and the best thing we can do is pick ourselves up, regroup our priorities, cherish God's blessings and look forward to better days ahead.

Dustin Frank

Southern Pines̃