Every morning I read the newspaper. Today was no different as I started reading my edition of the Sun News. I got through all the election coverage and opened up to page four of the front page section. It was there that I started to read the “Today’s Globe” portion, a hodgepodge of brief news stories from around the world. Usually bad news is prevalent but today it just seemed to hit me in a certain way.

I don’t know why it got to me so much, but after reading back-to-back-to-back stories on violence and death I felt pretty down. The selections were diverse in the type of horror they depicted but they all managed to hit me inside. Only a few minutes after I finished reading and I reflected on my thoughts, a friend from across the country tweeted about her sadness over the day’s news. It was obvious that we had read the same widely circulated “Today’s Globe” report.

It was apparent that we had both read the same sad report.

Not to dwell on the crummy news, but here is a quick summary of the three very sad stories that were layered right on top of each other.

These sad news stories were piled right on top of each other.

Police: Women threw son From bridge – A mom took her 6-year old son and threw him off a bridge to his death in Oregon. A parent killing their kid by throwing him off a bridge? What an awful way to go. I have memories from when I was six so that poor boy definitely knew what was going on and must have been scared out of his wits. How could any person, let alone a parent, do such a heinous act? What must have gone through her head while she watched her son plummet to his death? It made me sick.

Man charged in deaths of trick-or-treaters – A guy struck and killed three teenage girls who were trick-or-treating with his SUV and then drove off. I feel so sad for the three girls and their families. They were doing something fun and innocent, totally unaware that they would lose their lives that night. I mean come on, all they were doing was trick-or-treating. What a cruel twist of fate. Shame on the driver for taking off. How do you even have the instinct to do something like that? I know it is easy for me to say just sitting here on my couch, but if I did something like that I would get out of my SUV and stand in the street to get bulldozed over by a vehicle as well.

Christian couple burned to death by mob – Caution…this is gruesome. Some radical Muslims in Pakistan decided to falsely accuse a Christian couple of burning a Quran. As “punishment,” the wackos tortured the couple and burned them to death. What a barbaric, evil act. No one deserves to be falsely accused, no one deserves to be persecuted for their religious beliefs, and no one deserves to die that way. Of course images of this atrocity just flood my brain. How could anyone do AND watch such a thing. I almost spit out my breakfast.

Reading these grim tales reminded me again of how lucky I am. I might think not having a phone for a few days is tough but then I get a dose of perspective by reading the crummy luck of these victims. I get to sit in my comfortable apartment tonight and blog and tweet while others are thrown from bridges or burned alive. Thanks to my daily newspaper for giving me a wake up call every now and then. Don’t Blink.