5 Things On My Mind: Can Jeremy Allen White deliver a great Springsteen flick out of 'Nowhere'?

The world has gone mad, and every school shooting is a valid example.

@Richard Tsong-Taatarii / @rtsongphoto of the Star Tribune

In case you haven’t seen it on your social platforms or internet pitstops, this is a picture from this past week of a mother running down a street. She’s barefoot, desperate, and couldn’t get up the street any faster if she tried. Up that street is a possible life-changing news cycle for parents and loved ones with kids in a school. Every single time I dropped my son, Vinny, off at school, the contemplation to take an extra 30 seconds to watch him dip around the corner was present.

This mother was holding her purse, shoes, and whatever else could be jammed into her grips. She has no idea what happened, what tomorrow looks like, or what the past will amount to with the news that awaits her. Maybe her kid is okay. Maybe they aren’t. The reality exists at the top of the road, a few sweats past this woman. She’s only mad in the form of a mother bear looking for the pieces that make her life whole.

When I saw this image on Facebook, a part of me stopped working. Like a car suddenly breaking down on the side of the road, the only mechanic who could fix this flat heart was a few minutes of time to put yourself in those shoes and understand the turmoil. Her kid could be alive, but there’s a chance the kid’s friend or best friend is not in good shape. Trauma splinters and slices whenever it likes.

It’s that kind of imagery that reminds someone in a tough spot than usual that their next few days or weeks may not be as bad or foreign as some others. We’re all fighting something out there. Here are four other things on my mind, but you’ll have to make a donation to the “feed Buffa’s pets” foundation in order to digest them.