I Am So Steamed!

This story was in the local paper today.

Families of fallen lament: Americans losing interest in the war in Iraq (it's a slow loading site)

So that in and of itself is bad enough, but this part killed me......

Shea’s son, Marine Lance Cpl. Jeffrey Burgess, a 2001 graduate of Plymouth South High School, was killed in Iraq on March 25, 2004, when his vehicle struck a land mine outside Fallujah.Shea, who now lives in the Sagamore Beach section of Bourne, was at a Memorial Day parade in Plymouth the year after her son’s death when members of a color guard made a point of snapping their heads in her direction in a sign of respect as they marched by.‘‘A week or two later, a woman brought that up and said, ‘Isn’t this carrying on a little too far?’’’ Shea remembered. ‘‘I told her that these are types of things I do not ask for, but this is the way my life has become. I did not ask to be a Gold Star Mother.’’

I am stunned and horrified. Words fail me. I say this not because Shea's son was killed in Iraq. I say this because the woman who said this to Shea is an asshat. Your child is your child and losing one is not something you "get over".
When I worked in the phone company (back in the day when there was only one) my friend Claire told me a similar story about her sister and nephew. The nephew had been killed by a hit-and-run drive while crossing a street in Boston. a year after his death Claire's sister met a casual friend who asked how she was doing. Claire's sister mentioned an upcoming memorial service for the nephew. The woman told the bereaved mother that she should "get over it". OMG! I can remember wanting to hunt down this woman and punch her in the face! Yes, that is completely useless and savage....deal with it...it's who I am.
Today, reading this story, I felt the same anger. I want to find that woman who had the nerve to say anything to Michelle Shea and punch her in the face.