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How could this have happened? The tragedy and the senselessness of so many who died. And now, the mourning by so many fellow students, faculty members, the university community... and parents.

Like many, the Virginia Tech news took me back eight years ago this week to Columbine. We didn't have kids yet, but I remember watching Peter Jennings incessantly... and calling my Mom. She was a middle school counselor then, and I was worried about her safety. How do you keep a school secure? How can you make sure kids are safe? Why is protecting students so seemingly out of anyone's control? I was so upset, I remember that I did what I do when I'm upset:  bake. There were stacks of pineapple bars, fudgy cappuccino brownies, mango upside-down cakes, and raisin pies... for starters.

As Rocco got ready for pre-school today, I can say that I did feel control over one thing. A year ago, I found out that his school had a woefully insufficient emergency plan in the event that a crisis should arise. Worse yet, his pre-school is on an esteemed university campus.

(One caveat here:   before carving out a niche in the lifestyle arena [and before I was a Hollywood writer, which is another story entirely], I worked in publicity, and part of that was writing, coordinating, and implementing crisis communication plans for Fortune 500 companies. When Columbine occurred, I had a sad, stunning realization about schools:   more than likely, your workplace had a better emergency plan in place than your child's school did).

Faced with the absence of a cohesive, sensical emergency plan at Rocco's pre-school, my wife and I went to the upper echelons of University administration and (nicely) demanded an emergency plan be immediately put in place. We asked questions like, "How would communication be conducted with parents in case of an emergency?" "If kids had to be moved off-site, where would they first be moved?" "Are pre-determined emergency numbers set up to be called into to receive information?" "Is there a Web site already pre-arranged for that goes 'live' with up-to-date information in case of emergency?" "In an emergency, who's in charge?" I even offered my services and past experience to help out. There is a plan in place now and, shortly after the imbroglio, the University hired a full-time director for the campus to coordinate, initiate, and -- if need be -- implement the plans.

So, now, a cavalcade of Virgina Tech-related stories will flood our radio, TV, and Web waves -- a cavalcade that will, in time, winnow down to a dribble. Each piece of news will prompt more sadness, more "but why?"s... and hopefully, more people to check out the current emergency plans they have in place at schools where their kids are. And if they aren't satisfied with what they hear, to find out -- and help out with -- what needs to happen to upgrade, change, or complete them.