Polly wants a cracker

I'm usually not too affected by current events, and I'm not even sure if I am now, but yesterday on NPR they were interviewing a kid who survived the shootings at VA Tech. He described how he instantly fell to the floor and hid behind a desk while the shooter shot people around him. Apparently the shooter reloaded three times and didn't shoot this kid. He doesn't know why.

Anyway, while the shooter was shooting, this kid and the girl next to him on the floor kept their eyes locked on each other "trying to stay human." He and this girl had never really talked and he didn't know her name (she would get shot in the back and apparently survive) but he still knew that he needed to stay human. I don't know what it means, but it resonates strongly with me. He didn't say stay alive, he said "stay human." As though that was what was at stake, not life or death. Very interesting.