When you think of Columbine . . .

. . . you really should think of this instead.

In the contemporary American mind, the word "columbine" is by necessity associated with a very unfortunate event from 1999, the Columbine High School massacre. Maybe not so much for Americans who were young or not yet born when it took place--there have been, I'm sure, hundreds of similar incidents since then, across this great, gun-loving, mass-murdering, suicide pact-vowing land of ours.

Nonetheless, the columbine is also a quite beautiful flower, something I did not know until a few years ago, well after the massacre. And even if a gun were held to my head (if you'll pardon the expression), I couldn't have identified the flower.

So pleasant happenstance: The other day I was walking past an urban farm lot in Homewood on my way to work when I spied these beautiful flowers. Have camera phone, will shoot to still, so I popped off a few and posted for friends on Twitter and Facebook. And then the magic of technology and the global community who knows a heck of a lot more about plant life than I do, I learned that these are indeed columbine.

Sad to think that such a gorgeous, delicate creation can be associated with such a tragic event. I might make a plea to say that this doesn't have to be the way if only we'd get beyond serious about gun violence and gun control in this country--but I'm sure no one could hear me above all the target practice and police stand-offs.

So instead, I'll just shut my mouth and let us all enjoy the view.