My son and I love going to the movies. After a long week, there is nothing better than going to the latest opening movie and escaping into pure fantasy land. We laugh, we cry, we stay cool, embraced by the darkness and the sound of the amazing scenes on screen.

We usually attend the movies on Friday nights to help us kick off our weekend. My son was at sleep away camp this past week and we weren’t able to take in Batman on opening night.

I was so relieved that he was isolated from the news of a random man walking into the Batman premiere and senselessly murdering people and injuring so many more. These American events that seem to happen every couple of years always leave me distressed but this one struck me deeply.

It was just so wrong to interrupt one of our greatest pastimes and our place of escape. So many people waited so long for this last movie in a series that deals with one of our favorite comic book characters.

When my son, 11, arrived home from camp, I struggled with telling him the news. I knew he would hear it at any point so I decided to come forth with the straight information and keep the constant TV coverage off at the house. He asked a few questions, such as “why would someone do that?” and we talked it through.

Then, in protest of any danger, we gathered ourselves up and went to see “The Dark Knight Rises.” Apparently, the rest of Houston was unaffected as well because the movie was sold out through the evening. We waited for the next showing, stood in a long line, sat in a fully packed theater and enjoyed our fantasy world.

This particular incident in Colorado left me very sad. At times, I think we have become calloused by our own American born terrorists and we write off the events as just “crazy and troubled” people, which is clearly accurate.

Still, people lost their lives in this incident and many more will never be the same. Let us pause and grieve for those involved, for the system that breeds these actions, and for ourselves.

I’m still thankful for the gift of entertainment and the escapism it provides.