Today Kirkwood reopened its city hall. But it wasn't business as usual. The sign on the door made that obvious. Special hours were posted to accomodate people needing to attend the funerals of their friends and co-workers. It's heartbreaking to think that in the midst of the mourning they must carry on. But these workers are doing just that. I met some honorable people today who talked of doing their jobs and carrying on because that's just what people do. They are the heart of Kirkwood. There weren't smiles. No one was acting as if it was just a normal day at the office. The halls of city hall were quite. The sounds of saws and hammers pounded out the silence of the few residents coming in to handle paperwork. The first floor of city hall looks unchanged. Yellow tape blocks the stairs to city council chambers. If you hadn't heard the news, and couldn't see the procession of police cars outside escorting the casket of Officer Tom Ballman to his resting place, you might not know, something very tragic had ended the lives of five people in and around that building Thursday night. It's eery how looks can be deceiving.

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