Close to home.

When you live in a small town you develop a sense that nothing truly bad could happen there. Of course this is not true, but the fact that you know your mailman, your favorite waitress at your favorite lunch place, the school principal, the guy who owns the giant condo development that everyone hates and even the mayor by name lulls you into a sense of wellbeing. It's the best of Mayberry, only not so corny and with free wireless in a few places.

But blind wellbeing is not a good idea.

On Friday, the school district here in our town of about 3,000 full-time residents (at most) received a tip that someone had read on the internet that there would be a shooting at a school here that afternoon. Thanks to the district's Web site, they were able to receive the information and respond quickly, immediately engaging our local police forces to patrol the schools. At the same time, a search began to track back to the source of the threat with full intent to prosecute.

As of Tuesday morning nothing has happened. Thank God. There was a police officer in the front lobby of the elementary school when we got there, but my first-grade daughter didn't even notice. After all, one of her good friends is the child of two police officers. I also saw a police presence at the high school - low key, but still there.

My gut tells me the threat was probably not real. But I'm grateful to the school district for taking it seriously and taking prompt action to do what they could to protect the children and staff. It's easy to say that a school shooting here doesn't "fit the profile." After all, looking back at most cases it's a kid who is lost in the roiling sea of a big school, an anonymous face who doesn't feel he fits in. Around here, it's pretty hard not to fit in because everyone is involved in everything. That's the way it is when there are less than 100 kids in the senior class.

I'm not a worrier or a fear monger. But you still have to take it seriously. You still have to be cautious. And you have to make a conscious effort to take note of the issue and then move on. Because living in fear is not living. And if you spend all your energy on things that haven't happened and that you can't control you'll miss out on the beauty that is unfolding in your life every day.