Life #2

This is first and foremost a film website, but under the Life tab you can find certain asides that are posted when the time comes. This is a very personal one.

Today, two people I went to high school with passed away. One of them was a good friend of mine. We played baseball together when we were younger, and he was the one I wanted to be. He was taller and could hit home runs when I was barely making contact. In the hallways or out and about, he always greeted me with a smile and a quick but genuine conversation. It was a moment of the day I truly enjoyed.
It is not easy to understand why people are taken so young, or taken at all. Is it too much to ask to enjoy the company of someone who makes life a little easier forever? And why, as humans, were we given the ability to feel sadness? Is it not a difficult thing to know that someone is never going to say hello to you again?
In tragedy, communities come together. Vigils and wakes and funerals. A collective experience where everyone is there for each other. Therein lies the only beauty derived from a situation as terrible as this. Veiled beneath the cold cloak of loss, the human emotions of compassion, remembrance, and ultimately love emerge. The tight grasps of tear-stained hugs represent the bond that we share in life, and in the absence of life.
Please keep the families in your thoughts. Nobody should have to suffer this kind of loss. Let us find solace in the power of love that comes when we need it most.