Matters of Life and Death
The Stan Musial bronze statue outside Busch Stadium in St. Louis has become a memorial as Cardinal fans mourn the loss of Stan the Man Musial. In addition to bouquets of roses, fans are leaving 6 packs of Budweiser, champagne, signed ball caps, pictures, and toys. See the complete photo gallery of this memorial.
The most wonderful time of the year? Last week was Suicide Week in the garden. It started Monday afternoon with the phone call about a former co-worker. I can say hardly say his name, or type it. Wednesday was the auspicious 12/12/12 and then the week morphed into two more families that had a mess to clean up. All were 49-50 year old white men. Some with with small children and young widows. By Friday the carnage was full blown and we had tickets to go see Mike Birbiglia at the beautiful Gillioz Theatre. Comic relief was needed.
This was one of Birbiglia’s last stops on this 2012 tour and there was no mention of the day’s tragic events at the show. Imagine trying to do comedy on such a terrible day when all you want to do is go home.
Today, Wall Street and many others are taking a moment of silence before beginning their day.
When a former co-worker called me today to report that one of our colleagues had died I was a little taken aback, we’d worked together for a few years and he was my age. On Monday he didn’t show up for work and wasn’t answering the phone which was out of character for him. He’d left the office keys on his desk and taken a few things home like maybe he didn’t plan to come back after the weekend. His online profiles were scrubbed. His supervisor and police officers went to his home and discovered the body.
Suicide is such a mystery and can feel like the ultimate F.U.
My heart breaks for his family. My relationship with him was tumultuous. We argued often. I hope he found peace.
Image Source: Emily Mughannam, EM Design
Never forget.
While cleaning out her father’s things, My friend Jenny discovered this list of regulations from the Nita Maru prison ship where William Joesph Brigham was held as a war prisoner after the Wake Island massacre. The rules were punishable by immediate death if not followed. Zoom in for details.
And my grandfathers account of arriving at Pearl Harbor a few weeks after the bombing as a 20 year old kid.
Remembering and honoring all the veterans past and present. Thank you for your service.