Thursday, January 06, 2011

Lost Another Good One

I have a soft spot in my heart for law enforcement.
I tear up when I hear of law enforcement who die while working to keep our streets safe.

It tugs at my heart even more when it is someone from my hometown.
Someone who walked the halls of my school that same time I did. I looked through some old yearbooks and marveled at how she, at 40, still looked so much like she did in high school.

It affects me as I feel our mutual friends' pain.
Some of the memories being shared bring tears to my eye. . .

It grabs at my heart that we are both newly weds.
To have found love and have it taken away so quickly. . .
The fear grips me when I think of her husband and kids and it makes me hug my new husband and new kids even tighter.

It tears me up to see law enforcement from around the globe banding together.
The UK reported on this on-line and calls have been received from as far away as Australia.
Officers from other areas are covering shifts so that everyone can pay their respects - that brings tears to my eyes even as I type the words.

It hurts that I cannot pay my respects when her funeral procession drives by and goes to the village where I grew up. I can only image how long that procession will be and I wonder how/if all of the cars will even be able to fit in the small village.
I come from a small community that bands together. One that will line the road to pay respects. One that does not drive by a procession because that is just not done. One that will send this good one off with all of the respect that she deserves.

I do realize that the last time I saw her was 21 years ago at her high school graduation - walking across that stage. I don't have any memories of us together - I can't even say that we had a relationship. But there are many connections and degrees of separations. . .
It still hurts and I still have a tear for a life lost.

I will be watching from affair thanks to the on-line media.
I wish we had not lost another good one.
Namaste.

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