Facebook seems to have a way of putting us within 6 degrees of separation of tragedy over and over again. I guess I've lived a somewhat charmed life in the sense that I have not personally had to handle any stunning tragedies.
Today I learned via Facebook of a father (the ex-husband of a friend) who drowned in front of his children this morning--right after saving one who had fallen into the water.
Over the past few months, I learned that I girl I went to high school passed away from brain cancer. I learned that another classmate has had a stroke. My god, I'm 34--not old enough to be losing my contemporaries to cancer and strokes!
I learned that a former classmate was married to a man who was paralyzed in a hugely publicized incident.
I also learned that an old friend's father passed was found unresponsive, and a short time later that he had passed away--all via facebook.
I think I preferred the "ignorance is bliss" state of mind. Suddenly hearing of all these terrible things forces me to consider my own mortality (or even more frightening, my children's mortality).
1 comment:
It is sad. On the other hand I prefer to think that it allows me to reach out and comfort those who might think I ignored their time of pain, not realizing I just didn't know. I was very sad to hear that a good high school friends' mother had passed away a few years ago. They were very close and I wish I had known then and could have reached out.
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