I saw this shared on Facebook. It was written by a woman named Jacqueline Kamel about the NYT front page.
When I saw an image of this front page on the internet, I thought it was from 100 years ago.
And then I got my copy.
Every year on the date, the 3,000 victims of September 11th are read aloud at the World Trade Center.
It takes 3 hours.
If we were to read the names of each person who has died of Covid-19 so far, it would take over 4 days, without stopping.
It would cover each Sunday issue for over the next two years.
Today I read 1% of those names.
Each of those names was allowed half a sentence to describe them.
Half a sentence for a lifetime on the front page of The New York Times.
I picked out some of my favorites:
-“We called him the grand Poobah”
-her backyard birds ate right from her hand
-could fix almost anything
-first black woman to graduate Harvard Law school
-quick with his fists in the ring
-her will was indomitable
-he could spit a watermelon seed halfway across a double lot
-agent who turned on the CIA
-her favorite quote was ‘I am as good as you are, and as bad as I am’
-cancer survivor who lived as a deacon
-nothing delighted him more than picking up the bill
-saved 56 Jewish families from the Gestapo
-could be a real jokester
-thought it was important to know a person’s life story
-maestro of a steel-pan band
-saw friends at their worst and made them their best
-engineer behind the first 200mph stock car
-discovered his true calling when he started driving a school bus
-made the best Baklava ever
-emergency room doctor who died in his husband’s arms
-leader in integrating schools
-architect behind Boston’s City Hall
-shared his produce with food banks and neighbors
-family believed she would have lived the traditional Navajo lifespan of 102 years.
-loved his wife and said ‘yes dear’ a lot
-mother to a generation of AIDS patients
-worked long hard hours and still made time for everyone
-walked across the Golden Gate Bridge on opening day
-liked his bacon and hash browns crispy
-more adept than many knew
-would stay awake the whole night shift because she didn’t want anyone to die alone
-freed from life in prison
-her last words were ‘thank you’
.
.
.
Seven small towns I thought no one else had heard of.
Six women who reminded me of my mother.
Five people my age.
Four holocaust survivors.
Three 9/11 responders.
Two couples who died together.
One person I’ve met.
And a 5 year old girl.
They didn't get a funeral.
They didn't get to say goodbye.
I've been in my apartment for 71 days. I've cried four times.
Three of those times, was while I read this.
Have fun at your barbecue.
——————
Now, my thoughts.
Yes, many of us are staring to venture out and see limited amounts of friends and family at safe distances.
Yes, the point was to flatten the curve as to not overwhelm the health care system, not stay inside until there’s a vaccine. We came together and successfully did that - for now. The more people gather in large groups with no regard for others, the better chance there is to have it spike again. We’re not out of the woods yet, and won’t be for a long time.
If people could be trusted to not be idiots and be responsible, things WOULD start opening up again. Beaches are closed, pools are closed, bars are closed, restaurants are closed not because the government is trying to take away our rights but because we can’t be trusted with the privilege of “normalcy” during this pandemic.
you want to blame someone? Blame the idiots at Lake of the Ozarks and the Florida beaches that BigGoalBrad is so proud to report back on.
do your part. It’s temporary. If we could all act like adults instead of entitled brats maybe we could be trusted with the privilege of making our own choices.
Don’t blame the government for your favorite beach, pool, or restaurant being closed, blame your fellow citizens.
