One Of Us Is Dead

A few days ago, I wrote about the death of my nephew's son, Spc. Robert C. Pope II.  The wake was very, very sad.  Young people dying means young people mourning, something they're just not accustomed to.

This morning, NPR broadcast a brief segment on Morning Edition, telling a very short version of "Little Bobby's" story. 

I'm saddened, and ashamed, to say that I really did not know this young man. 

I'd met him several times, most notably on the occasion of my mother's death.  Years ago, our family took the accumulation of slights that occurs in all families as an excuse to distance ourselves from one another.  Oh, we acknowledged milestone events, like my mother's passing, but mostly we kept our distance.  Unhealed wounds kept us apart.

And now, one of us, whom I never got to know, is dead.

Let this be a lesson to me.  Please.

Tags: Robert Pope

Comments

[Howard Mann]

Thank you Tom.

Let that be a lesson to us all.