The sadness

I heard on WTOP yesterday that 200,000 people are reported dead in Haiti. That's a whole lot of people and more than I would ever know.  If I was born in Haiti, it's highly likely that all the people I know, friends, acquaintances, and basically my entire environment would be wiped out completely.  I don't even know what i would do put in that situation.  And I guess events or death tolls like this puts things into perspective for me.  When sadness is tearing away at people and simply overwhelming, I think it's so strong that people across the world can feel that same sadness, and as you get closer to Haiti, I'm sure the grief and the loss intensifies.   


While surfing on Facebook last night, I found out with sadness that this missionary kid I had met on a trip to Taiwan in 5th grade got in a fatal car accident yesterday and passed soon after.  She was one year younger than myself, and apparently on her way to work, as a 4th grade teacher.   I only met her less than a handful of times.  From the time I met her in 5th grade to the time we visited their family in the U.S, I remember that she had a lot of joy, a lot of smiles that made our visits very comfortable and enjoyable too.  If she lived near me, I'd probably want to be her friend because she was one of those genuinely cheery souls, and it only took a matter of seconds to realize this.  She passed away in a matter of seconds and without any warning. 


Yesterday, as I drove home from work I saw this middle aged man walking home on the sidewalk with his groceries.  He had three long rolls of italian or french bread along with other groceries and as I waited at a red light, I saw that one of the rolls slipped out of its clear plastic cover and touched the concrete in its bare skin.  As he realized what had occurred, I could feel the sadness there.  It was a long piece of bread, but things like that can turn a day sour.  


Death and funerals and even italian rolls can make people live their days in sadness, but I was thinking that at least in sadness, we begin to take notice of people that we may never have even lay a thought on.  We become more aware, we recall and remember, and we come to know people just a bit more.