To celebrate our 20th anniversary Joe and I visited the lands of our heritage, Prague, Krakow, throwing in Vienna and London to round out the two weeks. While in London the tragic news of Junior Seau’s untimely death flashed across the hotel TV screen while the correspondent relayed the reason being a gunshot to his chest. My stomach clenched and my heart constricted as “suicide” hit me like a drenched woolen blanket thrown over my head with the the inability to breath. Although I didn’t know Junior personally I felt like I “had a relationship” with him as I watched him pour out his heart on the field from my Charger seat for many years. His enthusiasm, dedication, and pure love of the game were contagious. I painfully recalled that almost three years ago I lost a close friend also to suicide. Both “victims” in the prime of their lives, jovial, successful, generous with their time and money, and by all outward appearances, had everything to live for. After reeling from the news, guilt threw the obvious questions: “why this needless loss?,” “could I have done anything to prevent this?”, “could I have been a better friend?”. The unanswered question of “why”swirled in my head. But as a learning opportunity, tragedy has a way of nudging us to our true calling to love one another. I thought of the British Airways flight attendant, who on the flight over anticipated my every need, even to the point of tucking me in for the night with a “good night hug” promising to make breakfast for me upon my waking. If I could just be like the “British Angels” and take the time to greet everyone with a smile trying to make others’ trips more enjoyable and comfortable without having them reach for the “call button”. I want to give everyone encouragement and the benefit of the doubt because we never really know the heart and soul of even our closest friends, what yet the casual passer-by. Then, after this earthly life is completed and we reach our “final destination” all of us fellow traveling companions will joyfully celebrate our journeys together as the Oneness that we really are.
