By Rob Neff
At the risk of answering Gary Ogle’s rhetorical question, I offer the following about what I will remember about the recent loss of lives in our community and our response to these tragedies.
I decided to go to the community prayer service called by Mayor Reser. Kiwanis ran long, and I was late. I stood in the back on the fringe of the crowd. When one of the pastors asked us to join hands to pray, the man in front of me, a stranger, turned around and extended his hand, leaning to reach me. I took it. I stepped closer to the crowd and nudged and extended my hand to another fringedweller. He took it.
Later, while leaving, I found myself in lockstep, side by side, with a vaguely familiar man on the sidewalk leading to City Hall’s parking lot. On any other day, we might have exchanged a nod of acknowledgement or a curt greeting. Today was different.
I can’t tell you who spoke first. Soon we were standing in the City Hall parking lot under what seemed like the hottest sun of the year. Sweat formed on his brow. My shirt soon became damp under a dark blue suit. But we had things we needed to discuss.
We shared his sense of loss, that one of his high school best friends, with whom he had lost contact, was one of the victims. We shared the fact that another person close to him was struggling with addiction and his ironic gratitude for that person’s incarceration during these tragic events so he knew that person was not involved. We shared information about new treatments and new resources in our community for combatting addiction and achieving stable recovery, and the need for his loved one to seek treatment immediately on release to avoid accidental overdose and to increase the chances for successful recovery.
We talked for 10-15 minutes, and as we did, we discovered past connections between us as well. By the time we finished our conversation, I had to go home and change shirts before heading back to work.
I will remember that uttering, or responding to the first word from a stranger can lead to a mutually beneficial exchange that reminds us of our connections to each other. I will remember that each and every day we are called upon to build a stronger community. I will remember that some days that call is a whisper; some days it’s a shout; some days it’s a deafening roar, and some days it’s just a sweaty conversation in the parking lot.