NUMB

This one was easy pickins for Death. It had been coming for so very long, so visible that so many prognositicated how it might arrive, and feared what other damage it might inflict. In the end, it was solitary, alone, undiscovered perhaps for days. Still, the finality of it all seared, indelibly etched on the chalkboard of life. Too soon, so much left to do, so much more to see, so much that could have been, but now, will never be.

There are great memories, sure. Sitting in the Forum rafters, staring at balloons that will never fall, as a large chunk of the NBA Hall of Fame battle it out below - Havlicek, Russell, Baylor, Chamberlain, West, Jones, unbelievable. Watching those "Bums" from the nosebleeds. Having someone in "my" corner when the 7th grade teacher went a little crazy, or when the Freshman football coach was a bit exclusive. Magical Christmastimes - much of which were authored by his deceased bride. These endure, the unpleasant memories have a way of fading as the stark reality of the passing settles coldly in.

Still, the sense of loss is not stark - owing, no doubt, so much to the anticipation of it all. Could something have been done to prevent or postpone this? Not really. This was a course set decades ago, and choice was its captain. Is there a good outcome form all of this? Surely, if God is Merciful and forgiving, and in the same measure as powerful and knowing, then a good outcome is all there could be - it is the only option. Is there a lesson to be learned from this? Can we all - thank you Rodney King, just get along? No clue, not without recognition and reconciliation. In some cases, not without recognition and treatment of the wounds, deep and ugly and no less real simply because they are of the spirit, of the psyche. Could he teach us all that, by his death, we finally, simply, utterly recognize to accept each other, to admit to each other our shortcomings, rather than walking these square corners of "I'm OK but you're a mess?" or "you're already dead" or "you've been screwed up for a long time?" At last, the source of the numbness is identified. Treatment, its form, duration and modality, there's a matter of a different sort.